A neck injury suffered by New York Giants QB Daniel Jones made their 31-16 loss to the Miami Dolphins all the more devastating on Sunday afternoon, but LT Josh Ezeudu blowing coverage and allowing Jones to get hit has been met with support from his teammates.
Giants G Ben Bredeson Not Ready to Give Up on Teammate Ezeudu
Though Ezeudu has struggled mightily through five weeks for the Giants, guard Ben Bredeson is all about having his teammate’s back through thick and thin:
“We love Josh, we believe in Josh, and we’ll always have Josh’s back,” Bredeson said to the media via Zoom. “There are times now when he can lean on us, and we’ll stand there with him and have his back through it all.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Ezeudu has played 257 snaps on the year, which ranks T-No.47 at his position. Ezeudu has dropped the ball, allowing the second-most sacks (5) and fourth-most penalties (6) across the league.
His 40.6 player grade doesn’t even place him at the lower end of the starter bracket. Examining the play that gave New York another crushing blow to their offense is merely emblematic of their entire season to date.
Jones sustained the hit at the 12:43 mark of the 4th quarter with the Giants trailing 13-31. Ezeudu blew his assignment, as he initially jumped forward in an attempt to cut off LB Andrew Van Ginkel from slipping inside to his right, but Van Ginkel made a strong and confident charge on the outside, hitting Jones from behind and causing whiplash as he brought him down from his shoulders.
Ezeudu allowed three penalties in addition to the botched play against Miami. Bredeson, while supportive, holds responsibility for the Giants’ consistent collapses on offense despite saying what’s appeasing to the media.
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A Continual Problem The Giants’ O-Line Must Fix
WR Darren Waller was the only Giant to get going on offense with 85 receiving yards. No holes were opened for their backfield, as RB Eric Grey led the way with 12 carries for 25 yards in a forgettable outing.
Due to a lack of time to throw, the O-Line has caused New York to average the fifth-fewest pass yards per attempt (5.9 y/a), sixth-fewest 1st downs (45), and the most sacks (30) among all teams.
The entire offensive line is in serious need of an exchange of pleasantries in the locker room to light a fire under themselves as they look to avoid a 1-5 start that only three teams have bounced back from to make the playoffs since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger.