New York Giants Sunday Seven | Week 4

Seven thoughts from the week that was before the Giants' Week 4 game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Thus far, Giants head coach Joe Judge has said all the right things regarding the Giants football team’s development.

Unfortunately, all the Giants have to show for it right now is an 0-3 record, including a devastating blowout loss to a San Francisco 49ers team that was missing nearly a dozen starters on both sides of the ball. That loss exposed just how long the Giants have to go.

Things certainly don’t look any more promising for the Giants this weekend when they visit the 2-1 Los Angeles Rams for a late Sunday afternoon (East Coast time) matchup.

The injury situation, bleak enough as is with Saquon Barkley and Sterling Shepard both on IR, took another hit this week as safety Jabrill Peppers (ankle) won’t play, and safety Julian Love (knee/ankle) is questionable for this game.

But if there is a bright spot in the land of the Giants, it’s that no one has thrown in the towel just yet, according to Judge.

“We established the buy-in early in our culture and our process by the relationships we established with each individual,” Judge said.

“When they understand collectively as a staff the relationships we have with the team and the way they feed off each other, that helps you go through adversity.”

As Judge also pointed out, there’s a lot more football to be played. But at some point, the Giants, who have been stuck in a rut, need to turn the corner.

If they can do so against the Rams, that would go a long way toward building some confidence and momentum ahead of a critical upcoming stretch of games in which five out of the next six are scheduled to be against division opponents.

And if they don’t gain that momentum, things are only going to get uglier (again) for a Giants team, a 13.5 point underdog this weekend, that has been stuck in an endless rut.

By the Numbers

9 – Cornerback James Bradberry leads the NFL with nine passes defensed.

4- Inside linebacker Blake Martinez leads all NFC linebackers with four tackles for loss through three games this season.

Say What?

Photo by Rich Barnes, USA Today Sports

A Bitter History

Rams head coach Sean McVay’s grandfather, John McVay, was once the Giants' head coach. McVay began his tenure with the Giants in 1976 as an assistant coach. He took over for Bill Arnsparger midway through that season when Arnsparger was fired.

McVay then served as head coach of the Giant until 1978, going 14-23 as a head coach (.378 winning percentage) and was on the sideline for the infamous “Fumble” play against the Philadelphia Eagles.

McVay’s contract was not renewed by the Giants, who in early 1979 had hired George Young as their new general manager. Young hired Ray Perkins to succeed McVay as the head coach.

In a 2017 game with the Giants, Sean McVay’s Rams steamrolled he Giants 51-17, jumping out to a 27-10 halftime lead and then pouring it on with 24 fourth-quarter points to the Giants’ seven in front of the MetLife Stadium crowd.

Offensive Offense

Through three games, the Giants have yet to post a 100-yard rusher. They only have one receiver, Darius Slayton, who has posted a 100-yard receiving game, that coming in Week 1 against the Steelers.

The Giants offense has only made have also only made three trips to the red zone this year on 30 possessions, converting two of those into touchdowns. (Last week against the 49ers, the Giants never saw the red zone.)

Lastly, the Giants offense has yet to crack 300 net yards total of offensive production, coming close in Week 2 against the Bears with 297 yards.

A Season to Forget (So Far)

Tight end Evan Engram is off to his worst season start since entering the NFL in 2017. Engram has 96 yards on 11 receptions and no touchdowns through three games.

By comparison, the three seasons before this one saw him with at least 100 yards receiving and one touchdown recorded in each of his first three games.

Free Gifts

It's not even the holiday season yet, but already the Giants have been generous in the gift department.

Thanks to Giants turnovers, opponents have scored 26 points through three games this season, an average of 8.6 points per game.

Except for last week's blowout by the 49ers, which was a 27-point margin of defeat, had the Giants not spotted the opponent some free points courtesy of their blunders, you can't help but wonder how much closer the games might have been.

For example, the Steelers picked up 10 points off Giants turnovers, which just so happened to be their margin of defeat over the Giants.

And the Bears, who beat the Giants by four points, might have come out on the other end of the ledger had the Giants not spotted them one turnover which the Bears turned into three points.