By Michael Stewart/@golferbad
Introduction:
The New York Giants are solely in 1st place in the NFC East division. The Giants and Washington both have a 4-7 record, however; the Giants are 2-0 against Washington which gives them the NFC East crown for the moment.
Amidst this good news, the Giants received bad news that Quarterback Daniel Jones sustained a torn hamstring mid-way in the 3rd quarter against the Bengals and will possibly miss a portion of the last 5 games of the season. In his place steps in Colt McCoy who was ineffective against the Seahawks after replacing Jones in the game. The Seahawks are 8-3 and seem to be gearing up for the home stretch of the season with both sides of the ball playing well over the last few games. Here are my top 5 ways the Giants can win this game:
- Hog Mollies Keep Producing: The Giants offensive line continues to dominate the opposing front four over the last three weeks with rushing yards of 166, 156 and 142 per game over that span. With Daniel Jones out, this could be a major key to the Giants success as I expect the Seahawks to load the box and put the game in Colt McCoy’s hands. If the Giants offensive line can’t generate any type of a running game, it’s going to be a long day for McCoy as the Seahawks defense will put pressure on McCoy as they did last week against Carson Wentz with 6 sacks.
- Time of Possession: The Giants have been winning this categry during their 3 game winning streak and it stands to reason that they must continue this trend against the Seahawks to keep Russell Wilson off the field as much as possible. This will be a tall order for the Giants without Daniel Jones.
- Secondary Must Step Up: The Seahawks have some play makers on offense led by quarterback Russell Wilson and wide receiver DK Metcalf who leads the league with 11 deep receptions. Metcalf is big, fast and very physical and I expect to see the Giants employ CB James Bradberry as the one assigned to him for most of this game. If Bradberry can prevent big plays from Metcalf, the Giants will benefit from it and keep the game within reach.
- Special Teams to the Rescue: If there’s ever a game the Giants special teams play a major role in the outcome of a game; it’s this one. The Giants must get big plays out of their special teams; whether it’s on a kick and/or punt return or a turnover from their special team units. Also, kicker Graham Cano needs to continue to perform the way he has all reason; along with punter Dixon Riley as well as field positions will be essential.
- Red Zone/3rd Down Conversions: The Giants stats in these two categories are based on QB Daniel Jones under center, so with the likelihood of him missing this game; we can throw out these stats for the Giants. On the other hand; the Seahawks are tied for 1st place with Minnesota in the red zone sporting a 77.78% and a 54.55% over the last 3 games. On 3rd down conversions, the Seahawks are at 41.23% and over the last 3 games are at 45%. These two categories will determine the outcome of this game more than any other category. The Giants defense must keep the Seahawks out of the end zone on any red zone possessions, as I can’t see the Giants scoring many touchdowns in this game.
Final Thoughts:
Any injury to a key player is never a good time, but in the Giants case; if quarterback Daniel Jones is out couldn’t come at a worse time with the Giants finally playing competitive football and the opportunity to steal the NFC east crown.
I’m not going to sugar coat these Giant fans as I believe this will be the toughest game of the year for the Giants; especially without Daniel Jones. So many facets must go the Giants way for them to walk out of Seattle with a win.
The offense needs to be flawless and somehow come up with big plays against a Seattle defense that has struggled this year over and currently ranked last in yards per game with 434.9. The defense must play their best football thus far this season (it that’s possible) and try to slow down a Seattle offense (ranked 3rd overall) that features arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Russell Wilson. The Giants special teams must come up with at least two turnovers to give this team any chance to win this game. Without Jones, I just can’t see Colt McCoy picking apart the Seattle defense that will more than likely load the box against the run and dare McCoy to beat them with his arm.
The Giants as always will play with a lot of heart and determination, but it will be too much for them to overcome as the defense will be on the field too long, the offense will not be able to convert enough 3rd down conversions to sustain their drives to put enough points on the board. The Seahawks defense will blitzes as much as possible to disrupt Colt McCoy and make him very uncomfortable with constant pressure. In the end, the Seahawks are too tough especially at home and will end the Giants three game winning streak.
Final Score: Seahawks-20/Giants-9