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By Michael Stewart/@golferbad

Introduction: The Giants travel to face the Washington Redskins; which will arguably be the biggest game of this season for both teams with draft implications. The Giants defeated the Redskins earlier in the season 24-3, but this is a different Washington Redskins the Giants will face Sunday with rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins under center.

Haskins has led Washington to two out their three wins and with Haskins, the Redskins has been more productive despite currently ranked last in the NFL.  At this time, it appears that Giants rookie Daniel Jones will make his first start since he injured his ankle two weeks ago. If so, it will be an interesting matchup between two rookie quarterbacks leading their respective teams. Here are my top 5 ways the Giants could win the game:

  • Saquon Barkley-vs-Redskins run defense: Barkley topped the 100 yards marker (112) for the 1st game in the last seven games and he could be finally getting his rhythm back; which could be bad news for the Redskins.
  • Giants Offensive line-vs-Redskins Defensive Front: The Redskins have been very productive in the pass rush with 42 sacks led by Matthew Ioannidis, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen and Ryan Anderson. The Giants have nd have allowed 38 sacks and must prevent the Redskins defensive front 7 from dominating in this category.

Time of Possession:  

  • The Redskins have been overall horrendous in controlling the line of scrimmage; which reflects on their time of possession of only 26:49 minutes per game. The Giants have been equally as bad with a 28:29 time of possession. The Giants will benefit by keeping their off the field as much as possible and the best way to do this is by moving the chains.
  • Turnovers: The Redskins are currently sitting at +2 in the turnover ratio; which has gotten better over the last several games. The Giants, on the other hand, are at -15; which is the lowest it’s been all season. In previous games, turnovers have played a big part in the outcome of the game and I don’t see this game being any different.
  • 3rd Down Conversion: The Redskins are equally bad in converting on 3rd down offensively (28.1 %) as they are in defending on 3rd down (49.4 %). The Giants have converted only 36.2 % on 3rd down and have surrendered 39.5 % of 3rd downs to their opponents.

Final Thoughts:  The weather forecast for the game this coming Sunday is calling for clear skies with temperatures around the mid 40’s. Both teams will be competitive despite the ramifications that are at stake here for draft position.

Giants have played well at RFK stadium, but this will be Daniel Jones first time playing there and that could give the Redskins a slight advantage.  I don’t expect any team pulling away here as we should see a close battle that could be decided in the final minutes. In the end, I believe the Redskins will even the season series (1-1) and gain their fourth victory of the season and miss out on Chase Young in the draft.

 Final Score: Redskins-20/Giants-17