New York Giants Defense
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Strong safety Jabrill Peppers exited the New York Giants’ Week 3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday.

There’s no sugar coating it — the New York Giants‘ 36-9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3 was a total debacle. Big Blue’s secondary was putrid and allowed Nick Mullens to throw for 343 yards, and the absence of Jabrill Peppers certainly contributed to that.

The fourth-year strong safety exited the game early and didn’t return, and now, it seems Peppers suffered a low ankle sprain. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the news Monday morning.

It’s unclear if Peppers will miss time with this health-related setback. It wouldn’t be the first time injuries forced him to sit on the sideline — he missed the final five games of the 2019 campaign due to a transverse process fracture.

Peppers was on the field for just nine defensive snaps during the loss, while Julian Love played the majority of the game (88% of the team’s defensive snaps). Nate Ebner, who’s much more of a special teams ace, was on the field for 13 defensive snaps. He’s seen defensive playing time in each of the last two games despite the fact that the Giants didn’t sign him to fill that type of role.

Not having Peppers for the Week 4 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams would be a tough situation for New York. This defensive backfield needs to step up against a strong Rams passing attack led by fifth-year quarterback Jared Goff. Los Angeles is currently sixth in the league with 279.3 passing yards per game.

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