What Went Wrong for the New York Giants Defense in Week 2 Loss?

In a heartbreaking Week 2 loss to division rival Washington Commanders, the New York Giants struggled on defense, both against the run and on third-down. 

I studied the tape to determine what went wrong for this Giants defensive front. Here are my findings.

The Washington Commanders’ personnel groupings on running plays put stress on the Giants’ defense with spacing with their defensive line splits. The wider the splits between each DL, the more advantageous the blocking angles will be. 

The Commanders work in 11 (3WRs, 1TE, 1RB) and 12 personnel (2WRs, 2TEs, 1RB), mostly out of shotgun formation. This resulted in the Commanders running against a light front with less than eight defenders in the box on 83% of their rush attempts. The Giants stacked the box against Washington on 8.6% of their attempts.

The Commanders successfully ran outside and inside zone variations with a good mixture to keep the defense off-balance. The linebacker play hurt the Giants’ run defense quite a bit. 

They were overly aggressive, triggering downhill to clog lanes rather than reading and reacting to fit the run properly. They sprinkled some counters and misdirection runs to force defenders to think rather than react to plays developing in real-time.

Washington’s use of quarterback Jayden Daniels’s ability to improvise on passing downs with his legs and orchestrate designed quarterback runs added another dimension to their run game that gave the Giants’ defense fits. 

Daniels’s presence in the mesh point in zone read calls was enough to hold Brian Burns and the other defensive ends outside to keep him contained from hitting the perimeter at full speed. 

The Commanders’ offensive line did a good job double-teaming the interior defensive linemen before climbing to the second level to pick off linebackers. They created nice running lanes for the running backs to hit quickly or cut back into.

The Giants’ third-down issues stemmed from struggling to stop the Commanders’ rushing attack when needed. The Commanders were 7 of 14 on third downs and ran the ball for 86 yards on six attempts. The combination of their running backs finding daylight and Daniels using his legs hurt the Giants multiple times. 

Only six of their 14 third down attempts needed nine or more yards to convert—with two attempts needing eight or more yards. Simply put, the Commanders offense was in favorable or manageable third-down situations. 

The Giants need to force opposing offenses into more difficult third-down situations where the running game is not a part of the game plan. Forcing teams into longer downs and distances on third downs will make them more predictable with their play calling and the game script. 

This will increase their defensive efficiency and getting off the field. Considering the pass rush talent they possess with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, stopping the run must be a priority after this porous performance.

Going into Week 3, the Giants’ defense must ensure they are not as vulnerable versus the run as they were versus Washington. Improved block shedding on the defensive line and better instinctive play from the linebackers will assist in this area.