The Giants’ offense looked largely uninspiring in Sunday’s 13-7 win over the Eagles.
With Freddie Kitchens replacing Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator, the Giants managed one touchdown and 264 yards — against a defense that entered the game 20th in Pro Football Focus’ ratings.
To give you an idea of how terrible Garrett was, the Giants actually gained fewer yards than that in three games this season — and in three games last season, too.
The Giants went 1 of 3 in the red zone Sunday, showing once again why they are the NFL’s worst red-zone offense — down from last season’s ranking of 31st.
But yes, on a short week — after Monday night’s loss in Tampa — the Giants got a win Sunday, in a tough spot for their offense ... and did it almost entirely because of their defense. Kitchens, though, also incorporated an approach — play calling with the help of quarterback Daniel Jones’ wristband — that maybe, just maybe, could help Jones down the stretch.
In the final six games for the 4-7 Giants, they need to get some more definitive answers about Jones — and about whether he can actually develop into a franchise quarterback.
In order to do that, it would help — you’d think — to make him comfortable. Part of accomplishing that involves calling plays in an efficient manner that gives Jones enough time to process the defensive alignment — and adjust if needed.
Which is where the wristband — and the play names printed on it — comes in.
Jones had never worn one in his entire career before Sunday. Here’s essentially how it worked: Kitchens radioed a play call — or a shortened version of it, at least — to Jones’ helmet, and Jones referred to the wristband, in order to lock in the play call.
“I thought it went well,” Jones said. “Something we practiced throughout the week and got used to over the course of the week. I thought the communication was good. The way we were calling it in, we used it a good bit.”
And that part — in-game communication with the play caller — is critical for any quarterback adjusting to a new coordinator after a midseason firing. Jones said he’s not sure if he and Kitchens will use the wristband in coming games, but it sounds like they just might.
“I think it worked well,” Jones said. “There’s no issues with it. We’ll keep working through it.”
Of course, a wristband-reliant system of calling plays doesn’t mean Jones will suddenly transform into a star during this season’s final six games. But it might help him.
He played solidly Sunday — 19-of-30 passing, 202 yards, one touchdown, no turnovers, and a 94.0 quarterback rating. And the no turnovers part is huge for Jones, since he had 49 turnovers (29 interceptions, 20 lost fumbles) in his first 37 career games entering Sunday.
A bigger challenge awaits Kitchens and Jones next week in Miami, which had PFF’s 10th-rated defense before Sunday. The Dolphins have won four straight games, while holding opponents to 10, 17, 10, and nine points — with 198, 380, 304, and 272 yards allowed.
Three of those wins are over the Jets, Panthers, and Texans, who are 26th, 29th, and 32nd in PFF’s offensive ratings. So the Dolphins’ defense has feasted on ineffective offensive teams — which is exactly what the Giants are (28th in PFF’s ratings before Sunday).
The Giants already know they’ll have a new full-time offensive coordinator next season (perhaps Kitchens). And they’ll almost certainly have a new general manager, with Dave Gettleman heading for a firing. Will they also have a new quarterback?
That’s the big, lingering question that Jones — with the help of Kitchens and, maybe, that wristband — will now try to answer in his favor.
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Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com.
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