The right side of the New York Giants‘ offensive line is experiencing some growing pains.
Rookie right tackle Evan Neal, the seventh-overall pick in this year’s draft, had a rough outing in New York’s 23-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night. Cowboys edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence feasted on Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, collecting three sacks while doing most of his damage from Neal’s side of the field.
Lawrence beat Neal around the edge for his first sack within the first five minutes of the game.
.@TankLawrence announcing his presence early. 😤
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Lawrence consistently beat Neal in one-on-one situations. His sack at the start of the third quarter looks almost identical to the one above.
That’s a hat trick for @TankLawrence ‼️
📺: #DALvsNYG on ESPN/ABC
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Andrew Thomas, meanwhile, had the left side of the line locked down. The third-year left tackle has developed into one of the NFL’s best players at his position, but it took some time to get to that point. He went through his fair share of struggles as a rookie in 2020 and can relate to what Neal is currently experiencing.
Thomas offered Neal some advice following the loss to the Cowboys.
Andrew Thomas on Evan Neal’s rough game. “we had a tough game. I think the whole offensive line didn’t play to the level we want to play to. He is a good player, just got to keep working, we’ll clean up the film and onto the next week, you got to put it away.”
“We had a tough game,” Thomas said, via Big Blue View on Twitter. “I think the whole offensive line didn’t play to the level we want to play to. [Neal] is a good player, [he’s] just got to keep working. We’ll clean up the film and onto the next week, you got to put it away.”
While Daniel Jones was sacked five times and pressured on 24 drop-backs against the Cowboys (h/t Adam Schefter of ESPN), Thomas helped keep star linebacker Micah Parsons in check. Parsons had zero sacks and only one tackle on Monday night. Pro Football Focus charged Thomas with just two pressures allowed, resulting in a pass-blocking efficiency rate of 98.0 percent.
Evan Neal Takes Blame For Ugly Week 3 Performance
Evan Neal may be a rookie, but he showed accountability beyond his years after the tough loss on Monday night. The Alabama product displayed a high level of maturity while accepting the blame for his performance.
“It’s hard to win that way,” Neal said, per the New York Post. “The bulk of those sacks were on me. I take full responsibility for that. I’ve just got to play better. I hate being on the end of this.”
As expected, Neal did not grade out well at Pro Football Focus in Week 3. In addition to his three sacks allowed, he gave up one hit and one hurry for a total of five pressures allowed. Neal was also flagged for a false start and finished with an abysmal PFF pass-blocking grade of 27.1 (out of 100).
Neal has been shaky through his first three NFL games, but he will get a much-needed shot at redemption against the Chicago Bears in Week 4.
“I’ve got to focus on coming out and being better for Chicago,” Neal said, per the New York Post. “That’s really all I can do. I’ve just got to play better. There’s no other way to call it or sugarcoat it.”
Jon Feliciano Offers His Support For Evan Neal
Andrew Thomas and the rest of the Giants offensive linemen still have Evan Neal’s back. Center Jon Feliciano, who also defended Daniel Jones for his performance on Monday night, shared some supportive thoughts on Neal after the game.
“The competitor he is and how serious he takes this, it’s going to be eating at him and we’ve got to make sure that this doesn’t cripple him going forward,” Feliciano said, per the New York Post. “We’ve got to be there for him. This is just one game. Bad performance. I get it. But it’s the NFL, he’s a rookie. It’s going to happen.”
Neal and the Giants need to limit how much this happens moving forward.
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Andrew Thomas Offers Advice to Evan Neal After Rough Game vs. Cowboys