5 things to know about the Giants: Daniel Jones is in a bad place

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Steelers will face the New York Giants next Monday night at Acrisure Stadium. Here are five things to know about the NFC East foe.

Daniel Jones got benched in Week 7 – The former first-round pick with a gaudy contract signed just last year was removed from a humiliating loss to the rival Eagles on Sunday because of ineffectiveness. He was 14-of-21 for just 99 yards and no touchdowns when coach Brian Daboll turned to backup Drew Lock. Daboll said afterward he expects to go back to Jones next week. How can he not, given what Jones is making? We just probably shouldn’t confuse that decision for confidence. In fairness to Jones, his offensive line is getting him killed out there. The Eagles sacked him seven times Sunday to push his total for the season to 21. That translates to a full-season pace of 51, which would be a career high by a long shot. Still, he has to be better than an 80.6 passer rating, which puts him among the worst full-timers in the league.

Running the ball has been a struggle without Saquon Barkley – In his five mostly healthy seasons in New York, the former Penn State star and two-time Pro Bowler averaged 1,035 yards per year. No one in the current running back room is on pace for anything close. Both Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy Jr. are barely over 200 yards through seven weeks. The averages aren’t horrific — 3.9 for the veteran Singletary and 4.4 for Tracy. But they just haven’t been the same focal point of the offense that Barkley was, making life tough for Jones.

The receivers can make plays – As inconsistent as Jones has been, rookie Malik Nabers, veteran Darius Slayton and third-year veteran Wan’Dale Robinson have all had their moments. Nabers has battled injuries but is averaging 85.4 yards per game when he plays. He recorded 10 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 against Washington. Then he caught 12 of 15 targets for 115 yards in Week 4 against Dallas. Last week against the Eagles marked his return, and he was quieter with just four catches for 41 yards. But he demonstrated that he can go off any given week. Slayton hasn’t drawn quite the target share but is averaging a healthy 12.5 yards per catch. And Robinson has been a reliable possession guy with already 43 catches on 67 targets. Sneakily, this might be one of the better receiving groups the Steelers have seen all year.

Dexter Lawrence II is a pass rush threat – The 26-year-old is having a breakout season, already with nine sacks in just seven games. That puts him on a full-season pace of 22, which would have him challenging the NFL single-season record of 22.5 held by former Giants star Michael Strahan and the Steelers’ own T.J. Watt. Unfortunately for Lawrence, he’s sort of a one-man band at the moment. No other Giants pass rusher has more than four sacks. And former first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux is currently on injured reserve after breaking out with 11.5 sacks of his own last season. That should allow the Steelers to show Lawrence more attention on passing downs.

The secondary has been solid but lacks playmakers – The Giants actually rank sixth in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game at just 179.4 per game. Safety Tyler Nubin is a reliable tackler who leads the team with 48 stops this season. Former Pitt standout Jason Pinnock has found a niche in this group. And corners Micah McFadden and Deonte Banks are solid. The issue has been generating turnovers. Linebacker Darius Muasau has the team’s only interception this season, which has contributed to the Giants ranking 20th in the NFL in turnover margin at minus-2. Good news for a Steelers passing game that’s done a solid job of keeping the ball away from the other team so far this year.