Nothing. That’s what Eli Manning accomplished Saturday night with his passing game — and that never has happened before.
This is Manning’s 11th season and in every game, every preseason affair, he always has left the field managing to complete at least one pass. That’s not too much to ask, but he didn’t get that accomplished against the Steelers, as he went 0-for-2 and the one touchdown the starting offense produced came on Rashad Jenning’s 73-yard run.
In four series, it was almost as if the forward pass was not invented yet for the Giants and their starting offense. The fewest completions Manning has ever had in a preseason game is two — he did that three times — and now he’s got a new summertime low.
“I’m not totally shocked,’’ Manning said. “Honestly it’s not the ideal situation, but when you have only two attempts, there’s that possibility.’’
The Giants (2-0 in the preseason) beat the Steelers, 20-16, and found their winning points with 2:50 remaining on Curtis Painter’s 3-yard scoring pass to rookie Corey Washington, who also caught the game-winning touchdown reception last week in Canton to beat the Bills. That’s good for Painter and great for Washington, but the Giants need to get Manning and Co. in sync at some point, don’t they?
“The production should have been better,’’ coach Tom Coughlin said. “We certainly do have things to work on.’’
Coughlin said the Giants holding back a bit from showing off their new attack might have something to do with the sluggish results, and Manning agreed.
“It is the preseason and we’re not putting everything out there,’’ he said. “I think over these next weeks we’ll start to get a little bit more and be a little bit more aggressive and see if we can make some plays.’’
Nothing good is built overnight, but presently, the Giants offense is not good. The unit did nothing last week against the Bills starting defense — the lone touchdown came against the Bills’ reserves — and did next to nothing in four offensive series against the Steelers.
Other than one effective play — a handoff to Jennings that was blocked perfectly and showed off surprising speed by Jennings — there was slop served up to the announced crowd of 74,611.
No one expected anything to come easily or quickly with the new West Coast offense installed by first-year offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. The passing game, simply put, is nowhere, and in seven series thus far, Manning has not thrown in the direction of starting receivers Victor Cruz or Rueben Randle. Not once. Not that Cruz or Randle have done anything to warrant the ball.
With Manning running the show, the Giants were 0-for-3 on third down — and clearly were in do-no-harm mode. How else do you explain an inside handoff on third-and-16 to end one possession and a draw play on third-and-18 to end another?
Manning does not look comfortable in the pocket, looks a bit tentative with the different footwork he has been asked to learn, and he definitely does not have a multitude of open receivers to throw to. He threw behind Jerrel Jernigan on the first play as the timing looked off. On third-and-2, he rolled to his right and fired the ball to the turf, with the play ruined from the start.
It also was not a strong preseason debut last week for Brandon Mosley, who gets first crack at the starting right guard spot vacated by the retirement of Chris Snee. But on the second offensive series Saturday, he helped get the Giants on the scoreboard, as his block got Jenning’s through the line of scrimmage and he took it 73 yards.
It would have been nice if that was the last play of the evening for Mosley but alas, he was out there for two more series and played in part in ruining both of them. He was beaten by outside linebacker Jarvis Jones for an eight-yard sack of Manning and on the next series he was called for a holding penalty.
If this keeps up, the Giants might be inclined to take a look at Alex Boone, the 49ers guard who is holding out. The 49ers likely will entertain trade offers for Boone, and the Giants could have some interest.
On defense, the Giants’ starters gave up one play of any real damage.
Prince Amukamara’s hustle saved a touchdown on the opening defensive series for the Giants, as he chased down rookie Dri Archer on a screen pass that broke for 46 yards. That helped limit the Steelers to a field goal and signaled the end of the night’s work for Ben Roethlisberger (1-for-2, 46 yards), who barely played.