Giants know they need to start scoring more points

There was not an argument to be had. There was no need to debate data points against what was seen over the course of three hours.

“We got to score more points,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said during his Zoom interview with reporters Monday afternoon.

Daboll, Wan’Dale Robinson and Jermaine Eluemunor weren't happy with the offensive performance the Giants put forth in Sunday night’s 17-7 loss to the Bengals.

For a few reasons.

The most obvious of which is that they could have truly inserted themselves into the NFC East division race and more broadly, the NFC playoff picture, on a day in which the Eagles were decidedly unimpressive in their win over the Browns while the Cowboys and Commanders lost. 

Instead, the Giants are 2-4 and in last place in the division.

“Being honest, it sucks,” Eluemunor said. “You felt like you should have won but you just didn’t execute enough to win that game.”

To his point, the prime-time game was still in doubt until Chase Brown’s 30-yard touchdown run with 1:52 left.

Joe Burrow did not throw a touchdown pass, though the Giants let him run for a 47-yard score. Tee Higgins (seven catches for 77 yards) and Ja’Marr Chase (five catches for 72 yards) were kept relatively in check. Still, the Bengals (2-4) left MetLife Stadium with a win despite an off night on offense.

Because, outside of one 16-play, 79-yard march that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Tyrone Tracy Jr., the Giants were unable to score against an opponent that — even after allowing seven points Sunday night — is allowing 25.3 points per game.

“There [were] plays out there to be made,” Robinson said. “Whether that's from us making a throw, a block, the execution just wasn’t there all the way [and we] can’t hurt ourselves, just going backwards and things like that. So at the end of the day, just execute.”

The Giants had 11 possessions. Outside of the touchdown, four ended with punts, two ended with turnovers on downs and another two in the fourth quarter ended with kicker Greg Joseph missing wide left on 47 and 45-yard field goals. There was also Daniel Jones’ interception which halted what had been up to that point an effective drive and the kneel down to end the first half.

It didn't help that the Giants were unable to stretch the field as they recorded only 10 plays of at least 10 yards, and none longer than 15 yards.

What would have been their biggest play, Darius Slayton’s 56-yard catch-and-run late in the first half, was negated by left tackle Andrew Thomas for being ineligible downfield.

“We know what we [have] to do,” Robinson said. “We know we [have] to put up points for us to win and seven points isn’t going to do it. So we know we have to execute in the red zone. That’s really the big thing. Being able whenever we get down there, executing and putting the ball in the end zone.”

So, then, is there anything for them to build upon with Saquon Barkley and the Eagles coming to town Sunday?

Actually, yes.

The Giants possessed the ball for 34:07, spanning 74 plays. They gained 309 yards of offense — 190 passing and 119 on the ground — and had a 24-13 advantage in first downs.

“There [are] things that are improving in areas,” Daboll said. “There [weren't] a lot of negative plays. We’re staying in the positive for the most part. But our inability I would say this game to generate explosive plays — whether that’s through the run or through the air — is not where I want it to be right now. So we’ll keep doing it, keep calling [the offensive plays] and we’ve got to keep on improving in that area because 16-play drives for touchdowns [are] hard to do on a consistent basis.”

Notes & quotes: Daboll did not have an update on Thomas, who suffered a foot injury at some point during the Giants’ touchdown drive in the third quarter but remained in the game. Afterward, he said he was feeling “not great,” and was told he needed an MRI . . . According to Daboll, Joseph is likely to be the kicker Sunday if Graham Gano (hamstring) cannot play. “He's [been] pretty good since he's been here,” Daboll said of Joseph. “And then, we missed two of them.”