John Harbaugh isn’t going to give the New York Giants’ offense a free pass because quarterback Jaxson Dart and star wide receiver Malik Nabers suffered injuries against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2.
Instead, head coach Harbaugh savaged Big Blue’s offense. The 63-year-old, who won a Super Bowl in charge of the Baltimore Ravens, vented most of his frustration at the Giants‘ play-calling during the 28-6 defeat at SoFi Stadium on Monday Night Football.
Harbaugh pulled no punches when asked about a sequence of four-straight runs in the red zone deep into the second quarter. The Giants’ defense had stolen great field position courtesy of an interception by safety Jevon Holland, but carries for three different backs netted only minimal or negative yardage.
Settling for three points hardly helped a Giants team trailing by 14. Harbaugh bluntly admitted, “We’ll go back and second guess ourselves on that for sure. Even the specific plays that we ran, we’ll second guess ourselves. We already have. That’s not good. That’s not good at all. We need to have answers. We had answers last week. We didn’t have answers this week to get the ball in the end zone. Play-calling, game-planning, execution — all those things are part of it,” per Dan Duggan of The Athletic.
Those words are a pointed indictment of offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, and inadvertently of senior run-game consultant Greg Roman. Harbaugh hired both to make the Giants ruthlessly efficient in scoring areas.
Nagy and Roman’s unit was anything but against the Rams. Their chances of responding to Harbaugh’s brutal assessment are tougher after Dart injured his knee, and Nabers’ shoulder popped.
Matt Nagy and Co. On Notice After 1st Sign of John Harbaugh’s Fire
Harbaugh had been showing a softer, more nuanced approach to player management, but he isn’t going to be as kind to coaches. The veteran of NFL sidelines has a right to expect more when Nagy’s a former head coach, as well as a decorated OC who won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs.
There was nothing championship-level about Nagy’s overly conservative play-calling after Holland forced a turnover. A Tyrone Tracy Jr. run lost three yards, before lead workhorse Cam Skattebo was stuffed for no gain.
Not deterred, Nagy dialled up two more runs, both by veteran Najee Harris. He netted zero yards after being stopped for a loss on third down.
Big Blue’s rushing attack wasn’t supposed to look like this after Harbaugh reunited with noted ground-game guru Roman. He’s on the staff to help balance Nagy’s historic pass-heavy tendencies.
The Giants were warned about Nagy’s erratic play-calling even before he went safety first against the Rams. His retreat was somewhat understandable, given how much Nagy’s passing game was struggling without Dart.
Giants’ Offense in Trouble Without Jaxson Dart
The early updates on Dart’s knee are generally “positive,” but he’s still likely to miss time. It’s the nightmare scenario for the Giants, a problem compounded by backup Jameis Winston’s horror showing in California.
Winston completed only 40.7 percent of his 27 pass attempts. He averaged 4.11 yards per completion, threw an interception and took three sacks.
As QB cameos go, this was close to apocalyptic. Winston’s dire performance also reveals the extent of the challenge the Giants face without Dart.
Nagy and his staff will need more than creative play-calling to field a functioning unit missing its QB1. Giants’ coaches must conjure wizardry in Dart’s absence, particularly if Nabers is less than 100 percent for Week 3’s game against the Tennessee Titans at MetLife Stadium.
There are no easy solutions when the lack of a marquee playmaker at football’s most important position isn’t Nagy’s only problem. He’ll also need to fix a Giants’ offensive line that allowed Rams’ pass-rushers free runs at whoever was throwing the passes, despite the hosts being without NFL single-season sack record-holder Myles Garrett.
Protection this feeble and a running game not working mean Harbaugh’s offense would be in trouble even if Dart was healthy.
John Harbaugh Savages Giants’ Play-Calling, Offense vs. Rams