Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 1 loss to Vikings

The New York Giants were defeated by the Minnesota Vikings in East Rutherford on Sunday afternoon.

The 28-6 loss will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of Giants fans as the team prepares for redemption next week against the Washington Commanders. Nothing appeared to go right for New York as all the problems last season had a spotlight shown on them.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Giants in this loss.

Offense: F

If there were a grade below F, the offense would have gotten it.

To get the good stuff out of the way, Malik Nabers played well with five receptions for 66 yards. He showcased every reason why the Giants drafted him being great at the catch point and an elite separator.

Now for the bad. The offensive line issue that has plagued the Giants for the better part of a decade still persists. Daniel Jones was sacked five times and hit 12 times on the day as the pass protection was as good at stopping traffic as a New York City subway turnstile. To make matters worse, the offensive line had no push in the run game as the team only averaged 3.5 yards per carry.

Jones was also terrible as a passer as he finished the day with a 44.3 passer rating. He threw for 186 passing yards and two interceptions (one for six the other way) averaging 4.4 yards per attempt. The future of this offense looks bleak and a new quarterback in 2025 looks more and more like a reality.

Defense: D

The only thing saving this defense from a failing grade was forcing two turnovers.

While the pass rush looked dangerous throughout the summer it left much to be desired on Sunday. Dexter Lawrence was once again unstoppable, deflecting a pass that became an interception and recording one sack. No other sacks were recorded on the day, and Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux were not the duo people expected.

However, allowing Sam Darnold to complete his first 12 passes and pass for two touchdowns in his first five drives is unacceptable. The secondary could not keep up with the talent that Minnesota had at receiver.

In the past, if the Giants could not stop the pass they would at least be able to semi-stifle the run. This was not the case. Aaron Jones rushed for 94 yards and one touchdown on 6.7 yards per carry. The defense will face an even better rushing attack next weekend in Jayden Daniels so patching up these deficiencies will be a must.

Special Teams: C+

Overall, the special teams unit did its job on Sunday.

Jamie Gillan was a successful punter, averaging 46.3 yards per boot. He pinned the Vikings four times inside the 20-yard line and once at the one-yard line.

Graham Gano also looked good making both of his field goal attempts, the longest coming from 50 yards out.

The only issue on the day was that Darius Slayton muffed a punt. Luckily for Big Blue, Dane Belton recovered it.

Coaching: F

Brian Daboll & Co. did not have their troops ready for the first game of the season. The Giants looked unmotivated and undisciplined committing nine penalties for 95 yards. Outside of team management, Daboll also failed as a play caller, calling an extremely uninventive game script.

The designed quarterback runs were awful as Jones either did not have the blocking or was not explosive enough to hit the holes. The Giants also failed to score a touchdown on any of their three red zone drives.

On the other side of the ball, Shane Bowen could not stop Minnesota in the red zone as they scored a touchdown on both of their trips. He did not put his defensive backs in places to succeed and did not dial up a competent pass rush. This will have to change as the defensive talent appears to be much better than the offensive talent and the defense will need to step up if the Giants want to be in games this season.

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This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 1 loss to Vikings