The New York Giants travel to Mo-town to face the Detroit Lions in hostile territory on Sunday.
The Lions have the second-worst defense in the league, but that may not matter if Daniel Jones continues to turn the ball over. Both teams are looking for a victory after having just two wins apiece under their belts, and whichever team wins is going to have to work for it.
That said, here are the Giants’ Week 8 keys to victory:
Eliminate turnovers
As a team, the Giants have nine interceptions and five fumbles through the first seven games. That’s an average of almost two turnovers per game. You can’t win a football game if you can’t keep the ball in the hands of your offense, so it’s imperative that these turnovers stop.
Daniel Jones is responsible for seven of the nine interceptions. Whether it’s poor decision making, wrong routes run, bad timing… whatever the cause it doesn’t matter. Those problems have to be solved if the Giants want any hope of doing something this season. They’re facing one of the worst defenses in the NFL on Sunday, so if they can start fresh with no turnovers against the Lions, it will go a long way to avoiding turnovers in the future.
Shore up the shoddy play-calling/challenges
Pat Shurmur can help his rookie quarterback a lot by calling the right plays. He needs to call plays that Jones can not only run, but can run effectively and efficiently. There are a lot of things that Jones will have to learn on his own, but he can learn even more when his coach sets him up for success. Having success not only helps Jones learn, but it gives him the confidence he needs to lead a professional football team.
If a player is constantly failing or turning the ball over, it takes a toll on his psyche. Shurmur can help him out by calling plays that make sense and that can be executed properly.
Meanwhile, challenges are always difficult in the NFL, especially with this year’s officiating inconsistencies — not just between crews but throughout a single game. Still, it’s the coach’s responsibility to make sure that he is challenging plays that are legitimately called incorrectly. Throwing the challenge flag on a play that isn’t clear isn’t just a waste of a challenge, it costs a timeout. Timeouts are precious as the game winds down, so it’s important to be pretty certain in what you’re challenging.
Shurmur is 0-5 on challenging pass interference plays this season, and the NFL isn’t overturning many calls this season as it is. Shurmur is aware of this and still throws the flag, costing the Giants a timeout every time. It’s time to adjust.
Hit Stafford early and often
Getting to the quarterback early and often goes a long way towards a win in any game. With Matt Stafford it’s no different. Hitting him early and often will put a kink in his decision-making ability by making him feel pressured to make faster decisions than he wants to make.
Having to make faster decisions leads to errors in decision-making, leading to getting the defense off the field and letting Jones do his thing on offense. Markus Golden leads the team with five sacks, so getting him involved will be huge. If the Lions offensive line is able to protect Stafford, he has the ability to tear apart the Giants defense. Shutting him down, or at least making his life more difficult, will play a huge part in if the Giants can pull off a win.
