LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE
Giants haven’t hit 30 in nearly 2 years
Jan. 3, 2016 is a pretty significant date in recent Giants history.
It was the last game Tom Coughlin coached, a 35-30 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, dropping the Giants to a 6-10 record for the second straight year.
It was also the last time the Giants offense scored at least 30 points in a game.
The 30-point threshold is a rare feat to accomplish for Big Blue these days, but not so much the rest of the league.
Since the start of the 2016 season, the Giants are one of just three teams — also the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears — to have failed to score 30 points in a regular season game.
Every other team in the league has managed to accomplish that feat at least twice in that time frame.
It is perhaps the most striking stat of the Ben McAdoo era, especially considering the Giants had a top-10 offense under his tutelage as offensive coordinator for two seasons.
The Giants ranked sixth in points scored and eighth in yards per game in 2015. They scored at least 30 points in seven games that season, accounting for five of their six wins.
However, since his promotion to head coach, the offensive firepower has crumbled into ashes.
The Giants enter a Week 12 matchup against the Raiders with a 2-9 record and 31st in the league in points (172) and points per game (15.6), ranking ahead of only the 0-11 Browns.
They have scored at least 24 points just once in their last 16 regular season games and failed to reach 20 points in 11 of those games.
“We’re not playing great football offensively,” said Eli Manning the day after a 20-10 loss to Washington. “It’s not the style of football I’m used to playing. Not being able to complete the ball, so yeah, it’s frustrating. It’s tough.”
Of course, you cannot ignore the numerous injuries the Giants have suffered this year, particularly those to All-Pro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and veteran Brandon Marshall, who were lost for the season in Week 5.
Wide receiver Sterling Shepard has also missed four games while the offensive line has been a revolving door of new bodies and guys switching positions.
Still, the Giants have a two-time Super Bowl champion in Manning but even he has not been the best quarterback who calls MetLife Stadium home this season.
Thirty-eight year-old journeyman Josh McCown has led the Jets to four wins and has thrown more touchdowns (17) and for a higher completion percentage (67.5) than Manning (14 TDs, 62.5 completion percentage).
The Jets rank 12 spots higher than the Giants in points scored, at 19, and McCown has done it without anyone as talented as Shepard or Evan Engram at his disposal. Instead, he has made the most with middling veteran Jermaine Kearse and undrafted second-year receiver Robby Anderson.
The Giants also have not gotten much from the running game, rushing for 1,004 yards as a team this season, seventh worst in the league.
The Giants have tried different remedies, adjusting the offense for Manning to get the ball out quicker behind a shoddy offensive line and McAdoo relinquishing play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan. Those moves have proven to be fruitless. Last week, Manning said the remaining five games are going to be about pride, and with jobs on the line, the Giants will need to show some sort of progress and level of respectability or there will be a lot of new faces around next season.
“We got to be committed and all in,” Manning said. “And do everything you can these last five games to make sure we get a better
product on the field.”