Andrew Thomas made his season debut for the New York Giants in Week 3, returning from a foot injury that kept him sidelined since Week 7 of the 2024 season.
Thomas looked great in his debut, but was suddenly removed from the lineup before the end of the first half. After he left the lineup, the Giants’ offensive line suffered.
Giants limited Andrew Thomas to just 25 snaps
According to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, head coach Brian Daboll told the media that the plan always was for Thomas to be limited to just 25 snaps in his debut.
“Regardless of how I felt, the gameplan was to play that amount of snaps so I don’t have any more setbacks,” Thomas told the media (h/t Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic).
Thomas did not practice much throughout the summer as he worked his way back off the PUP list. He was activated for the start of the regular season and began to ramp up over the last couple of weeks before feeling strong enough to suit up on Sunday as a game-time decision.
However, considering the severity of his injury and the length of his recovery, the Giants wanted to be cautious with Thomas and not overwork him in his first game back.
Thomas is needed in the lineup
Once Thomas was removed from the lineup, however, the Giants suffered a significant dropoff in play at the left tackle position.
Thomas finished the games as the Giants’ highest-graded offensive lineman, per Pro Football Focus. He posted a 77.2 overall grade with an impressive 84.4 pass-blocking grade. Thomas did not surrender a single pressure across 12 pass-blocking snaps.
Mbow, meanwhile, struggled a great deal. He surrendered seven pressures, five hits, and one sack, earning a 40.7 overall grade and an abysmal 12.2 pass-blocking grade.
The Giants need Thomas healthy and back in the lineup for the sake of their passing game’s success. They will hope he is ready to play more snaps in Week 4 against the Chargers.
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