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Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 8 loss to Steelers

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The New York Giants were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 26-18, on Monday Night Football in Week 8.

It was a hard-fought game but New York fell short, 26-18, at Acrisure Stadium. Daniel Jones and the Giants were once again disappointing in primetime as this loss makes them 1-15 in such games that Jones starts. New York is now 2-6 and last in the NFC East.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Giants in this loss.

Offense: C-

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 28: Tyrone Tracy Jr. #29 of the New York Giants celebrates a touchdown with Darius Slayton #86 and John Michael Schmitz Jr. #61 during the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on October 28, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 28: Tyrone Tracy Jr. #29 of the New York Giants celebrates a touchdown with Darius Slayton #86 and John Michael Schmitz Jr. #61 during the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on October 28, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The offense had some very good highs but also many significant lows on the night.

Starting with the good, rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. has looked phenomenal all season, and in Week 8 he totaled 150 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on 22 touches. Rookie of the Year candidate, Malik Nabers, also had a solid game as he finished with seven catches for 73 yards. Finally, Darius Slayton finished with 108 yards on four receptions.

With the help of big games from these three players, the Giants were able to total 394 yards of offense but only one touchdown.

This was due to a combination of three factors, all of which are nothing new.

The first is untimely drops. Nabers had two dropped balls that could have extended drives while other players also had a couple of drops.

Secondly, Jones could not make a big play when needed. He often overthrew receivers in crucial moments in the game and fumbled in the red zone late in the fourth quarter. The quarterback also missed badly on a pass on the last offensive drive of the game resulting in an interception.

Last but not least, the offensive line has struggled to protect the quarterback for years and this problem was exacerbated by Andrew Thomas' injury. Jones was sacked four times on the night and hit 12 times.

Defense: B-

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 28: Najee Harris #22 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs the ball against Bobby Okereke #58 of the New York Giants during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium on October 28, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 28: Najee Harris #22 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs the ball against Bobby Okereke #58 of the New York Giants during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium on October 28, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

The Giants have now allowed 21 or fewer points as a defense seven out of eight times this season.

The defense did a great job of the bend-do-not-break model for much of the game as they forced four field goals. They were also effective at getting after the quarterback as they registered four sacks and eight QB hits.

Bobby Okereke made a great play late in the fourth quarter as he forced a fumble and recovered it putting the Giants in Pittsburgh's territory.

With this in mind, there is still a lot to clean up for this defense. The Steelers were able to average 9.9 yards per attempt passing and 5.4 yards per attempt rushing. Eventually, teams will score touchdowns and this was seen last week as the Philadelphia Eagles hung four touchdowns on the Giants.

Special Teams: C

Oct 28, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants place kicker Greg Joseph (34) kicks a field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants place kicker Greg Joseph (34) kicks a field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Allowing a touchdown on special teams is simply unacceptable and this is what the Giants did on Monday night when Calvin Austin III returned a punt 73 yards to the house.

Outside of this play, the special teams unit performed relatively well. Greg Joseph made all four of his field goal attempts with the longest coming from 48 yards out.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette returned three kicks for 100 yards, the longest being a 47-yard return, and one punt for two yards. Also, Matt Haack pinned two punts inside of the 20-yard line and should have had one more in that range but he put a little too much power on it resulting in a touchback.

Coaching: C-

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 28: Head coach Brian Daboll of the New York Giants walks the sidelines during the second half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on October 28, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 28: Head coach Brian Daboll of the New York Giants walks the sidelines during the second half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on October 28, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Brian Daboll & Co. had a tough job in Week 8 going into Pittsburgh with an injury-riddled team and trying to get a win in prime time. And while they kept the game competitive there are no excuses for some of the coaching errors of the night.

For starters, the team was far from disciplined -- 11 penalties for 65 yards, resulting in points coming off of the board. The play-calling by Daboll was also less than ideal as the Giants went 0-for-3 on red zone attempts. If the poor offensive game plan was summarized in one play, it would be the two-point attempt where the Giants ran a trick play that failed terribly.

On the other side of the ball, Shane Bowen once again did a great job in terms of redzone defense and getting after the quarterback as the Steelers went 0-for-4 in the red zone and Russell Wilson was sacked four times.

Although, the same problems persist for this defense as they can not stop big plays with George Pickens notching a 43-yard reception and Austin III grabbing a 29-yard touchdown catch. There were four completions of 29 yards or greater on the night and one rush for 26 yards. Stopping big plays needs to be a priority going forward.

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This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 8 loss to Steelers