NY Giants Week 8 Offensive Review: Playmakers Desperately Needed

Slayton continued his non-support of his quarterback with yet another drop of a perfectly thrown slant.  Dart kept on going to the right man most of the day, but kept coming up empty.  

On the negative side, he held onto the ball too often, passing up some open short receivers in hopes of a downfield play that never materialized.  We like that Dart is always looking for the big play downfield, but he’s gotta soften up the defense a bit better with those short throws, if only to keep them on their toes.  

Though he danced away from the pressures that holding onto the ball creates, he wasn’t always productive outside the pocket.  Waiting for deep patterns to develop, which requires holding onto the ball, also requires the proper reading of the defense.  

The good news is that Dart isn’t throwing the ball out of panic or into traffic when he can’t find his man.  

His pocket awareness and avoidability remain huge weapons.  All he needs is a little help out there.  When he gets that help, his game should become quicker, and he’ll stop taking so many hits.  

There were a couple of big hits out there that could have been avoided.  Dart needs to keep himself on the field.  He did slide once, which is a step in the right direction.  

At 2-6, this team isn’t going to sniff the playoffs this year, but getting Dart as much experience as he can will only make him and his team better down the road.  

It’s been a long road for long-suffering Giants fans, but having Dart behind center is a huge fill on the organizational depth chart.  

This season is all about developing the team’s franchise quarterback.  There are plenty of other question marks, but the starting quarterback job is not one of them.  

At the very least, Dart has made this team a fun and interesting watch.

Running Backs

⏹Cam Skattebo

Early on, Skattebo was punching away at the Eagles’ underbelly with three physical inside runs for 12 yards.  

When the offense entered the red zone, Skattebo was sent to the flat, where he beat an Eagles outside linebacker on an option route.  

Once the outside linebacker went outside, Skattebo quickly darted inside of him.  His quarterback was in total sync with the adjustment and hit him right in the numbers for the too-easy 18-yard touchdown.  

Alas, on the offense’s next possession, Skattebo was bent over on a short middle throw and suffered a dislocated ankle, requiring emergency surgery and rendering him done for the rest of the season.  

What a terrible loss, losing one of the offense’s few legit playmakers.  We are hopeful that he and Malik Nabers will return healthy for the 2026 season, giving their rambunctious franchise quarterback two big-playmakers he desperately seeks. 

⏹Tyrone Tracy, Jr.

Taking over for Skattebo, Tracy had 39 yards rushing on 10 carries and two catches for 14 yards in the air.  

He was able to slash through several creases and finish several of his runs with power.  

It was a decent effort from the second-year man, who simply lacks any special qualities to be a legit starting running back, but who is an ideal rotation back, though.

⏹Devin Singletary

Proving his value as a veteran in an admittedly very minor role, this 28-year-old, playing in his seventh NFL season, got only two rushing attempts today, gained zero yards, and yet was one of the few skill position players to help his quarterback.  

On a deep wheel route, Singletary had a step on his man, but the ball was underthrown.  Not to be deterred, Singletary reached down to his ankles, went and got it while falling to the ground with a defender all over him.  

It was a spectacular play, one of the few big plays made by this very questionable skill group.  

With Skattebo out, look for Singletary to take over most of the third-down back duties, as he is as reliable as the day is long, having seen it all, and is an especially good pass blocker.

Receivers

⏹Wan’Dale Robinson

Though Robinson led the receiver group with three catches for 48 (on four targets), 34 of them came on a fourth-quarter garbage drive scramble drill.  

The quarterback couldn’t find Robinson on any of his intermediate routes, while Robinson was flagged for a terrible block-in-the-back penalty that immediately preceded Cam Skattebo’s injury. 

⏹Darius Slayton

Slayon’s best play of the game was his best play, a short slant on which he double-backed away from the inside pursuit.  

This was a smart play because it’s always a smart play to get Slayton away from any whiff of contact.  This catch-and-run went for 19 yards.  

From this point on, Slayton’s game collapsed.  The Eagles lined him up against their best cornerback and left them alone.  Slayton had his number called on deep go routes twice.  

On the first one, there was a lot of hand-checking all the way downfield, and of course, Slayton could not out-fight his opponent for the catch, which fell incomplete.  No penalty was called on the play, despite the inordinate amount of contact.  

On Slayton’s second and last target, he ran a similar pattern, and this time he was more aggressive in fighting off his opponent’s contact, and ran under the ball for what would have been, and should have been, a 68-yard touchdown.  

But this time, the officials decided to throw the flag against Slayton.  Yes, he might have pushed off, but why did the refs not allow them to play, while ignoring all the contact on the previous throw?  

The only way for Slayton to make a play is to throw the ball right into his stomach so he can body catch it.  He cannot catch the ball with his hands extended away from his body.     

⏹Lil’Jordan Humphrey

Elevated from the practice squad on what was his third and final elevation, Humphrey didn’t receive a single passing game target.  

When he was on the field, it was primarily for his blocking, which had no impact on the game.

⏹Beaux Collins

Hauling in his second catch of the year, an 18-yarder fourth quarter ball off of a scramble drill, Collins had his only other target on the very next snap, but he could not adjust to the flight of the ball in the end zone, and it fell incomplete.  

This rookie hasn't been able to carry his preseason success into the regular season.  There is very little suddenness about his game.  He’s got size and physicality, but his routes need a lot of work.

Tight Ends

⏹Theo Johnson 

The day’s most egregious drop came off a beautiful Jaxson Dart deep fade that hit Johnson right in the hands along the left sideline.  

He didn’t come close to catching it, flubbing the ball and looking like he’d never caught a football before in his life.  This drop came near the Eagles’ goal line with the Giants trailing 14-7.  

Simply put, Johnson has to catch this ball if he’s going to play TE in this league.  He’s got the size and speed to get into position to make this play, and he has the trust of his quarterback and his coaches, but he certainly lacks the trust in himself, especially as a pass catcher.  

He did hold onto three other soft throws for a total of 20 yards.  Johnson’s blocking was physical and solid overall. However, the tough catches remain a huge challenge for this not-very-nifty specimen, who is still struggling to make himself into a reliable receiving option.  Right now, he is not. 

⏹Daniel Bellinger

In some ways, the polar opposite of Johnson, Bellinger is the definition of a reliable receiving option, except he can’t beat single coverage and makes plays only as a second or third-option receiver.  

Bellinger’s reliability lies in his super-reliable hands.  He caught his lone target for 21 yards, running a crisp route and finding the space to avail himself to his quarterback, making it an easy throw thanks to the depth of his route.  

Bellinger isn’t the blocker that Johnson is, nor does he have Johnson’s speed, but team him with some skill playmakers, and Bellinger becomes a better receiver.  

As long as he doesn’t have to create for himself.  Bellinger suffered an upper-body injury while blocking late in the first half and did not return.

Offensive Line 

⏹Andrew Thomas

We were a bit disappointed with the lack of mental sharpness in Thomas’ overall game this week.  He allowed several pressures when he was late to identify his man.  

Mental breakdowns are not typically a Thomas failing, but this week he was fooled not only on several pass blocks but also on several running plays to his side of the field, Thomas being unable to pick up a single defender to block and therefore blocking no one.  

When he wasn’t being slow to react, Thomas’ game was a plus – that is, until the floodgates opened late in the game with the Eagles defense flying around – but Thomas was nowhere near the level of excellence that he has been playing at to date.

⏹Jermaine Eluemunor

This veteran’s pass-blocking game was once again sharp around his edge, but he did allow a steady push on several pass pros that took away space for his quarterback to step up into.  

Though his pass pro was a plus, his run-blocking continues to struggle, as his feet are just too sluggish out there.  Eluemunor’s got his pass-pro backpedal and hand punch down to a science, but the run-blocking movements remain a challenge.

⏹Jon Runyan

The lack of power in his game remains a problem for Runyan, who gets consistently overpowered upon contact, never winning a confrontation and therefore never creating space.  

Most good running offenses require power play from their guards, but this offense isn’t getting that from either guard.  

Of this week’s five sacks, most of them were the result of the quarterback scrambling when he couldn’t find a receiver.  Runyan had a hand in 2 of those sacks, which isn't to say he didn’t do his job well enough on those plays.  

His pass protection was more of a plus than his run blocking.  He’s just not playing crisp ball and rarely dictates anything.

⏹Greg Van Roten

The veteran was called for one false start and had some tough moments in pass pro.  The best parts of Van Roten’s game today were his physicality in the running game.  

It wasn’t always pretty, but he was gaining and maintaining contact with power on a fair number of his assignments.  

He continued to struggle in space, but when his first step is as sharp as it was today, he can hold up to anybody’s power.  Just don’t ask him to recover, because he’s incapable of doing that. 

⏹John Michael Schmitz

After missing 1.5 games with a concussion, Schmitz returned and picked up right where he left off, playing smart and economical football between the tackles.  

Schmitz did not have any trouble dealing with the Eagles' massive power players inside, consistently sealing and handing off his man amid the apparent chaos of the pit, especially on running plays, where Schmitz seems to have found his niche.  

His pass-blocking was sharp for most of the game as well.