The New York Giants looked to stick around in Thursday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers as heavy underdogs, but another quiet performance by the offense led to their demise, losing by a score of 30–12 to fall to 1-2 on the season.
With no Saquon Barkley in this one, the Giants were hoping to get major contributions out of their revamped receiving corps and, more specifically, new star tight end Darren Waller. However, those contributions never came and Waller continued to struggle in the contest.
Darren Waller has a tough Thursday night outing
Waller struggled in the loss on Thursday, converting just three of his seven targets into receptions while only recording 20 receiving yards. The Giants needed a big game out of him to possibly upset the 49ers, and now the focus is shifted towards Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks after this quiet performance.
Waller’s start to his Giants career has been slow, as he is still seeking his first touchdown after three games. Part of the blame could be placed on the poor play of quarterback Daniel Jones and the offensive line, but with Barkley revealing to Taylor Rooks before Thursday’s game that his injury is a high ankle sprain, Big Blue is going to be more dependent on Waller for the time being.
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The Giants need more offensive production
New York acquired Waller in the offseason to reinforce what was an underwhelming receiving corps last season. So far it has been much of the same story in terms of production.
The hope is that Waller can bounce back from Thursday’s dud of a performance in their next game against Seattle, a game which he and the Giants will enter with 10 days of preparation. With it still unclear how much time Barkley will have to miss, the pressure is on Waller to step up big time.
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Giants need offensive line support fast