New York Giants Take a Step Back on Offense in Loss to 49ers

Another week, another loss for the New York Giants.

As has been the case in each of the seven losses this season, at least one of the three units took a step backward.

No, it wasn’t the defense or special teams—the two culprits that you would probably suspect right away.

This time, it was the Giants offense.

That’s right, the Giants offense, which came into this week’s game ranked in the top 10 in the NFC in overall offense (10th), rushing, (eighth) and passing (ninth) took its turn in contributing yet another nail in the 2014 season’s coffin.

Where did it go wrong for the Giants offense? Brace yourselves because it’s not pretty.

The Play-Calling

As the old saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

That’s exactly what offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo did on a critical fourth-quarter drive with the Giants shaving 1st-and-goal on the 49ers' 4-yard line. McAdoo called for three straight fade passes with no success.

Why run three fade passes in a row?

“That’s how we’ve scored a bunch of times,” head coach Tom Coughlin said in his postgame press conference.

Yeah, but not this time, coach. So why not try to run it at least once just to, you know, try to catch the 49ers by surprise?

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

“We did have some runs in the second half—not a lot, but we did have some decent runs. But we’re trying to score,” he said.

Yeah, but again, why not run it in?

“I know what you’re saying,” Coughlin said. “Blame it on me, but we were going to try to score a touchdown right there.”

Okay, so maybe the Giants' run-blocking hasn’t been that great of late, but this week, New York actually move the ball forward instead of taking those countless tackles for zero or negative yardage.

With only four yards to go, why not put the ball in the hands of Rashad Jennings, who finished with a 3.3 yards-per-carry average on the night? Or maybe do something wild and try fullback Henry Hynoski on a power run up the gut, considering he had earlier success in picking up a first down on a four-yard run.

Because they were trying to, as Coughlin said, “score, score, score.”

Instead they “failed, failed, failed.”

The Turnovers

It's one of the oldest axioms in football: Win the turnover battle, and chances are you win the game.

So what does the Giants offense do after primarily taking care of the ball in the last few weeks? It turns the ball over a five times, all interceptions by quarterback Eli Manning.

Granted, not all of the interceptions—and there probably should have been more than five interceptions if not for the 49ers failing to come up with the ball—were Manning’s fault.

The first two were simply poor decisions on the quarterback’s part, especially the second one that he blindly flicked to a nearby 49ers defender.

On two other interceptions, Manning was under pressure, his protection failing him.

The killer, though, is that three of Manning’s picks came deep in enemy territory, the deepest being the fourth-quarter pass from the 49ers' 4-yard line that was picked off on a 4th-and-1.

What’s even worse is that Manning threw interceptions on consecutive series twice in the game.

When the smoke cleared, this was Manning’s worst game as far as turnovers went since last year’s 23-0 drubbing by Seattle—a game in which Manning also threw five interceptions.

“I didn’t expect it. I’ve got to do better,” Manning said. “I’ve got to make better decisions, better throws. They are all on me. It’s nobody else’s fault. I’ve got to protect the ball and can’t afford to turn it over, especially a couple times in field-goal range.”

It’s all well and good that he’s taking ownership.

However, at this point, he’s sounding like a broken record. For whatever the reason, he’s still making his fair share of throws that are head-scratchers because of a miscommunication, poor read or a poor decision.

The Ongoing Deterioration of the Offensive Line

Poor drafting by the front office has left the Giants dangerously thin at certain positions—specifically, the offensive line.

Well, guess what? That came back to haunt them this week, as instead of having draft picks Brandon Mosley and James Brewer active for the game, they instead gave game-day uniforms to free agents Dallas Reynolds and Charles Brown.

Brown, who has spent seven of the team’s first 10 games on the inactive list, probably should have stayed there.

When he entered the game in the first quarter for Justin Pugh (left quad strain), the 49ers took immediate advantage, turning Brown into a human turnstile.

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

As a result, the 49ers finished with seven quarterback hits, 2.0 sacks and a dozen or so pressures against quarterback Eli Manning.

It wasn’t all on Brown, though. John Jerry, the right guard, contributed to the party as he lost more of his matchups against defensive lineman Ray McDonald than he won.  

David Richard/Associated Press

The bottom line is that the front office didn’t do much to improve the offensive line in the offseason. Weston Richburg, the team's second-round pick and future center, is playing out of position.

Right tackle Pugh, injury or no injury, hasn’t played well at all this year. Jerry remains Pro Football Focus' worst run-blocker among Giants linemen, with center J.D. Walton a close second.

The worst part is the Giants don’t seem to have any other options besides the possibility of adding Geoff Schwartz, who has been on the temporary injured reserve list, back to the 53-man roster by Monday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline.

Even so, Schwartz might not be the answer right away, as he is almost certain to be rusty after nearly three months of inactivity.

No Medals for Trying

Those who tend to look at the glass being half-full will likely point out that the Giants' 16-10 loss to the 49ers is actually the smallest margin of defeat suffered by the Giants this season, and they would be correct.

While Coughlin might be pleased with the effort from the offense this week, there are recurring issues on the offense that have otherwise been overshadowed by the problems elsewhere on the team.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football and The SportsXchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.