New York Giants Midseason Report Card: Not Making the Grade

The Giants have had very few bright spots this season so far.

Nov 3, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll reacts to an offensive pass interference call negating a Giants touchdown during the second half against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The pieces were supposed to help the New York Giants finally turn the corner and get on track to finish in the league's upper half, record-wise.

An improved and veteran offensive line, a legitimate No. 1 receiver, the most promising looking draft class of general manager Joe Schoen’s three seasons in charge, a beefed up pass rush, head coach Brian Daboll calling the offensive plays–all of that was supposed to help the Giants shed the ugliness of the 2023 season and start eyeing an upward path back to respectability.

But instead, the Giants sit a 2-7 halfway through the season with seemingly many more questions than answers. The team will almost certainly be looking for a new quarterback after this season after Daniel Jones repeatedly proved that he can’t come through in the big spots when a true franchise quarterback needs to.

The team will also likely be re-evaluating its young defensive secondary, which has struggled not only with its play but also with its maturity. They will no doubt realize that one solid-looking draft class (at least so far) might not be near enough to reverse years of prior draft irresponsibilities by the previous regimes.

Schoen and Daboll have already received a vote of confidence from co-owner John Mara, but we’ve heard this song before with other head coaches who were sent packing. 

Granted, this time around, both men are likely to be safe as MAra has realized that he can’t keep starting from scratch with new leadership and philosophies and that these things take time. 

But it’s probably safe to say that if the Giants continue to spin their wheels in 2025, Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch might have their hand forced.

Third downs, explosive plays, and red zone have all been problems.. . Offense. MY-24-Offense. D

Head coach Brian Daboll took over the play calling this year, but it hasn’t seemed to matter. The Giants are dead last in average points per game (15.4), their average slightly worse than 2023, when they finished with 15.6 points per game. 

They’ve also struggled on third-down conversions (36.22%, 22nd), the red zone has been a dead zone for them as far as touchdowns go (40% conversion rate), and the explosive plays (20+ yards) they were counting on this season haven’t been there either–the Giants’ 18 pass plays of 20+ yards are tied for second with the Browns and Bears. 

And the Giants lead the league in dropped passes (24).

In the running game, rookie Tyrone Tracy, Jr. has been a draft-day steal, but overall, the Giants are raked 19, averaging 114.7 yards per game, and are tied for 29th (with the Jets) for ewest rushing touchdowns (5).

The funny thing is the Giants are seventh in average time of possession (31:29), so it’s not as though the opportunities haven’t been there. The execution, however, has not.

Defense. MY-24-Defense. C+. The pass rush has been the star, but the run defense has been terrible..

Brian Burns might not have the eye-popping sack numbers or even lead the team in sacks–that honor belongs to All-World defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II–but his addition to the pass rush has paid off so far. 

Per NextGen Stats, Burns, who has lined up on both the left and the right just about evenly this season, currently leads the Giants with 35 pressures and 17 quick pressures. He also ranks eighth among individual pass rushers regarding pass-rush win rate from the edge (21%).

Speaking of the pass rush, which still leads the league in sacks despite last week’s quiet effort, Lawrence not only leads all defensive tackles in sacks with 9.0,   he has also registered the third-most pressures at the position (28) despite seeing double-teams on a league-high 64.6% of his pass rushes.

The Giants' pass rush, on the whole, has allowed opponents an average time to throw of just 2.73 seconds, eighth in the league.

Conversely, the Giants’ run defense remains a problem, especially when Lawrence is given a breather. New York ranks last in average rushing yards allowed per game (142.6), dead last in average rushing yards per attempt (5.2), and 28th in average rushing yards before contact per attempt (2.13). 

The run defense has also allowed 40 rushing plays of 10+ yards this season, third-most in the league, and ranks 19th with a 16.2% stuff rate.

The pass defense has been better, but a glaring stat that really sticks out like a sore thumb is the unit is ranked 31st in interception rate (.40%) 

MY-24-Specials. C. When it's come to flipping the field, this unit has come up short.. . Special Teams

You almost have to feel for Giants special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial, who has had three kickers and two punters and who also had to change up his kickoff and punt returners this season. 

But that isn’t so much where the problem has been for the Giants special teams, which hasn’t done a good job of flipping the field consistently or making a play that matters when it counts.

The Giants have converted 84.2% of their field goal attempts this season, 19th in the league. Opponents have averaged 31 yards per kickoff return, the sixth-highest average in the league, though their 82% touchback rate is the seventh-best mark this year. 

. Coaching. MY-24-Coaching. F. The little things have added up--and not in a good way.

To be fair, the coaches aren’t the ones who drop passes, miss tackles, or blow assignments. But seeing that Daboll seems to say every week that the Giants’ poor play and outcome starts with him, might as well start there.  

Pre-snap penalties, the ridiculous reliance on analytics, some head-scratching personnel decisions (e.g., not carrying a backup kicker in Week 2, the punt returner fiasco earlier in the year, and the seemingly failed plan at swing tackle that has since been exposed thanks to the Andrew Thomas injury) have all contributed to the mess that the Giants are currently in.

Want more? Why was quarterback Daniel Jones handed back the job coming off a torn ACL, which, before the injury, he wasn’t playing that well? And why not take a slightly tougher stance with corner Deonte Banks the first time his effort became an issue to nip that in the bud?

From a play-calling perspective, Daboll hasn't been bad, though again, we wish he’d rely less on analytics and more on common sense in games. 

Meanwhile, give credit to Shane Bowen for mixing up his game plans, including some that have gone outside his core beliefs and past practices regarding pressure. Things would really be cooking if he could only figure out the run defense issues.

---

More New York Giants Coverage

• Giants OLB Brian Burns Harbors No Ill-will Toward Former Team 

• Giants Week 10 Injury Report: Graham Gano, Jamie Gillan Trending Toward Playing

• Why New York Giants Are Losers at Trade Deadline

• New York Giants Week 10 Storylines

---

JOIN THE NEW YORK GIANTS ON SI COMMUNITY!

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Follow on Instagram.
• Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.