National Football League

The Giants offense is a disaster (again). Here are four ways they can fix it

Published Sep. 27, 2023 4:52 p.m. ET

Everything seemed so promising for the New York Giants and their offense this summer. Tight end Darren Waller looked unstoppable in training camp. Rookie receiver Jalin Hyatt was wowing everyone with his speed. Receivers Parris Campbell and Darius Slayton looked like they could give the rookie a good race, too.

They were adding all that to an offense with a healthy Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones, who had already proven he was a dangerous running threat. Maybe they weren't quite ready to be the Kansas City Chiefs, or perhaps the Miami Dolphins, but they were convinced their offense was going to be good.

So what happened? How did they add all that talent and still turn into an offensive disaster so fast?

At the moment, the Giants don't seem to have any answers, but they clearly know there is a big, big problem. They have regressed and turned into one of the worst offenses in the NFL, averaging just 253.3 yards per game. They are the second-lowest scoring team in football, averaging just 14.3 points. That's down a full touchdown from the 21.4 points they averaged last season. It's even below the 15.8 points per game they averaged in Joe Judge's two miserable years with Jason Garrett and Freddie Kitchens calling his offense plays.

And don't forget, almost all of their offense — 47.1 percent of their yards and 72.1 percent of their total points — came in the second half of their 31-28 win in Arizona.

Take away those two quarters and the Giants offense becomes historically bad.

Maybe a lot of the problems can be traced to the offensive line, which is continuing a decade-long tradition of being a major problem — amplified by the injury to left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) that sidelined him in San Francisco on Thursday night. Jones has been pressured on 46.7 percent of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. He's simply not getting much time to throw.

But that just can't explain everything that's gone wrong for this offense through the first three games. They have some good weapons on the field who can help them, and there are some things they have the ability to do well. Giants coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka just have to figure out a way to make it happen, even if the line doesn't hold up.

And here are four things they need to do:

1. Use Darren Waller more — a lot more

The trade for Waller was their big offseason move and they raved about him all summer long, when the Giants defense couldn't cover him. He caught everything thrown his way. He was always open. Granted it was in shorts and against a questionable defense, but the skills were there.

So why aren't the Giants using him more? Waller (12 catches, 132 yards) been targeted on 20 of Jones' 97 throws, which seems like a lot, except that five of those came in the second half against Arizona. He also should be exactly what the Giants need to help out a quarterback under siege — a tight end who can get open quickly for an outlet pass.

If he becomes Jones' No. 1 hot read and Jones keeps hitting him with short passes every time protection breaks down, defenses will have to hold back and account for that. With a struggling offensive line, he's the perfect weapon for a counterattack.

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2. Let Daniel Jones run.

The 49ers made keeping Jones inside the pocket a priority last Thursday, especially with Barkley out. And teams have seemed to use a spy on Jones a lot more than they did last year. But Jones isn't an average running quarterback. He ran for 708 yards last year — fifth-best at his position.

This year, though, he's run just 24 times (for 107 yards), including eight times in the second half against the Cards. Against the 49ers, they didn't even bother trying to run him. He only ran twice for 5 yards.

That's a coaching decision — and a strange one. With Barkley out, the Giants abandoned their play-action and RPO game, which is basically the meat of their offense. And if they couldn't deceive the 49ers defense with those plays, Jones was a sitting duck. And what a waste! Jones on the run was the Giants' best play last season. There's no excuse not to use it.

At least let him try. At least let him make the defense think that he's going to take off. The Giants had enough problems against the 49ers on Thursday night. Without Jones legs, they were completely one-dimensional.

3. Don't bury Jalin Hyatt.

This one is tricky, because Hyatt is a deep-ball, big-play threat, but even with his speed those plays need time to develop. And time is really the one thing that Jones doesn't have the luxury of behind his offensive line.

But at least they should try. Hyatt, the fastest player on the Giants, was in for just 16 snaps on Thursday night. Daboll blamed that on the Giants' overall lack of offensive plays, but Hyatt was still out there only 32 percent of the time. It's also true that Daboll was forced to use "heavy" formations more frequently because of the line problems.

Still, in a game where speed matters, he's got to find ways to get Hyatt on the field. That speed is special and he can make things happen, as he showed with his two catches for 89 yards in the second half against Arizona.

Unfortunately, those are Hyatt's only two catches of the season. And he's only been targeted one other time. He's too good to allow that to happen. What's the use in drafting a weapon like that in the third round if you're not even going to try to use it?

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4. Even with Barkley out, don't abandon the run.

The Giants are a running team, not a passing team. Even with their offensive line problems, that's what they do best. Which made it a very curious decision that Jones only handed off eight times in San Francisco while dropping back to throw 34 times.

Clearly, Daboll doesn't trust backup running backs Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell, but in fairness to Breida he did gain 17 yards on his four carries (4.3 yards per rush). And it's not like they were down big for most of the game. They were down 11 points at halftime and even in the fourth quarter it was still a one-score game.

Here's the thing about running the football: It doesn't always have to be successful. Sometimes offenses just need to show other teams they're willing to do it. All it takes is one run to break and it can open everything else up. Besides, the Giants don't have the personnel to be a pass-first team. Their weapons aren't good enough and their protection won't hold up.

By not running, they played to their weakness and took away their own strength more than anything the 49ers did to them on defense. They can't keep doing that while holding their breath until Barkley comes back. They have to stick to what they do best—and at least try to do it well.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.