The New York Giants continued their primetime slump on Sunday Night Football, piecing together a futile offensive effort in a 17-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium.
The sluggish performance from quarterback Daniel Jones reignited calls for the team to move on after four straight weeks of solid play. But despite those calls, head coach Brian Daboll intends to stick with Jones, who will be under center on Sunday afternoon against the Philadelphia Eagles.
As we enter Week 7, here’s a look at where the Giants place in a multitude of power rankings.
Nate Davis, USA TODAY: 22 (NC)
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They don’t have a lot of “key” players but nearly all of them have been out of the lineup with injuries. A tribute to HC Brian Daboll – and, frankly, QB Daniel Jones – that the G-Men have remained competitive.
Barry Werner, List Wire: 24 (-7)
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Brian Daboll kept risking it on fourth-down plays. The NBC announcers made it sound like he was coaching for his job. The Bengals were better than the record they brought to MetLife. The Giants might be slightly better than this ranking but not much.
NFL Nation, ESPN: 25 (NC)
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New York’s offensive line is improved, it added a No. 1 wide receiver in Malik Nabers and coach Brian Daboll is calling plays. It’s still not enough. This team struggles to score points … again! The Giants are 29th in the NFL, averaging 16.0 points per game. This is after being 30th in the league with 15.6 PPG last season. “The ultimate goal is to score points,” Daboll said. The Giants just haven’t figured out how to do it consistently.
Kyle Soppe, Pro Football Network: 26 (-1)
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Kyle Soppe, Pro Football Network:
The New York Giants made things interesting against the Bengals in Week 6, yet New York just didn’t have enough firepower to win. While New York’s stout defensive front gave Joe Burrow and the Bengals plenty of problems, they eventually ran out of gas late in the fourth quarter.
New York’s comeback attempt was halted by kicker Greg Joseph, who missed two crucial field goals on Sunday night. Now the Giants will attempt to turn things around against the Eagles in a divisional matchup in Week 7, the start of a three-game stretch (Steelers and Commanders after that) that could position them for an early pick in April.
Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News: 26 (-3)
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Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News:
The Giants have gotten more interesting offense with Brian Daboll unleashing all the youngsters around Daniel Jones, but it hasn’t always been productive. New York has to stop wasting strong defensive efforts.
Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: 26 (-3)
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Week after week, Dexter Lawrence II is making a case as the NFL’s best defensive player. He has seven sacks and his brute force in the middle of New York’s defensive line is stunning at times.
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: 24 (-1)
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Diante Lee, The Ringer: 26 (NC)
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After running all over Seattle’s defense a week ago, I expected New York to do more of the same against a Cincinnati defense that has had trouble stopping the run. But once again, head coach Brian Daboll hasn’t been able to replicate any offensive success from one week to the next. Daniel Jones had 41 passing attempts on Sunday night — a clear sign that Daboll has lost the plot as a play caller. It bears repeating that things didn’t have to be this way had the organization just been honest about needing to part ways with Jones two years ago. Everyone in New York is anchored to a quarterback who can’t get it done.
Eric Edholm, NFL.com: 23 (NC)
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The Giants have scored one touchdown in three games at MetLife Stadium. That came via Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the third quarter Sunday, and the Giants had their chances after that but wilted on three straight fourth-quarter possessions in spite of crossing at least the Cincinnati 36-yard line on all of them. They’re now 0-3 at home this season. Somehow, the Giants are 1-14 in prime-time games under Daniel Jones. In early-window games, he’s thrown for 45 TDs and 20 INTs. In afternoon slots, those numbers are 11 and four, respectively. Yet somehow, he’s thrown for 12 TDs and 20 INTs in those 15 night games, and it was more of the same against the Bengals. He’d played well in recent games, but Jones fell back in this one. He’ll need to rally fast with three tougher games upcoming. And a warning: Jones and the Giants play at Pittsburgh on Monday night in Week 8.
