We can’t have nice things. It was great to get the win. The loss of Malik Nabers for the season (to be confirmed tomorrow, torn ACL likely) is just devastating. Dart also has a hamstring injury.
Oh and I can’t stand the Head Coach. He tried to blow the game but alas he could not.
What this amounts to is that 2025 has a hobbled rookie QB, a pass offense missing its star, and a Head Coach who underachieves. It is hard to see how they can be competitive.
Let’s focus for a minute on the optimism. Dart brings an energy to the team that is otherwise desperately missing. He is a fighter. He has poise and command. See below in bold. Yet he has that rookie penchant for trying to be Superman on every play. That gets him into a lot of trouble. He takes unnecessary punishment. It is easy in your first game in the NFL to take the hits and dust yourself off. Try doing that week after week, all season, season after season. You won’t last very long. Then add Nabers no longer taking away 2 defenders and this offense will fall on Dart to be SuperSuperman. Which he should not be.
Kafka made an adjustment later in the game when the Giants got the ball back at the LAC 48… he called quick pass plays to get the ball out of his hands. With the Giants leading by 3 midway thru the 4th Quarter, the Offense moved the ball down to ~2 yd line. After 3 unsuccessful attempts + a 3rd down that pushed the ball back to the 4 yd line, Daboll went for it. The fact it did not work does not influence my belief it was the wrong decision. Make them score a TD to win, and even then, you get plenty of time to kick a FG to win the game. Instead, the Defense made the stops and the game was over. But it should not have been that close.
The Giants created two big turnovers. Dex batted a ball and ran the INT back to the 3 yard line. The old Dex was back and he was a handful. Phillips also did the same on a different play. LAC lost Joe Alt, and together with the losses to Slater (preseason) and Becton, they were manhandled by the Giants DL. Note that I saw LAC call at least 3 screens… DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR? ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION TO HOW TO SLOW DOWN A PASS RUSH?! All the same, at the end of the game on the penultimate drive when the Giants had their ears pinned back, Burns had a huge sack on 3rd down that buried most of the Chargers’ chances.
The Giants Defense still has issues with run stops and tackling. Too many penalties. Poor red zone efficiency. They are not well coached and Daboll needs to go.
My play of the game was a subtle one which will not show up in the box score. The Giants are deep in their own zone with 4 minutes left in Q1. It is 3rd and 6 at their own 5 yard line. Dart is calm in the pocket, a few secs elapse, he steps to his right out of the pocket, buys himself another second or two, waves Slayton back towards him, and guns a ball for an 18 yard completion to move the sticks. That was the poise and command we saw in the preseason. That is the reason to be optimistic.
I would like to see Dart use his TEs a lot this season. When Nabers goes down, it does not have to be a death sentence. Try 12 Personnel. Get Bellinger and Johnson on the field as two of your better receiving options, particularly when Slayton is also hobbled by a groin. Kafka must adjust to a world without Nabers. The TE is a QB’s best friend. They move the sticks and they are critical in the red zone. Get those guys involved every week.
Tae Banks is a disaster. He killed the team multiple times. I certainly do not mind the risk of having him on special teams returns, if you know what I mean.
Abdul Carter had 9 pressures today. He has 20 pressures on the season. Yes, he had an Offsides penalty that continued a drive. Yet he is making a regular impact. He forced Herbert to get rid of the ball on a lot of plays, and should have been given a sack but they called Herbert for intentional grounding with the same result.
Other than a killer penalty on GVR and JMS, the OL played pretty solid. Thomas just makes that unit so much better. The 5 sacks were a lot of Dart just holding onto the ball too much.