How Broncos can Exploit Giants' Offensive Weakness

The Giants have a prominent weak spot on offense and it plays right into a strength for the Broncos’ defense.

If there the New York Giants have one glaring weakness on offense, it's their offensive line, and the Denver Broncos are in a position to exploit it with gusto. The whole Broncos defense is strong, but their defensive line and edge rushers are among the best in the NFL. 

This could lead to the exploitation of a struggling Giants' O-line. With Von Miller on the edge, and hopefully Bradley Chubb if healthy, the Giants' tackles could be strained, forcing New York to keep additional help in to block. 

That would open up the middle where Shelby Harris and Dre’Mont Jones should win their matchups. Saying the Giants’ offensive line is a weakness is an understatement, especially when looking at their moving pieces.

The Giants have Andrew Thomas at left tackle — the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. He had a terrible rookie campaign and his preseason this year showed signs of regression. 

After giving up 10 sacks last year, or one every 61.5 pass-blocking snaps, the Giants hope for more. However, Thomas' one sack per 39 pass-blocking snaps in the preseason isn’t a good sign that he's turned the ship around. 

With the other pass rushers, Thomas will be left on an island a lot to deal with either Chubb — if his ankle doesn't keep him from playing. If Chubb can't go, or Malik Reed and Jonathon Cooper should feast on Thomas. 

As for the Giants' left guard, they will try and play Shane Lemieux, who has a partially torn patellar tendon. If he can’t make it through the game, it goes to Ben Bredeson, who they just acquired from the Baltimore Ravens before the cut-down deadline. 

Playing a guy who has a leg injury at a position that puts a lot of weight and torque on it isn’t a good idea, and Bredeson is still learning the blocking calls upfront. Whatever ends up happening here, Harris should have a good day for Denver.

New York's center position is manned by Nick Gates, who struggled last year in both run blocking and pass protection. He didn’t give up any sacks on the year and only 16 pressures, which was about the middle-of-the-pack for centers, but he was penalized eight times.

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When Denver has Mike Purcell out there at nose tackle, his strength will be hard to handle for Gates. Now, Purcell won’t be out there every snap, and when he isn’t, Gates will either hold a one-on-one matchup or be tasked with helping a double team on the interior.

Will Hernandez is moving over to right guard while returning from an injury suffered late last year. Switching sides isn’t easy, and many former NFL offensive linemen compare it to trying to do everything with your non-dominant hand, which can prove tricky for Hernandez. 

On top of that, he isn’t the most agile of blockers, though coming straightforward, he has plenty of power as a run blocker. Working against Jones will test Hernandez's agility and quickness, especially in pass protection.

The final piece is the Giant's right tackle, poised to face off against Miller, a man on a mission after his injury last year. That job falls to fellow 2011 draft classmate Nate Solder, who opted out last year because of COVID. Both players coming back from a year away could lead to a very interesting battle between these veterans

There is potential with the Giants’ offensive line, but they have to see giant steps forward in the play from both of their tackles. New York's strongest spot is at center and right guard, but the Broncos have a chance to exploit both. 

This should lead to multiple big plays from the Broncos’ defensive line and help out their secondary against a quarterback in Daniel Jones who struggles under pressure.

This game will be won or lost in the trenches, and between the two groups, the Broncos’ defensive line has the most significant advantage. That doesn’t mean the Giants’ defensive line is terrible, as it is a solid unit; they don’t have as many avenues to win against the Broncos’ offensive line. 

Nevertheless, Denver should win upfront enough offensively and consistently enough on defense to strain the Giants.

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