MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Daniel Jones walked off the field early in the fourth quarter, knowing his day over after he had been quickly diagnosed with a neck injury.
A few minutes later, his backup Tyrod Taylor was shaken up as well.
For the New York Giants, the start to this season has been terrible.
And Sunday, it got worse.
The Giants lost their starting quarterback after he got sacked six more times, are still without their best running back and more than half of what should be their starting offensive line — and given all that it’s no wonder why this season is getting away fast.
Miami exploited all those New York problems and more Sunday, beating the Giants 31-16 and dropping them to 1-4 on the season.
It’s the fifth time in the past seven seasons that the Giants have started 1-4 or worse. No Giants team has ever made the playoffs after such a start. And it’s anyone’s guess where the season goes from here, given the inability so far to score or block.
The Giants are short-handed — running back Saquon Barkley’s ankle injury kept him out of a third consecutive game, and have used four different starter combinations on the offensive line already this season. The AFC East-leading Dolphins also made them look slow-footed, with Tyreek Hill getting two catches of at least 64 yards and De’Von Achane scoring on a 76-yard rush where the Giants looked as if they were standing still.
But it’s the offensive line that might be the biggest issue; more injuries forced New York into using a fourth different starting lineup on the offensive line already this season. Jones got beat up early and often; to his credit, he battled, completing 14 of 20 passes for 119 yards with no interceptions. The Giants gave up seven sacks, pushing their total to 30 allowed so far this season — tying the second most through five games in NFL history.
There were no touchdown passes, either. And that’s becoming a trend for the Giants.
For the first time this season, the Giants scored a touchdown before halftime. It was a score by Jason Pinnock.
He plays on defense.
Of all the damning stats about the Giants’ offense through five games, here’s the one that may sting the most: thanks to Pinnock’s 102-yard interception return, the team’s defense now has more first-half touchdowns (one) than the offense does (zero).
Meanwhile, the Dolphins used big play after big play to run up the score, and big hit after big hit to add to the woes.
Taylor came in to play the final 12 minutes after Jones departed, and would figure to be the starter if Jones has to miss time. No matter who will be under center, the Giants are the opposite of an offensive juggernaut.
The Giants haven’t scored a first-quarter touchdown in any of their past 12 games, going back to last season.
Put that in perspective: Miami had more first-quarter points Sunday (seven) than the Giants have had in their past 12 first quarters (six).
And now they might be without their starter. From bad to worse, just like that.
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