


It was a painfully familiar sight for the Giants on Sunday afternoon.
The quarterback under constant duress.
The running game making every yard look like a mile.
Pass-rushers using stunts to storm nearly untouched into the backfield.
The Giants’ offensive line reverted back to its worst self during the team’s 24-6 loss to the Saints.
Tommy DeVito was sacked seven times and hit eight times.
Saquon Barkley rushed nine times for just 14 yards, good for a paltry 1.6 yards-per-carry.
The Saints recorded a whopping nine tackles for loss.
“Well, every game is different,” head coach Brian Daboll said on a Zoom call on Monday. “[The Saints] did a good job. They created some issues both in the run and the pass, some with just a four-man rush, some with more, but credit to those guys as well.”
It followed weeks of improvement and the unit stabilizing itself after a woeful start to the season.
Just last week during the Giants’ “Monday Night Football” win over the Packers, DeVito was not sacked at all and hit just twice.
Barkley rushed 20 times for 86 yards, averaging 4.3 yards-per-carry, and the Packers had only four tackles for loss.
Beyond stud left tackle Andrew Thomas’ return from an early-season hamstring injury, veteran Justin Pugh’s addition had helped galvanize the unit.
A free agent, he signed with the Giants in early October and was immediately thrust into action, starting the last nine games.
But he struggled through a nightmarish showing on Sunday, surrendering two sacks, four quarterback hurries and six quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus — all season-highs.
His 29.5 overall grade by the outlet was by far his worst of the season as well.
Pugh took ownership of his performance and placed the entire unit’s struggles on himself.
But there is plenty of blame to go around.
Thomas recorded a shockingly-poor 36.5 run-blocking grade, by far his worst of the year.
On the other side at right tackle, Tyre Phillips — who had been impressive in filling in for the injured Evan Neal — recorded a 46.9 run-blocking grade, his second-worst of the year.
Guard Ben Bredeson recorded a 47.3 run-blocking grade, his fourth-worst of the season.

In terms of the pressure DeVito faced, the blame likely goes even beyond the offensive line. DeVito often held the ball too long, prompted by receivers who couldn’t get open as they had in weeks prior.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” DeVito said after the game. “Sometimes it’s just a pressure look, sometimes it’s a coverage sack, sometimes I can get the ball out and maybe I just missed somebody. It’s all three of those. It’s not just on the offensive line or the quarterback or receivers. It’s a different scenario every time.”
The Saints used a plethora of stunts and ample twists and movement along their defensive line, something the Giants have long struggled with.
It allowed the Saints, who possess one of the league’s most tame pass-rush and run-stuffing groups, to wreak havoc.
“There was some of that,” Bredeson said Monday. “It’s part of the job and you’ve got to block guys and they’re allowed to move so we just have to work in tandem and work as a unit and handle the movement.”
The Saints’ seven sacks were by far their most of the season.
“Certainly, this was probably our best day in terms of being able to get after the quarterback and being able to finish on the quarterback,” Saints head coach Dennis Allen said after the game. “We had a significant amount of pressure. We had some four-man rush. We mixed our packages up just a little bit.”
With little left to play for this year, the Giants’ offensive line remains a glaring question outside of Thomas.
Rookie John Michael Schmitz, a second-round pick, has had an extremely up-and-down year.
Neal was woeful before his injury, and if he’s healthy for Monday’s clash against the Eagles, Daboll will have a fascinating decision whether to return him to right tackle or keep Phillips there.
Pugh and Bredeson will be free agents after the year, and it’s unclear where their futures lie.
Josh Ezeudu, drafted in the third round last year to play guard, showed little filling in out of position at left tackle this year before hitting injured reserve.
After weeks of optimism, the unit came crashing back to reality.
And with three games left to play, four of the five spots present troubling uncertainties for the future.
“We just didn’t execute well enough,” Bredeson said. “You know there are things to improve that we’ve addressed in the film and things we’re looking forward to correcting heading into Philly.”