2023 NFL Power Rankings: New York Giants

Lesson learned: The offensive line is holding them back.

There is no way around it. It doesn't even matter who is at quarterback. The Giants are going to struggle scoring points and sustaining offense behind this makeshift offensive line. No wonder they've now gone 205 minutes (three-plus games) without an offensive touchdown. Giants quarterbacks are under too much duress for success -- getting sacked on 12.7% of dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the league. -- Jordan Raanan

Has a team ever lost a game like the Giants did Sunday, finishing both halves at the 1-yard line? Between the pre-halftime fiasco and end-game letdown, this was the cruelest way to squander Big Blue's best defensive performance in recent memory. For three quarters, New York kept Josh Allen off the board, holding Buffalo to fewer than 150 yards. Brian Daboll seemed to expect even more from that unit when he kicked the field goal on fourth-and-1 from Buffalo's 11-yard line early in the fourth, all but wasting a great Saquon Barkley drive. Tyrod Taylor did a lot of good things, but his pre-halftime clock error cost the Giants three points. Daboll opted not to go for four more on that fourth-quarter field goal, and Darren Waller could have had six on the final play. The Giants lost by five.

Competing at Buffalo and falling short is progress. The defense played well, but they just don't score on offense, and now Daniel Jones could be out for a long time.

ESPN Stats & Info sums up their start pretty well, noting the G-Men are the fourth team since 1950 which failed to score an offensive touchdown before halftime in each of their first six games. In fact, New York's offense hasn't scored a TD since Week 3.

New York's final possession of both halves Sunday ended at the Buffalo 1-yard line and without producing any points. That's kind of a theme this year for the Giants, who haven't scored an offensive touchdown since Week 3. New York has scored five offensive touchdowns this season, and four of them came in the second half against Arizona in Week 2.

Injuries have been an issue (starting quarterback Daniel Jones missed Sunday's game), but lots of teams have had injuries and managed more than 10.7 offensive points per game, which ranks last in the league.

It's amazing how noticeable it is when a team has a solid game plan and looks geared up and ready to go. The Giants' offensive line is still a mess, and Tyrod Taylor started for Daniel Jones. Despite that, this was the feistiest we've seen New York play all season.

The focus was on the Giants ending each half Sunday night on Buffalo's 1-yard line without scoring either time, but it's worth commending New York on its effort. For the first 20 quarters of the season, the Giants were horrible for 18 of them. They fought hard on Sunday night despite numerous injuries. There's something to be said for that.

"We didn't get embarrassed in prime time" counts as progress.

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