Last season, the New York Giants allowed the most sacks in the NFL and the second-most in league history, with their quarterbacks going down 85 times. They allowed significantly more sacks than any other team, with the second-most allowed coming from the Washington Commanders with 65.
The Giants offensive line clearly struggled, making it difficult for quarterback Daniel Jones to find success. Jones suffered a neck injury in Week 5 and an ACL injury in Week 9, both causing him to miss time.
In six total games, Jones had a 1-5 record with 909 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions. It was not exactly an exceptional showing, but the Giants are already committed to their former No. 6 pick, giving him a four-year, $160 million extension in March of 2023.
The Giants made it clear this is Jones' offense and even the team's general manager felt like he was set up to fail last year. On the offseason edition of "Hard Knocks," Joe Schoen explained their commitment to Jones and was open about the offensive line struggles.
Schoen went so far as to say quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl champion and MVP and two-time NFL MVP, would not have been able to win games with the protection, or lack there of, that Jones had.
"He didn't have much of a chance this year," Schoen said. "That's legit. The core guys that were gonna play together played 60 snaps together. Miami, we got three f---ing practice squad guys playing for us. You could have Pat Mahomes, and he can't f---iing win behind that."
Injuries did not help them, with tackles Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal and center John Michael Schmitz missing time. Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito came in for the injured Jones and both suffered injuries as well. The team went 5-6 in games in which a backup QB played.
Jones has shown some strong moments, but has yet to prove himself as a real winner in the league. He has a career record of 22-36-1, with 12,512 passing yards, 62 touchdowns and 40 interceptions. The Giants have only made the playoffs once during the Jones' era.
Schoen said he's not "giving up" on his starter and they are making it a point to protect him from going down with an injury again.
The team did not use its first-round draft pick to address the offensive line, instead taking wide receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6 overall. However, the Giants signed center Austin Schlottmann, guards Jermaine Eluemunor, Jon Runyan and Aaron Stinnie, and tackle Matt Nelson in free agency.
Offensive line issues have plagued the Giants for years, and if they are going to finally see consistency from their quarterback, they need to address it.