The New York Giants are coming off their second straight victory in a 24-3 route of the lowly Washington Redskins last Sunday.
Big Blue now sits tied for second place with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East at 2-2. The Giants will face a much tougher task this weekend against a dangerous Minnesota Vikings team, who will be hungry for a win after an embarrassing display against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Let’s look at the five reasons the Giants will win this weekend:
Home sweet home
The Giants remain at home for the second straight week and are looking to extend their winning streak to three games against a Vikings offense, who were held to six points in their latest contest.
Despite Minnesota coming in as the favorite on the road at -5.5, the momentum belongs to Big Blue on their home turf coming off two straight triumphs. There will be a ton of pressure on Kirk Cousins, who has yet to live up to his contract nor defeat teams with a .500 or better record (0-2 in 2019).
The Giants are among the top five teams in attendance numbers in the league this year averaging 74, 359 people per home game. You can anticipate a packed house with a lively and buzzing crowd at MetLife this week, as the home team looks to ascend above .500 for the first time since 2016.
Defensive adjustments
After a historically bad start to the season, allowing 91 points in their first 10 quarters played, the Giants defense seems to have found its groove under coordinator James Bettcher.
Since giving up 28 points in the first half versus the Buccaneers in Week 3, the Giants defense has only allowed two field goals and zero touchdowns. While some could argue that last game’s 24-3 score was against a lesser opponent in the dysfunctional Redskins, holding the Bucs to a measly three-points in the second half the prior week proves that Bettcher’s adjustments at halftime were key. Even more so that Tampa put up 55 points last week to beat the Los Angeles Rams the following week.
Despite not getting to the quarterback in Week 1, the Giants defense has recorded at least three sacks in the past three games. Veteran edge rusher Markus Golden leads the pack with four sacks and rookie Oshane Ximines has impressed with two of his own. It also helps that the Vikings’ offensive line is in the middle of the rebuild and allowed six sacks against the Bears last week.
Losing stud rookie linebacker Ryan Connelly for the season (torn ACL) is a huge blow to the Giants defensive unit, but the hope is replacement David Mayo can continue his solid play after recording a team-high eight tackles in his first start last week. Mayo plays a similar style to Connelly, as another hard-nosed down hill inside backer, who flows to the ball, plugs holes and comes up to make stuff plays. The Giants need that guy on the inside to be all over the field, as Connelly was.
Look for Bettcher to continue to utilize safety Jabrill Peppers as a money backer/hawk type hybrid on defense. Peppers has thrived in this role having his best game of the season last week with a pick-six, two passes defended, and six tackles. In the last two weeks, Peppers has recorded 14 tackles, three passes defended, and interception, and a touchdown.
Stopping the air attack
Janoris Jenkins had a major bounce back week picking off Dwayne Haskins twice to earn NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Jackrabbit needed this kind of game in the worst way after surrendering three touchdowns and 145 yards receiving to Tampa receiver Mike Evans. Keep in mind, Jackrabbit is one of the few corners asked to shadow the team’s best receiver each game.
This week he will most likely be shadowing Vikings receiver Adam Thielen, who publicly complained about not getting the ball enough recently, so you can expect his targets to increase. The hope is Jackrabbit will be up to the test.
Rookie corner Deandre Baker also had a very solid game for the second straight week. Baker recorded two tackles and was barely targeted in the contest, as he demonstrated excellent coverage after shutting down Chris Godwin (three catches, 40 yards) the previous week. For Baker, the less his name is called the better, unless he is forcing a turnover.
Some stats don’t show up in the box score and for Baker, that has been the case the past two games quietly improving after a rough first two weeks. He will certainly have his work cut out for him covering Stefon Diggs, but he looks to be more comfortable in Bettcher’s defense and confidence is key when it comes to being a young corner in the NFL.
Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph only has five catches for 31 yards on seven targets to open the year. This is good news for the Giants, who have struggled to cover the position for the past four-straight seasons.
Balanced offense
Giants third-year running back Wayne Gallman is coming off a big week in his first start following Saquon Barkley’s injury. Gallman, who has shown flashes at times, did not disappoint rushing for 63 yards and a touchdown, as well as catching six passes for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Although Gallman didn’t post a Barkley-like performance averaging only 3.5 yards per carry, his value in both the rush and pass offense deemed valuable in Big Blue’s offense. The hope is, he can continue to provide stability at tail back until Saquan makes his return, which may be sooner rather than later as Barkley is well ahead of schedule.
As for the passing game, Evan Engram caught four passes for 54 yards and Sterling Shepard hauled in seven catches for 76 yards. These two have been the go-to options in the Giants aerial attack, especially since Daniel Jones took over under center (Shepard, 176 yards in two games. Engram, 165 yards in two games).
Jones now gets another impact player back this week in Golden Tate, who will make his Giants debut coming off a four-game suspension. Tate played with Jones in the preseason and is expected to be utilized in the slot upon his return. Tate has caused the most missed tackles among defenders in the league since 2012.
Jones certainly wasn’t perfect in his second start last week (23-31, 225 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions), but his decision-making when determining when to take off and run helped convert two huge third-and-longs for first downs, which led to points.
If Jones can continue to make the right reads and protects the football, you can assume that he will be on his way to his third straight win in as many NFL starts.
Containing Dalvin Cook
While Vikings running back Dalvin Cook is off to a monstrous start in 2019 (71 attempts, 410 yards, five touchdowns, 5.8 yards per carry), he had a slow day against the Bears defense in Week 4. Cook ran for a mere 35 yards on 14 carries averaging 2.5 yards per carry. Although he did have a touchdown, this was the only time his offense found the end zone as they only accumulated 40 rushing yards on the ground.
As previously mentioned, the loss of Ryan Connelly in the middle of the Giants defense is a huge loss to this unit’s defense against the run. The hope is, guys like David Mayo, Jabrill Peppers and B.J. Hill will continue to make plays to halt the opposing team’s rushing attack.
If the run defense can rise to the occasion and contain Cook, Kirk Cousins will have to try and beat a much improved secondary with his arm. The Vikings certainly have their fair share of weapons in Cook, Theilen, and Diggs, but the offensive line is struggling right now and the skill players are not gelling with the quarterback.
