Andrew Thomas the lone offensive line standout for New York Giants

In a game where nothing could go right for the New York Giants offensive line, rookie Andrew Thomas was the lone star of the night

The New York Giants’ offensive line struggled against the Steelers, to put it nicely. The run-blocking was horrendous and was only able to gain 20 yards, most of which came from Daniel Jones‘ scrambling after the pocket collapsing. Giants’ franchise running back, Saquon Barkley, only added six yards on 15 carries. And every time he got the ball, he was immediately swarmed by a sea of white and gold.

The pass blocking was a tad better, but not by much. The Steelers stout front seven was able to get to Daniel Jones three times for a sack and managed to hit him another eight. Jones was under pressure for the majority of the night. In fact, he was pressured on 26 dropbacks, which was six more than any quarterback faced in Week 1.

To be fair, any Giants fan should’ve seen this coming. With a new center making his first career start at the position, and a veteran right tackle who has started less than half of his career games, it will take some time for the offensive line to get situated. However, Dave Gettleman should be encouraged from what he saw from his 2020 first-round pick, Andrew Thomas.

Thomas was unfortunate to draw a tough match-up in Bud Dupree but handled his own relatively well. Dupree dominated most of the game, but that doesn’t mean that it was all Thomas’ fault.  Thomas allowed only four total pressures. And a lot of those had to do with the Steelers’ defensive scheme and the blitz packages that he saw.

There were some miscommunications between Thomas and Hernandez. One of which led to a sack. He also got beat pretty badly on a second and goal play-action play in the red zone. This led to a Daniel Jones incompletion, but it was nearly a fumble, and maybe should’ve been called one.

Overall, Thomas had a solid performance for a rookie left tackle. There are some snaps that Thomas will want back, but he held his own for the most part. PFF graded his performance as a 60.8. This matched the likes of Tristian Wirfs and Jedrick Wills. Both of which were neck-and-neck with Thomas as the best tackle prospect.

Thomas will have another tough matchup next week. He can go up against the likes of All-Pro defensive end Khalil Mack, or veteran Akiem Hicks. He might struggle, but he looks like the Giants left tackle of now and the future.