2023 NFL Power Rankings: New York Giants

Biggest issue on defense: Pressuring the QB

Wink Martindale's defense is built on applying pressure, but the Giants haven't done it consistently enough early in the season. The Giants have just four sacks in the first four games. That's not the recipe for success for a defense whose strength is supposed to be up front with Dexter Lawrence II, Leonard Williams and Kayvon Thibodeaux leading the way. -- Jordan Raanan

Throwing the ball has become laborious. Handing it off without Saquon Barkley doesn't do much. So the Giants' offense has become overly reliant on Daniel Jones making something happen with his legs. He laid everything out there as the Giants clung to hope against the Seahawks, driving to the Seattle 5-yard line while down 14-3. That's when Jones threw a back-breaking pick-six, followed by apparent tension between Jones and Brian Daboll on the sideline. The hell-on-wheels defense did all it could to hold the Seahawks down, minus a few busted plays. But Jones was sacked 10 times and fumbled twice, and it's hard to imagine the other units compensating for that. This offense is just in dire shape right now.

They are an offensive mess right now. The line is awful and Daniel Jones can't get anything going. This was a playoff team last season?

QB Daniel Jones is 0-for-7 on Monday nights, worst in league history. Also, why is the NFL force feeding us this team in prime time almost every week? It gets worse. Big Blue's next two are at Miami, followed by (sigh) a Sunday nighter in Buffalo.

"This is as bad as it can be," ESPN announcer Joe Buck said during the fourth quarter of "Monday Night Football." New York is last in the NFL in scoring (11.5 points per game) and is the only team in the league without a first-half touchdown. Quarterback Daniel Jones got sacked 10 times, threw two picks and lost a fumble. The Giants' three losses have been to teams in the top 10 of these power rankings. So the schedule's bound to let up now, right? They wish. The Giants' next two games are at Miami and at Buffalo.

The Giants are this week's Team That Should Be Thanking The Bears, because they'd be the league's laughingstock if not for the mess in Chicago. The Giants had 11 days to get ready for Monday Night Football against Seattle, and they came out with ... that. The offensive line is still a disaster, and on the rare occasion Daniel Jones had time to throw he made questionable decisions. With Miami and Buffalo coming up next, it's an easy guess that this gets a lot worse before it gets better.

The Giants are really bad. It doesn't seem like they have any plan on offense. Even if they do, they don't have the playmakers to execute it. Brian Daboll had a very good rookie season as head coach, and it's too early to wonder if he's on the Matt Nagy path after winning NFL Coach of the Year his first season ... but that at least has to be creeping into Giants' fans minds.

The playoff win over the Vikings made everyone think the Giants were better than they are — as evidenced by their selection for three prime-time games in 22 days.

Tweets by @EDSFootball