New York Giants Keys To Victory Prediction
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

For the first time since the 2017 campaign, the New York Giants have started out 0-3, most recently losing to the 49ers.

If there was going to be one victory for the New York Giants this year, especially considering their brutal schedule, it was going to be Sunday’s matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. The defending NFC champions entered the game extremely banged-up with numerous backups across the board. Jimmy Garoppolo, Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, George Kittle, Dee Ford, Dre Greenlaw, Nick Bosa, Solomon Thomas, and Richard Sherman all missing.

But as some expected, the Giants couldn’t get the job done for their inaugural win of this young season. Yes, you read that right.

This Giants team, despite missing Saquon Barkley and Sterling Shepard, couldn’t even find a way to oust a battered 49ers squad on its home turf.

I understand that sometimes fans make the “0-16” jokes and the “No. 1 overall pick” jokes as well. But now that we’ve seen this ballclub essentially hit new lows, will those wisecracks actually become reality?

As far as Sunday’s 36-9 loss at MetLife Stadium is concerned, nothing went right for the Giants…except for Graham Gano knocking through all three of his field-goal attempts.

A run game couldn’t be established for the life of this putrid Giants team, as Daniel Jones emerged as the ballclub’s leading rusher with 49 yards on the ground. Even Devonta Freeman, who Big Blue inked to a one-year deal this past week, only conjured up 10 yards on five carries.

This is not just because of the offensive line’s below-average play, but the inability for the Giants running backs to really portray significant talent. You can already tell this team misses Barkley, a guy who it won’t have back until the 2021 season.

Jones’ turnover woes continued. The initial fumble, which occurred on a toss to Evan Engram, was more so the fourth-year tight end’s fault, but the interception later in the game on a pass intended for him certainly wasn’t.

The young quarterback now has six turnovers in just three games, including four picks. This matches up with just two touchdown passes, as the numbers aren’t great whatsoever for the 2019 first-round draft selection.

New York’s defensive unit additionally couldn’t get off the field. The Niners nearly doubled the Giants in time of possession, finding themselves with the ball for nearly 40 minutes in comparison to 20 for Big Blue. The secondary, a unit that came in as the second-best in the league, allowed 49ers backup quarterback Nick Mullens to throw for 343 yards on 25-of-36 passing.

The 49ers additionally didn’t punt. Not once.

And finally, the effort seemed lackluster towards the end, something we didn’t expect under the Joe Judge regime. On two separate San Francisco touchdowns, the ball carrier essentially walked in untouched, with not a defender really in the vicinity, or if there was one, it was a defender that couldn’t shed a block and make the crucial tackle.

The impatience and disgust are growing among these fans. The issues in and around this ballclub are still existent and don’t seem like they’re going to disappear anytime soon. And with a number of tough games approaching, including ones against the Rams, Cowboys, Eagles, Buccaneers, and Seahawks, this Giants season could become even uglier than it already is.

Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.