Giants Offense Grades: Winston Provides the Spark, O-Line Struggles in Win Over Eagles

If we’re being blunt, the New York Giants won their Week 9 game against the Philadelphia Eagles more by riding the coattails of their defense than anything else.

We’ll review the defense in a separate piece, but in terms of the offense, which admittedly did enough (including winning the time of possession battle 34:45 to 25:15), there were some concerns.

The running game, sans Cam Skattebo, struggled, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry. Devin Singletary, this week’s RB1, rushed 21 times for 31 yards, averaging 1.5 yards per carry.

Granted, the running backs didn’t exactly get help from the offensive line, but it was alarming to see eight of the Giants’ 31 rushing attempts (25.8%) register as tackles for loss. That number, by the way, was the most by any team in Week 9 according to TruMedia (via the Locked On Giants podcast).

Interestingly, there’s still chatter about the Giants trading for Jonathan Taylor of the Colts. While Taylor would be a solid addition, unless the run blocking up front gets better and in a hurry, we’re not sure how much it would matter.

Let’s get into this week’s offense grades.

Quarterbacks

J.J. McCarthy

The more we watched McCarthy this week, the more he showed the limitations of a pocket-passing offense in today’s pressure-happy league. If all your offense does is drop back the quarterback, the defense knows exactly where to find him; the pressure to make big plays on those dropbacks is huge.

Take away that quarterback’s first read, as the Eagles did, and you need your quarterback to find that second read in the blink of an eye. McCarthy was not doing that.

If you can’t keep opposing defenses off-balance – à la the Jaxson Dart offense that makes so many plays off of Dart’s legs – scoring points will continue to be a challenge, as it was this week.

That said, McCarthy’s overall game was spotty. He threw some dimes downfield to his wideouts, but those deep throws are tough to execute.

He overthrew Jalin Hyatt on a deep ball for the second week in a row, and some of his short throws lacked touch. His first half was a struggle.

He showed more in the second half by shrugging off a helmet to the midsection. McCarthy may have pretty good straight-line speed, but his running instincts need work.

He took a read-option not only into the teeth of the defense, but he lowered his head when it was obviously time for a slide, ergo the big hit.

His first-half passing numbers (9-of-13 for 101 yards) and just six points scored (on two long field goals) included five sacks. He’s got to do a better job of getting the ball out of his hands.

On the plus side, he didn’t force anything; his ball security was immaculate despite the pressure and the big hits.

McCarthy’s toughness is not to be taken for granted; when you’re big, strong, and tough like he is, it tends to keep you on the field and helps you hold onto the ball.

We’re not sure he’s enough of a quick-twitch thinker or thrower (his windup is a bit long), but relying on that deep drop to make your plays is a tough way to make a living in this league.

He’s also not a read-option, roll-out kind of guy; he makes very few plays on the move. In today’s NFL, it’s great to make plays from the deep pocket, but clean pockets are tough to come by; you need some variety in your game to help slow down the rush.

A running game would help (a mere 16 first-half yards), but this team doesn’t seem to have the backs to scare defenses from crashing the line of scrimmage. When McCarthy’s behind center, it’s all downfield throwing or nothing.

McCarthy wasn’t sacked in the second half, missed two series after that big hit on the zone-read, and finished with a mediocre 12-of-19 for 127 yards overall. That’s not good enough on most days.

Jameis Winston

Stepping in for the injured McCarthy early in the third quarter, Winston finished off that possession with a punt, and then engineered a 14-play, touchdown-scoring drive that not only gave the Giants a 13-8 lead, but took the starch out of the entire Eagles team.

In fact, Winston’s performance inspired his own sideline, especially with some very clutch throws. A 3rd-and-15 connection with Malachi Fields on a deep out was probably Winston’s best throw of the day.

An improbable 10-yard scramble, then a 27-yard teardrop to a deep-crossing Darnell Mooney, and another 14-yard dart to Fields down to the 2-yard line set up Winston’s too-easy throw to Isaiah Likely in the end zone for the second half’s only touchdown.

McCarthy re-entered the game on the team’s next possession, leaving the fan base with the knowledge that Winston may not be the long-term answer, but he can play top-level NFL quarterback in a pinch and is, in fact, one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league.

Running Backs

Devin Singletary

It wasn’t expected to be pretty for Singletary today, starting and managing most of the running back load against an inspired Eagles defense. That it turned out so ugly was hardly Singletary’s fault, as he had room to run on perhaps two of his 21 handoffs.

The rest of his touches? We’ll let his numbers speak for themselves: 21 carries for 31 yards (1.5 avg.). That’s as ugly as it gets.

And yet, with all that lack of production, the Giants still managed a time-of-possession advantage of 34:45 to 25:15. Go figure.

One of the secrets to this ugly win was the big fat zero in the offense’s turnover column. Give Singletary credit for the ball security.

On the negative side, Singletary was involved in several of the sacks allowed with some poor blitz pickup attempts.

Known for his reliability in that part of the game, we were surprised to see this veteran come up so small today.

Greg Desrosiers

Picked up recently off the Los Angeles Chargers’practice squad, this 25-year-old, 200-pound scatback type did his best Dave Meggett impression, gaining 20 yards on his 3 touches and bringing a level of quickness to the offense that was sorely lacking.

This kid looks like an ideal change-of-pace back to call on in the coming weeks. We’re also interested to see him returning kickoffs.

Desrosiers did enough, not only with his quick feet but also with his vision, toughness, and ball security, to warrant more touches.

Receivers

Malik Nabers

Nabers had his four-game 100-yard receiving stretch interrupted, with just 53 yards on five catches. His final target should have added 20 yards and a touchdown to his line, but he dropped a perfectly thrown pass he earned with a sharp route to get behind the defense.

After throwing little hissy fits throughout the game at his lack of attention despite leading the team in targets, it was embarrassing to see him fail to complete a basic play.

Nabers had another drop and seemed to struggle to get off the ground after several catches.

Malachi Fields

Continuing his solid play, Fields caught two of his three receptions from Jameis Winston, both coming on the crucial second-half scoring drive and both clutch, big-time connections.

Fields’ route-running seems to be getting sharper, as he squared off both routes, giving his quarterback plenty of space to attack.

He also drew one pass interference call and should have drawn another that wasn’t called, both on throws from J.J. McCarthy.

Fields was part of today’s poor run-blocking effort; in space, he whiffed more often than he made contact, and he seemed more effective inside the tackle box, where he relished the contact.

Darnell Mooney

It was a good sign to these eyes that Mooney was spotlighted a bit more by the game plan, as we like matching up Mooney’s game against the opposition’s third cornerback.

Mooney went 3-54-18.0 on the day, leading the team in yards. Mooney’s big play was the 27-yard deep crosser that Jameis Winston hit for the big, clutch gain.

It put the Eagles’ defensive backs on their heels; soon enough, the Giants were scoring their lone touchdown of the game.

These coaches need to keep incorporating Mooney’s speed and hands into the game plan, as he’s a professional wideout who knows how to play the position.

Jalin Hyatt

Getting about a dozen snaps and his weekly fly pattern to run, Hyatt made the effort to dive for the overthrown ball at least this week, something he did not do last game.

Tight Ends

Isaiah Likely

Once again, catching everything thrown in his vicinity, Likely finished with five catches for 53 yards, including a 27-yarder and a touchdown from 5 yards out.

The 27-yarder beat an Eagles zone and was almost too easy, much like his touchdown catch, where he lined up in a bunch and got lost alone in the end zone for the too-easy score.

Likely was tasked with one of those edge pass blocks that never turn out well. He failed, of course, and yielded a hit on the quarterback that was as unnecessary as the blocking call.

Theo Johnson

After getting just a smattering of snaps after a couple of weeks off, Johnson didn’t get any attention in the passing game, and his run blocks were middling.

Chris Manhertz

It’s wild that this offense is struggling so much in the run game while Manhertz is providing so much reliable, physical in-line blocking on his edge.

He’s on the field a lot, yet the run game still struggles despite him handling his responsibility very well almost all the time.

Patrick Ricard

We place the team’s veteran fullback in the same category as Manhertz; if this O-line can’t block for the run with Ricard dominating his man on nearly every run down, it will remain a mystery for the ages.

Like Likely, Ricard was tasked with one of those edge pass blocks that never turn out well.

Yes, Ricard gave up one of this week’s sacks, but anyone truly expecting him to block an edge pass rusher out there in space is not exactly giving him a favorable matchup.

Offensive Line

Andrew Thomas

Continuing to look like something of an imposter in his uniform, Thomas struggled again to hold his ground in retreat, which tends to take away space in the pocket even if he manages to stay between his man and his quarterback.

Thomas lost one pass rush to an inside move and failed to control his edge on several other encounters that resulted in sacks, though he wasn’t the primary culprit on those.

In the run game, Thomas was slow to play off of his double-team blocks on several occasions that blew up runs. The entire O-line, in fact, seemed to be getting out-quicked most of the day.

Jermaine Eluemunor

Playing a similar game to his cohort on the other side of the O-line, Eluemunor gave up too much ground in his backpedal, although he maintained contact consistently.

He wasn’t responsible for any of this week’s sacks, but his edge was overrun a couple of times. His run-blocking was subpar, and that’s being kind.

Jon Runyan

The main culprit on three of this week’s sacks, Runyan was being bull-rushed and overrun into his quarterback’s lap on practically every single pass block. That’s when he wasn’t being out-quicked, mostly in the run game where he was a walking disaster.

The interior of the O-line was so intent on dealing with the Eagles’ talented defensive line group that they didn’t throw any bodies at the inside linebackers, who closed downhill and shot gaps at will most of the day.

As he’s been getting all year, Runyan was this O-line’s lowest-graded player. Notably, the offense converted its lone 4th-and-1 tush push behind Runyan.

Francis Mauigoa

The rookie really got beat up out there both off of quickness as well as with power. He also seemed confused into inaction at times, the kid refusing to hit people, deciding to reach out and run up the white flag at times.

He was losing his technique all over the place and rarely fired out at his man, as he was so often missing his mark that he lost his aggressiveness.

Mauigoa looks a bit overwhelmed right now and needs to settle down.

Bryan Hudson

Getting today’s highest grade, Hudson wasn’t losing any one-on-ones, but he also wasn’t moving anybody off their spot either.

Hudson typically is at his best when he can fire out to the second level, but this week, he wasn’t afforded that luxury as the interior needed more of his attention.

And yet, he wasn’t much of a difference-maker as the Eagles’ front completely dominated his group. We didn’t see any missed assignments; just a ton of lost assignments.

Hudson had some problems on the pass block when he was late to his angle and had to play catch-up, but for the most part he was solid with his help. The problem was that both his guards needed help throughout.

J.C. Davis

Getting the game-day uniform ahead of Marcus Mbow, who was inactive, Davis received one snap when Eluemunor had to leave the game, that snap coming on the 4th-and-1 tush push that his block did not impact.

Interestingly, the Giants deactivated Mbow today, leaving Davis as the third tackle. That’s quite a leap for this sixth-round steal to be trusted with such a significant role.

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