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The New York Giants lost starting safety Jabrill Peppers in the first quarter of Week 3’s beatdown at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers when he attempted to block a Robbie Gould field goal. The initial eye-test did not look good for Peppers, who appeared to be in some serious pain. While he was eventually able to walk off the field and do some light jogging on the sideline, he never re-entered the game.
After the game, head coach Joe Judge did what head coach Joe Judge does, providing no update on the extent of Peppers’ injury. This should come as no surprise to Giants fans, as injuries have become a top-secret subject in New York since his arrival.
“I don’t have an update on Jabrill. That’s all I can tell you right now,” Judge told reports. “Soon as we get something, we’ll give you updates as much as we can.”
Peppers Suffers Low-Ankle Sprain, To Undergo More Tests
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport gave us a much more in-depth take on Peppers’ injury, adding optimism to the safety’s outlook. Rappoport reported that Peppers suffered a low-ankle sprain vs. the 49ers, noting that “while it looked bad, this seems to be one that appeared worse than it is.”
While it may not be bad as initially perceived, the availability of Peppers moving forward still remains uncertain. Judge delved into his special teams captain’s injury further on Monday, claiming that Peppers still has more tests to undergo and that “his status could go either way,” per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
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Andrew Thomas Escapes Injury But Continues to Struggle
Judge also failed to address first-rounder Andrew Thomas, who suffered a late-game injury against San Francisco as well. Thomas limped off the field during the fourth quarter, missing two plays before later returning to action. Judge’s silence here is actually positive, as most accounts point towards Thomas escaping without serious injury. Raanan tweeted out on Monday that the former Georgia standout “is expected to be fine.”
While Thomas’ health appears to “be fine” his play thus far this season has been anything but that. The No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft, Thomas has endured his growing pains thus far this season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Thomas has allowed a total of 13 quarterback pressures throughout the first three weeks of play; nine hurries, three quarterback hits and one sack allowed. The only tackle to allow more pressures thus far this season? Bengals’ Bobby Hart (15), a name that can be best explained as the embodiment of nails dragging against a chalkboard when simply uttered in the direction of a Giants fan.
While Thomas has seen his struggles this year, he hasn’t gotten much help from the rest of Big Blue’s o-line unit. Per PFF, the Giants’ 46.3 pass-block grade ranks dead last in football this season.
So while Daniel Jones has taken his fair share of lumps this season, maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to peg the signal-caller as the main culprit to New York’s struggles. No Saquon Barkley, no Sterling Shepard and the worst graded o-line unit in football would pose quite the obstacle for any young quarterback.