Cowboys vs Giants: 3 things to know about the Giants’ offense

After a dominating win in Minnesota, the Dallas Cowboys (7-3) move their attention to their next opponent, the division-rival New York Giants (7-3). The Giants have shocked the football world by getting off to a 7-3 start. Their offense has had its ups and downs, but they have performed well enough to win some games.

Before the two teams square off on Thanksgiving Day, here are three things to know about the Giants’ offense.

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1) A somewhat new and improved Daniel Jones

When you look at Daniel Jones’ 2022 stats you likely won’t be all that impressed. The 25-year-old quarterback has completed 65% of his passes and thrown for just nine touchdown passes in 10 games. These numbers certainly won’t blow you away, however, if you dive a little deeper you’ll see Jones has performed better this season than those surface-level stats may indicate.

Jones ranks in the top 12 in the league in EPA+CPOE (0.104), Adj. EPA/play (0.151) and Expected Cmp % (68.4). The signal-caller has been even better if you look at his numbers in his last six games. During this six-game span, Jones is fifth in the league in EPA+CPOE (0.152), Adj. EPA/play (0.271) and EPA/play (0.266). (Via, rbsdm)

The biggest difference in Jones this season versus years past has been his ability to protect the football. During the former first-round picks’ career, the Giants are 5-17 in games where Jones throws at least one interception.

This season, Jones has been much better at protecting the football. New York is 6-1 this year in games where does not throw a pick, and Jones ranks 29th in the league in interceptable passes (9) and 31st in danger plays (11), via Player Profiler.

Overall, the Giants might not be asking him to do all that much, but Daniel Jones has been a much more efficient quarterback this season.

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2) Saquon Barkley turns back the clock

Coming into this season it had been a while since we had seen the old Saquon Barkley. Injuries cost Barkley to miss significant time, and the former No. 2 overall pick was able to play in just 15 games from 2020 through 2021.

Thankfully for Barkley and the Giants, the running back has stayed healthy this season and has shown flashes of his old self. Barkley is currently second in the league in rushing yards (953) and has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in a game four times this season. Not surprisingly, the Giants are 4-0 in those games.

Barkley also has the most runs of 15+ yards in the league and the third-most yards after contact.

Barkley has been the focal point of the Giants’ offense and he’s done a good job carrying the load 10 games into the season.

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3) A lack of offensive weapons

Outside of Saquon Barkley, the Giants really lack dynamic talent on the offensive side of the ball. Below are New York’s notable offensive players and their stats so far this season.

• Darius Slayton - 24 catches, 413 yards, 17.2 Y/R, 2 TD
• Richie James - 23 catches, 239 yards, 10.4 Y/R, 1 TD
• Wan’Dale Robinson - 23 catches, 227 yards, 9.9 Y/R, 1 TD
• Daniel Bellinger - 16 catches, 152 yards, 9.5 Y/R, 2 TD

As you can see, New York really does not have anything that scares you on offense outside of Barkley. Darius Slayton has had a nice year and Sterling Shepard, who is on injured reserve after tearing his ACL back in Week 3, are decent second or third options, but they lack a true No. 1 pass-catcher.

If the Cowboys are able to slow down Barkley they should be in good shape to keep this Giants’ offense in check.