One of the bigger storylines before the New York Giants took on Washington in week six was the benching of Andrew Thomas to open the game. Thomas, who has struggled to start his career in the NFL, reserved his normal duties to Matt Peart, a third-round pick out of the University of Connecticut.
At first, it seems as if the Giants just wanted to give Peart a chance, considering Thomas’ struggles over the first five weeks. He has been awful in pass blocking and an inconsistent run blocker. All of the strengths he carried over from Georgia have seemed to take a backseat as a Giants try to rework his sets and technicalities.
Judge said Andrew Thomas made a mistake and violated team policy. That's why he didn't start.
— Patricia Traina (@Patricia_Traina) October 18, 2020
Andrew Thomas said he was benched because he was late to a meeting last night.
He took responsibility for it and knows that Judge is laying down consequences for things like this.
Happy to see the culture is working and players are taking it seriously.
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) October 18, 2020
Nonetheless, head coach Joe Judge explained after the contest that Thomas had violated a team rule (late to a meeting), which resulted in his benching to start the game.
This seemed to be a lose-lose situation for Thomas, as he not only was benched, he allowed Matt Peart to come in and perform well at his spot.
This could provide to be an interesting development for their Giants’ week seven matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. I could see Peart starting on Thursday night, and after his performance on Sunday, I think it is justified.