Cover 3: Observations from Giants vs. Vikings in Week 1

Matt Citak: The Giants made it a priority over the offseason and summer to push the ball downfield more, but they were unable to do so in Week 1, finishing with just one attempt and completion of 20+ yards. A big part of the reason was the Vikings’ defensive plan, as it seemed like Minnesota made it a priority not to allow anything deep. Brian Flores’ defense played zone coverage on nearly 86 percent of their plays while blitzing only 22.4 percent of the time. Additionally, the Vikings played split-safety coverage on nearly 70 percent of the defensive snaps, which seemed to cause trouble for the Giants’ offense.

“We certainly called the plays,” Daboll said about the team’s lack of deep shots. “Sometimes they take them away. We’ve got to do a better job all the way around. It starts with me.”

Daboll added, “Well, they played a bunch of soft shell, split safety stuff. They did. Again, I’m going to go back and watch it. We can do everything better, but it all starts with me.”

While it’s tough to come out of Sunday’s game with many positives, two players in particular deserve a shout out – left tackle Andrew Thomas and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. The stalwarts of the Giants’ offensive and defensive lines, respectively, played well in the season opener. Thomas played every offensive snap, including 52 pass-blocking snaps, and did not allow a single pressure, according to PFF. The former second-team All-Pro tackle is healthy and looks to be back at his 2022 form, which is an encouraging sign for the offensive line as a whole.

As for Lawrence, the 26-year-old showed in the opener why he’s one of the NFL’s top defensive tackles. Lawrence generated seven pressures, including one sack, on just 20 pass rush snaps, according to NGS, resulting in the highest single-game pressure rate of his career. His average get-off of 0.89 seconds would have tied him for fourth among all defensive tackles with 250+ pass rush snaps last season. If Lawrence can continue generating consistent pressure on the interior, things should open up for Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the edge.