In the wake of a come-from-behind victory on the back of Daniel Jones and some help from a last second missed field goal, the New York Giants have momentum as they travel home to face the Washington Redskins in Week 4.
Let’s take a look at five reasons why Big Blue will come out on top this week.
A strong second start from Jones
While it will be difficult to follow up the amazing display rookie quarterback Daniel Jones put on in his first career start (23-of-36, 336 yards, two passing and two rushing touchdowns), you can expect Jones to have another solid game against a weak Redskins defensive unit.
The 0-3 Redskins have allowed at least 31 points in all three of their games so far in 2019 and were a mess in their matchup against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night (31-15 loss). The Redskins defense actually had their best game based on yardage allowed as they gave up a total of 298, compared to 436, and 474 in the first two weeks. Their third down percentage allowed on defense this season is an ugly 63.4%, while Jones had the Giant offense at 46% on third down.
Despite being without Saquan Barkley (high ankle sprain) for the foreseeable future, Jones proved up to the task in his first game after Barkley was knocked out in the second quarter. The rookie quarterback did not seem phased as he brought his team back from an 18-point deficit without their best player.
Look for Pat Shurmur to continue to find ways to utilize Jones this week as he is now the main focal point without Barkley. Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram and Darius Slayton were all active with Jones throwing them the ball in the passing game against the Bucs. Now the Giants get wideout Cody Latimer (concussion) back this week, which only adds to Jones list of weapons.
Semi-productive running game
While it will certainly hurt to be without dynamic play-maker Saquan Barkley carrying the rock, the Giants dropped their first two-games of the season when Barkley was over 100 yards each week.
Barkley is an astounding player and the offense will without a doubt miss him, but having the mobility of Daniel Jones under center will help whoever is lined up in the backfield. This week it is Wayne Gallman and rookie practice-squad call up Jon Hilliman.
These two backs are no slouches and should at least be semi-productive on the ground behind a much improved offensive line. Despite having limited carries since Saquan burst onto the scene last year, Gallman averages over two-yard after contact per rush attempt. He also has 51 catches for 336 yards and two touchdowns (one in 2019) in 31 career games.
You can expect Gallman to run several read option plays with Jones while also being utilized in the passing game, as well on screen plays. If the third-year running back can show flashes like he did in his rookie season (111 carries, 476 yards, 4.3 yards per carry, 34 catches, 193 yards), then big blue might survive in the weeks without Barkley.
Continued production from the receivers
Reason number three speaks for itself. Sterling Shepard (seven receptions, 100 yards, one touchdown) and Evan Engram (six catches, 113 yards, one touchdown) both had huge days in Jones debut catching a combined 13 passes, 213 yards, and two touchdowns between them.
Engram made a couple eye-popping plays including a flashy one-handed catch (Odell who?) in the second quarter when he snatched the ball with a nifty back-hand as if he were an outfielder. The speedy tight end also had a catch-and-run of 75 yards on the opening play of the second-half to get things going for his offense.
This play was the longest of Engram’s career by a good 21-yards. The third-year pro is already having an incredible start to his 2019 campaign with 23 receptions, 277 yards, and two touchdowns.
As for Shepard, he continued to haul in clutch passes all game long including a diving touchdown grab from Jones in the second-half to cut the deficit to three-points. Jones dropped a beautiful dime away from two defenders, where only Shepard could make a play on the ball, and he did. He also caught a huge pass on the team’s final comeback drive that set them up in the red zone with under two-minutes to go.
An additional impressive debut on offense came from a rookie not named Daniel Jones. Said rookie was the 4.3 40-yard dash running Darius Slayton, who caught three passes for 82 yards. One of these was a 47-yard catch on a play where Jones was under heavy pressure and delivered arguably the best ball thrown all day.
If these two can continue their early chemistry, Slayton may step up and become the Giants third receiver on offense.
As previously mentioned, Cody Latimer is returning from his Week 2 concussion and should add to this productive group. Latimer had a strong first two-games catching six-passes for 100 yards in about seven quarters.
Pass rush
Last week was another step in the right direction for the Giants pass rushing unit (four sacks), as they were able to create consistent pressure for the majority of the game. After having no sacks in Week 1, the Giants defense has racked up a total of seven in the past two games.
Veteran edge rusher Markus Golden has three sacks in the last two games, as well including two on James Winston in Week 3. Rookie third-rounder Oshane Ximines is also one-of-four defensive players in history to record 1.5 sacks in their first three career games.
The Redskins line is out of whack with star left tackle Trent Williams sitting out, and former Giants first round draft bust Ereck Flowers starting at guard. Look for Dexter Lawrence to expose Flowers poor technique all game. Lawrence is coming off a strong performance against the Bucs picking up his first sack and blocking an extra point that wound up being the difference in a one-point victory for his team.
If the Giants front-seven can continue to build off their progress in the pass rushing game, it will be a long day for Case Keenum under center.
Continued improvement from the secondary
While Mike Evans went off for over 100-yards and three-touchdowns alone in the first half on Sunday against Janoris Jenkins, give credit to the Giants secondary for bouncing back in the second half to allow only three points and one catch from Evans.
Give credit to Bettcher, as well for making the necessary adjustments to minimize a Bucs offense that scored 28 points in the first half. When it looked as though the Giants defense was going to be run off the field for the third straight week, they buckled down and stepped up when it mattered.
One hero from the game included Deandre Baker, who had a huge bounce back game shadowing Chris Godwin and holding him to only three catches and 40 yards. He also had a critical pass-breakup on a deep ball to Godwin down the right sideline in the second half, running with the receiver stride-for-stride. It was clearly starting to look like Baker is becoming more comfortable in this system and part of the reason could be his increase in press coverage, which was his strength in college.
Another honorable mention from the defensive backfield goes to safety Michael Thomas’s game saving third down tackle on third-and-short on Cameron Brate. This helped force a punt with under three-minutes left giving the ball back to Jones, who led the Giants down the field for a go-ahead score.
This defensive unit is starting to look more comfortable in this system and it showed in the final 30 minutes last week. As a result, you can expect to see a major improvement out of the Giants secondary on Sunday.
