New York Giants Playing in a Bear Market

From the desk: DO IT FOR THE DUKE

WEEK THREE

Cowboys  23

GIANTS    16

FINAL

The Giants essentially played the same game for a third consecutive week.  Although they escaped with a victory in their first two games - outscoring their opponents by a mere four points - reality finally caught up with them in week three.

Daniel Jones got off to a decent start with a string of completions.  But the opening drive stalled, punctuated by a blocked field goal attempt.  The Giants drove 51 yards on 14 plays on their next possession before stalling again.  This time Graham Gano kicked the pigskin through for three points.

And there's the rub ...

For a third consecutive week, Gano and the Giant defense have kept the team in the game and in a position to win.  

I saw a little bit of bend don't break.  The defense limited the Cowboys to field goals in the first and second quarter as the Giants entered the half trailing by only three.  Gano would kick two more field goals, and Saquon Barkley rushed for a touchdown.  

Did the defense give that TD right back?  Sure they did.  In fact, Ezekiel Elliot rushed for 73 yards, and Tony Pollard romped for another 105 yards on 13 carries.  Did the defense make Cooper Rush look good?  Sure they did.  The guys up front recorded nary a sack and just two QB hits all game.

Meanwhile, Daniel Jones got sacked five times and endured a dozen more QB hits.  The Giant offensive line has now yielded 13 quarterback sacks in three games.  Jones also lost his leading wide receiver, Sterling Shepard.  

Meanwhile, some things remain unchanged; I don't want my quarterback accounting for 79 of 167 ground yards.  Otherwise, Jones finished 20/37 for 196 yards with an interception.  Playing under massive duress, he has yet to surpass 200 yards passing through three games and has as many turnovers as touchdown passes.

Said another way, Saquon Barkley and Graham Gano cannot carry this team alone, and after three games, Daniel Jones is not trending well.

Cooper Rush, who was making his third career start in only his 13th career game, outplayed Daniel Jones.  

Or is the offensive line still this team's greatest weakness?

The Bears will supply a short-term answer.