With the New York Giants facing off against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 on Sunday, let’s take a look at five reasons Big Blue should cruise to victory.
Saquon Barkley
After sitting out all four preseason games, reigning rookie of the year Saquon Barkley is injury free and ready to go for the regular season. Coming off a year where he was the third rookie in league history to accumulate 2,000 yards from scrimmage, Barkley is primed to have another big year behind a much improved offensive line.
Barkley still rushed for 1,307 yards and five per carry behind the 27th ranked unit in the league last season. The tailback also ran for 109 yards and one touchdown averaging almost seven yards per carry (6.41) on only 17 attempts against Dallas in the 2018 season finale.
The hope is that keeping Barkley’s legs fresh this offseason will pay off for him as he will be asked to carry a heavy workload all season. The sky is the limit for the second year Pro Bowler if he can stay healthy. Dallas will without a doubt have their work cut out for them trying to stop Barkley all day on Sunday.
Improved offensive line
Speaking of the offensive line, there are three familiar faces returning from last season from left to center in tackle Nate Solder, second year guard Will Hernandez, and center Jon Halapio.
Both Solder and Hernandez struggled in the early part of 2018, but figured it out in the final eight games. Their improvement can partly be credited to the acquisition of right guard Jamon Brown and the insertion of center Spencer Pulley to help stabilize the middle and opposite side of the line.
Now, Halapio is back and healthy in the middle after his season-ending ankle surgery in early 2018. General manager Dave Gettleman also went out and traded for an above average right guard in Kevin Zeitler and brought in veteran right tackle Mike Remmers in free agency.
Both players have shown tremendous leadership and flashed their skill level this preseason, which will only help further stabilize the offensive line, which has been a major weakness over the past seven years in Giants land.
As for Remmers, he certainly will have his work cut out for him this week trying to keep All-Pro defensive end Demarcus Lawrence in check. Remmers is coming off a back procedure this offseason and has also been limited in practice this week due to what the team called an illness/bug. Look for this matchup as the most important up-front. Whoever gets the better of whom, could ultimately have a large impact on the winner of this game.
Eli Manning
After a stellar preseason performance from top draft pick Daniel Jones, there were a lot of whispers this summer on whether he would dethrone Eli Manning. These questions were immediately shot down by owner John Mara and head coach Pat Shurmur as they both backed Eli as their starter for 2019, despite spending the No. 6 pick on Jones.
While Jones certainly shined in exhibition action (29-for-34, 247 yards, two touchdowns), the plan is for him to sit behind Manning and learn. With that being said, Manning still needs to perform more than ever now with a viable young backup sitting behind him for the first time practically ever. Eli knows this and that is why his performance is a main storyline to keep an eye on in the early part of the regular season.
Manning will be without one of his top targets for the first four weeks in wideout Golden Tate. Luckily, he still has Saquon, Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram to get the ball to. These three will be complemented in the passing game by solid role players in Rhett Ellison, Cody Latimer, Russell Shepard, and Bennie Fowler.
In his last meeting with the Cowboys, Manning went 24-for-41 for 301 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while his offense put-up 35 points on the scoreboard. If the offense remains in sync similar to how they finished the final five games of the season last year (27 ppg), you can expect that the quarterback will be a big part of it, which gives them a solid chance to win this week.
Improved pass rush
This has been an issue over the past two seasons as the Giants defense ranked in the bottom of the league with only 30 sacks in 2018. This number needs to improve if this team is going to be taken seriously this year.
While taking Daniel Jones at six is starting to look like a great decision, Giants brass still passed up on a potential elite edge rusher in Josh Allen. They also failed to really upgrade this area that has been such a glaring weakness in recent years. It will certainly be a tough matchup for the Giants unproven defensive front going up against one of the premier offensive lines in Dallas.
Dave Gettleman added versatile big man Dexter Lawrence from Clemson, who proved that he is more than just a run stuffer this preseason. Lawrence showcased his ability to disrupt the pocket from the inside, while also shifting over to the outside and playing in a five technique. James Bettcher needs Lawrence to step up this season and show why they took him at 17.
Another key area of production lies within the improvement of second year standouts B.J. Hill (5.5 sacks) and Lorenzo Carter (4 sacks). If these two can build off strong rookie campaigns and continue to generate pressure as they did last season, then this defensive front could become a legitimate pass rushing threat.
Outside linebacker Markus Golden was another key addition in the front seven that Gettleman signed this offseason. Golden looked healthy this preseason and showed that he can still get to the quarterback. If he can even somewhat revert back to his skill level pre-ACL surgery (16.5 sacks) then it could pay off for the Giants defense.
Rookie third rounder Oshane Ximines also flashed his talent this preseason with three sacks. You should also look for Bettcher to get creative with his blitz calls possibly utilizing hybrid safeties Jabrill Peppers and Antoine Bethea in this area.
Ability to keep Zeke in check
Arguably one of the most critical aspects in the game plan will be stopping the NFL’s leading rusher in Ezekiel Elliot.
Just back from Cabo, Zeke signed one of the richest contracts in running back history for six years $90 million with $50 million guaranteed (league record). Like Barkley, Zeke did not appear in a preseason game, but he also did not participate in a day of training camp either.
Zeke will have fresh legs like Barkley, which means he will be ready to run wild on Sunday if not held in check. It’s up to the Giants to limit his yardage and take him out of the game by not letting him burn them for big plays on the outside.
Take Zeke out of the equation and it will be left to Dak Prescott to try and beat them, which would be the ideal situation for Big Blue. In his only matchup against the Giants last season in Week 2, Zeke rushed for 78 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown and averaged 4.5 yards per attempt.
But all things considered, the Giants have been moderately successful against Zeke throughout his young career in comparison to what he’s managed against other teams.
