The first Sunday of the NFL season ended with a final flourish of wan incompetence. Eli Manning tossed a useless throw in the direction of Brandon Marshall to the left flat, time running out as the ball bounced near the 30-yard line as the New York Giants trailed, 19-3. Even if Marshall had caught the pointless pass, it would not have counted, because the Giants had not lined up properly and drew a flag.

It marked both a nadir in quality and a fitting cap to Sunday’s offensive ineptitude. All day, teams flailed in attempts to form an offense, and not just those with unproven quarterbacks. Six teams – the Giants, Bengals, Seahawks, Texans, 49ers and Colts – failed to crack double digits. It would be fair to give partial credit to good defense. But when teams fail to reach 10 points in fully half of Sunday’s games, it represents an epidemic.

Lacking one of his favorite targets, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning looked like he was sitting down on the job Sunday. Associated Press/Michael Ainsworth

How to explain the terrible offense out of the gate? The concern entering Week 1 centered on a quarterback shortage, and teams that started Scott Tolzien, Tom Savage and Brian Hoyer counted among the offenses unable to manage even a touchdown, extra point and a field goal. But then so did Eli Manning, Russell Wilson and Andy Dalton, two Super Bowl champions and an established starter.

The proper explanation is an intractable issue: NFL football is too dangerous to responsibly prepare for, and the preseason is broken because of it.

Offenses require more full-speed repetition than defenses. Receivers and quarterbacks need to hone precision and timing, and offensive lines require cohesion and coordination. Despite an industrial complex of OTAs and minicamps throughout the offseason, the risk of injury and collectively bargained practice constraints deter teams from full-speed, full-contact practices. Preseason games have become a joke.

There’s not a smarter way to do it, either. The injury risk is too great. The Giants lost Odell Beckham Jr. for Week 1 to an ankle injury he suffered in the third preseason game, and his absence turned their attack into a miasma of short passes and hopeless pass blocking. If anything, the Giants would have wished they had played their starters less in the preseason.

But the effect of conserving players for the regular season was evident in Week 1. Offensive lines were especially ill-prepared. The Giants, 49ers, Seahawks and Colts were the most embarrassing blocking units, but across the league quarterbacks were under extreme duress. It made for ugly football.

It wasn’t just teams with low point totals. The Packers got to 17 points only after cashing in after a turnover inside the Seattle 10, and they have Aaron Rodgers. Washington needed a pick-six to reach 17.

The problem is, there’s no clear solution. It would be foolish and, in some cases, against CBA rules for NFL coaches to revert to a large slate of full-contact practices or to play starters for longer stretches in preseason games. Players are too big and too fast, and the risks are too steep. There’s not a good way for offenses to prepare for an NFL season. The results showed Sunday.

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