New York Giants Offensive Starters Need to Play Entire First Half vs. Browns 2
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - JULY 30: New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) during 2017 New York Giants Training Camp on July 30, 2017, at Quest Diagnostics Center in East Rutherford, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The New York Giants need to show off their elite offense in the first half of Monday’s preseason game against the Browns.

The New York Giants should have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL this season, but games aren’t won on paper they’re won on the field. In the first preseason game, the offense struggled mightily against the Steelers. Some of this can be attributed to the fact that Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. did not play.

It was also the fact that the offensive line could not get any push at the point of attack, and the skill set players that did play were not in sync. This is why in the Giants second preseason game Monday night against the Cleveland Browns, the Giants offensive starters need to play the entire first half.

The Giants have to incorporate several new players to the offense such as Brandon Marshall, Evan Engram, and Rhett Ellison. The Giants offense has looked good in practice, but practice against your teammates cannot replicate the intensity of going against an opposing team even if it’s just the preseason.

New York was supposed to have a potent offense last season with Victor Cruz coming back from injury, and the addition of Sterling Shepard. It never materialized.

The starters played sparingly in the preseason, and the offense never got in sync. The offensive woes lasted for the entire regular season. In fact, last season the Giants offense scored a touchdown less per game than they did in 2015 and didn’t score 30 points once.

The Giants need to remember what happened last season and know that it’s imperative that the offense gets some continuity in the preseason. Sure leaving your starters are there for the entire first half may increase the chances of an injury, but injuries can happen at any time.

The Giants need to leave the offense in for the entire first half so that they can try to put together a few scoring drives to build confidence. It would give them a great opportunity to possibly rotate some new offensive linemen in if Ereck Flowers continues to struggle at left tackle.

After the Browns game, they will only have five days to prepare for their third preseason game against the Jets which is essentially a dress rehearsal for the regular season. After that hardly any starts will play in the fourth preseason game.

So time is of the essence for the offense to get on track. If the Giants offense can do this in the preseason, it will serve them well going into the real games. The Giants have as good chance to win the Super Bowl as any team in the league, but that’s only if the offense can live up to expectation.

Jason's first love was football while growing up in northern New Jersey. For the past three years, he has covered the New York Giants, as well as several boxing events along the East Coast.