Following their brutal, disappointing season-opening loss at home to the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants have no time to patch their wounds. The NFL schedule makers have not been friendly to the organization in recent years, including this season, and now the league overlords have handed the Giants another challenge. They must rebound quickly and travel to FedEx Field for their second game in five days, a contest against the defensive-minded Washington Football Team.
The Giants and Washington are set to face off for the first time this season on Thursday Night Football in an important divisional matchup that could dictate the early fate of their seasons given their respective schedules. The two franchises enter Thursday at 0-1 after losing their Week 1 games to the Broncos and LA Chargers, with both aiming desperately to avoid the 0-2 hole. For the Giants, falling into that spot would be the fifth consecutive time since 2016–their last winning season–they’ve done so.
Luckily for them, Washington has been a favorable opponent in their recent meetings. The Giants have won the previous five meetings against Washington dating back to when they were still named the “Redskins, and they even swept them last season before Washington would ultimately win the NFC East. The matchup has also been a bright one for quarterback Daniel Jones and head coach Joe Judge, who both carry 4-0 and 2-0 records against Washington respectively.
As this year’s series approaches however, the Giants know they are facing a much improved Washington team than the one they used to smoke for two lofty wins every season. First, their locker room is now being led by Ron Rivera, the former Panthers head coach in his second season with the maroon and gold, whose culture and playbook emphasize a tough, risk it for the biscuit attitude that plays itself out on 4th down conversions. The defense is headlined by Chase Young and ranks in the top of the league in numerous categories, including total rushing yards allowed per game. In week 1 against the Chargers, Young and company held the opposing backfield to just 90 yards of total rushing, a number that could be lower for a Giants’ rushing game that has yet to discover their potential behind a poor offensive line and rehabbing Saquon Barkley.
Washington even has their own big weapons on the offensive side of the ball, like wide receiver Terry McLaurin. McLaurin was easily the #1 receiving target for the team last season, catching 87 passes on 134 targets for 1,118 yards and four touchdowns in 15 games. His average yards per catch was 12.9, meaning he is largely used as a deep-ball threat and keened in for long third down situations.
Running back Antonio Gibson is nothing to shake a stick at either. The 23-year-old starter was crucial in the team’s weekly offensive production from the ground, amassing 170 rushing attempts for 795 yards and eleven touchdowns. If the pace of Gibson’s usage in the offense continues, ESPN predicts that Gibson will surpass a 1,000 yard season and double the carries he took on in 2020.
Then, there’s quarterback Taylor Heinicke, a name some may be familiar with from just eight months ago when Washington last played a game with him. Heinicke was the pilot of the offense in the NFC Wild Card Game against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which Washington lost a close affair 31-23. In that game, he showcased an ability to think on the run, extend plays using his feet, and sling passes down the field if necessary, accumulating 352 yards and two touchdowns.
Even though he’s a backup quarterback, these qualities have Joe Judge knowing that neither him nor his defense can sleep on Heinicke Thursday night.
“These are guys you cannot sleep on,” said Judge on Tuesday with the media. “We have a lot of respect for Fitz and I think it’s important to see everyone’s players in the game and to see them play. We cannot sleep on Heinicke, this guy’s a good player, a talented player, and he goes out and plays 60 minutes and is gonna give us everything we can handle”
“We have been very prepared, but we have to play very sound, very disciplined, and be very aware with him on the field.”
Judge mentioned “Fitz”, short for Ryan Fitzpatrick, because he was scheduled to be the starter for Washington in this game and the entire season when it began. However, Fitzpatrick will miss this game, and a total of 6-8 weeks, after he suffered a hip injury in the Week 1 loss against the Chargers. Fitzpatrick didn’t last long on the field before departing with his injured hip, only completing three passes on 6 attempts for 13 yards.
Until he returns, Washington seems fully prepared to put their trust in Taylor Heinicke to lead them in competing for the NFC East in Fitzpatrick’s absence. If anything, he has some experience in the big-time game.
The Giants have a lot of things they need to improve on from their own disturbing performance last week if they want to have continued success in Washington and get in the win column.
First and foremost, Daniel Jones must eliminate his tendency to fumble the football on critical drives and protect his offensive possessions until the football reaches the endzone. Against Denver in Week 1, with the Giants down 20-7 but having an opportunity to revive the game for themselves in the redzone, Jones took off on a quarterback sneak that was sharply read and was met with contact at the first down line that caused him to fumble the football, ultimately ending the drive. In his first three seasons, Jones has now amassed 40 turnovers in 28 games, making him the second-fastest quarterback in history to reach that total in their career.
This week, Jones will be going up against a far more talented defense that will attack the offensive line with intensity every play and can make big plays in the air downfield. Thus, the onus will be on Jones to make sure he is aware of where the defenders are and react to them appropriately.
Outside of Jones, the Giants offense needs to get the rest of their key weapons involved in the game. Names that stick out the most from Week 1–Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golloday, Kyle Rudolph.
The Giants are continuing to reinsert Barkley into their drives diligently as he returns from an 11-month long recovery from ACL surgery, but when he is out he’s had no room to run and test whether his flashy legs can still make big plays like they had done many times before the injury. In his 10 carries on Sunday, Barkley only ran for 26 yards with an average of 2.5 yards per carry and the longest carry going for five yards. Not only does the offensive production do better with him in the backfield, Daniel Jones tends to play better with Barkley being an extra piece to throw or hand off to in difficult situations.
Kenny Golladay was also a measly contributor to the Giants’ efforts on Sunday, catching 4 passes for 64 yards with 3 of them coming in the late fourth quarter. The Giants brought Golladay in on a 4-year, $72 million deal, making him the highest-paid free agent signing during the offseason. In his seasons with the Detroit Lions, Golladay shined in the role of #1 receiver, earning consecutive seasons with 1,000 or more yards receiving for a much less gifted organization. He must bring that same talent and production to New York in order for the offense to stay on the field longer and for fans to not become irate with his signing.
Kyle Rudolph, the former Minnesota Vikings tight end, was signed in the offseason by the Giants front office not only to add another pass-catching weapon to Jones’s arsenal, but to help bolster the blocking protection on the front line that has been a severe issue for the organization. Rudolph was a very healthy starter in his ten seasons with the Vikings–having only three seasons in which he played less than 15 games–and one of their most reliable scoring players. His season-high record for touchdowns came in 2012 when he scored nine, and he recently followed that up with eight in 2017 and 6 in 2019.
With Evan Engram remaining out for the Giants through the entirety of Week 2 and the troubles he’s had catching wise recently, Kyle Rudolph looks to be the Giants’ hope for reviving the tight end position on their roster that has been mediocre for years.
Lastly, the predictability of the Giants offensive game plan has to be addressed, and the playbook needs to be diversified by offensive coordinator Jason Garrett moving forward. Following last week’s loss, there have been many in the media calling the former Cowboys head coach’s scheme “vanilla” and “utterly boring”, and perhaps that has had something to do with lack of talent in the past. Now, he has all the talent at his fingertips, and that is a positive thing one could say about the Giant front office moves this past spring. Pending, they turn into results on the field.
As much as this has become a broken record thing to say and is applicable to every game this season, Thursday night’s game at FedEx Field will be a critical one for the Giants to leave with a win. In the NFC East, only one team is likely going to make the playoffs, and with the recent low-quality football played amongst the four members each division game carries double the weight. The Dallas Cowboys are always in the conversation for chasing the division title, and the Philadelphia Eagles have risen to the occasion with their own surprising week 1 win to be the division’s lone victor so far.
Falling into an 0-2 will not only continue a trend for the Giants organization–along with one where they are currently 0-5 on Thursday night games going back to 2016– it will also raise serious questions about the security of numerous faces within the team. Questions have already been proposed about Joe Judge and his future and those of Jason Garrett, GM Dave Gettleman, and Daniel Jones as well. The Giants have Chicago’s first round pick in 2022, and co-owner John Mara has set his firm expectations for this year’s team, so the last thing anyone wants is to have to blow it up again.
Simply put, the Giants have the advantage in this game if you look at it closely. Yes, Washington has their talented defense, but the Giants are not bereft of names on their own defensive unit after spending millions on that part of the roster. Big Blue has the better offense when you compare the two teams side by side in terms of individual players. They have history on their side in this rivalry, their luck has been great against this organization, and their quarterback seems to find his confidence here.
Like Saquon Barkley said to the media, it all comes down to showing their talent and capitalizing.
“We are talented, we know the talent that we have, and we trust the coaching staff that we have,” Barkley said. “But it’s on us to go out there and capitalize on offense, defense, and special teams. If we can do that more consistently, day in and day out, then I believe the season will play out how we want it to.”
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