With the Giants losing to the Lions, the remainder of the 2022 season looks quite daunting for Big Blue. Despite being 7-3, the Giants do not have many soft games left this year. They will have to win three or four more games to secure a playoff spot. Winning at Dallas on Thanksgiving is a challenging obstacle. That said, do not write off the Giants so fast. Upsets happen all the time. Here are the keys to victory for the Giants this Thanksgiving:
Offense: Diversify the Running Strategy
The biggest challenge with the Cowboys is their high caliber offense. The best thing the Giants can do on Thursday to stop the Cowboys offense is to keep them off the field. That said, the running attack against the Lions was abysmal. This was in part due to the fact the running plays were extremely simple and predictable. The Giants will have to diversify
This means more involvement of Matt Breida. Breida himself is not particularly talented, and should not be relied on to carry us to victory. However, a fake handoff to Saquon opens things up for Matt Breida, and vise-versa. That could add some flexibility. Along with more fake handoffs, they will probably have to work in more trick plays and wide receiver end-arounds as well. As for Daniel Jones, he should have more designed runs, and pass plays that spread the defense so Jones can run if he has to. Dallas will need to stay on their feet, and the Giants need to control the clock.
Defense: Rely More on Zone Coverage
The Giants absolutely must contain Dallas’s weapons. I think it is best for the inside linebackers for the Giants to play zone defense about 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. This will limit Tony Pollard’s ability to break off serious yards. As for the defensive line, they will all need to bring it and have their best games of the season. It is crucial that the defensive line can push back the offense and minimize their yards gained. The Giants secondary may have to revert to a zone strategy more similar to Patrick Graham’s 2020 and 2021 defense with Adoree Jackson out. There will likely be some big pass attempts by Dallas in order to take advantage of the weakened secondary. Being able to contain the yards-after-catch (YAC) is critical.
Giants fans have seen crazy upsets in their lifetimes. Many against the Cowboys. With the Giants losing to Detroit this past week, hopefully this sparks some urgency for the GMen . Hopefully the Giants feast on a victory this Turkey Day.
Go Blue!