Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Discipline is a product of coaching, so a -5 turnover rate and six penalties (two on special teams) for 45 yards are not a good sign.
Head coach Brian Daboll’s offense clearly tried to move the ball down the field, and they succeeded, but some of the plays were questionable at best, and the intervening runs didn’t stop the Texans from defending deep.
The Giants were also almost penalized for delay of game, which suggests there was some communication going on at that moment. That’s on the part of both Daboll and Jones.
What did Mike Kafka do offensively? This time too, we have no idea.
On defense, Bowen’s unit was good in the running game but struggled on defense. Tackling in the secondary was subpar, which can be attributed to coaching. This is a constant area of trouble for the Giants and something they need to get under control.
Four QB hits, one tackle for loss and no sacks are also a warning sign. If Bowen isn’t going to blitz, he’ll have to find ways to generate more pressure.
Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns and Lawrence each had a brief game, but their reps were very limited. The backups need to produce more.
On special teams, Michael Ghobrial kept things simple. The results were better than last week, but he needs to reduce the penalties. One eliminated good field position and another gave the Texans better field position. In a game where inches matter, that’s important.
