By Michael Stewart/@TheTruthNYG
The Giants travel to Washington on a short week and must find a way to re-group after an embarrassing display of football against the Broncos in the season opener. The Giants and the Washington Football team both stand at 0-1 after week 1, so this early NFC east divisional showdown becomes more magnified. The Giants have won 5 straight against Washington and now must find a way to mustard up more offense against a very talented defense. Here are my Top 5 ways the Giants can get their first win of the season.
- Giant’s Offensive-VS-Washington’s Defensive front 4: Let’s be honest here, this matchup is the #1 category the Giants must contain if they expect to extend the winning streak to 6. It all starts in the trenches and if the Giants offensive line can’t manage to open up some holes to get the ground game going or give Jones enough time to make some plays; the Giants will have a very long day.
- Daniels Jones-VS-Taylor Heinicke: Jones didn’t play badly in the season opener aside from his ill-advised fumble. Jones show great chemistry with Sterling Shepard and starting showing a little with Kenny Golladay in the 2nd half. Taylor Heinicke replaces the injured Ryan Fitzpatrick (hip injury) and has seen limited playing time in NFL, aside from 2018 with the Panthers where he completed 35 out of 57 attempts. This is a match up the Giants not only need to win, but win big.
- Giants pass rush-VS-Washington’s pass rush: I don’t expect the Giants to match sacks with Washington in this game. However; I do expect the Giants to minimize Washington’s chances and number of pressures on Daniel Jones. The Giants will be facing backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who is more mobile than Fitzpatrick , so I expect to see more roll outs by Washington to offset the Giants pass rush
- Turnovers/3rd conversion: In the past, turnovers have been a key factor in determining the winner as I see no reason why this game will be different. Also, at some point the Giants need to do a better job in converting their 3rd downs and keep their offensive drives alive or the defense will once again run out of gas.
- Time of Possession: This category has arguably been the Giants biggest nemesis over the past several season’s and they displayed their ineptness in their season opener by controlling the ball for only 24:52. This certainly can’t be the case in this game as the Giants need to sustain more drives to create more scoring chances.
Injuries are part of the game and without Ryan Fitzpatrick, Washington could have problems getting in the end zone. It all starts in the trenches and if Giants allow Washington’s front four to dominate the game, the Giants will be 0-2 to start the season. However; if the Giants offensive line can somehow minimize Washington’s chances and if the defense can put forth a strong effort (wouldn’t be easy), the Giants could extend the winning streak to 6 and get their first win of the season. Need to go with recent history between these two teams and despite my previous prediction of a Giants loss; I believe the injury to Fitzpatrick will play a bigger role than we think. Giants play a nail-biter and squeak out a tough win.
Final Score: Giants-13/Washington-9