Giants Looking For A Big Monday Night W To Keep Up In NFC East
The NFL season is a roller coaster. After a pair of wins to open the year, Big Blue looked to be the division favorite. The jury was still out on Carson Wentz as he’d only roughed up the lowly Browns & Bears. The Giants had already knocked off Dallas who then took down the hapless Redskins. Plus New York was playing quality football. Actually defending well & spreading the ball around on offense while being responsible & disciplined. That was until Washington came to town & left with their first W as the G-Men fell apart at the seams. Since then – Philly has demolished the Steelers, Dallas has their winning streak at 3 & the Skins are back to .500. A prime-time loss tonight to the undefeated Vikings in Minnesota would surprisingly put NY in worse position then they were in last year at the quarter mark.
This game is the first of a few “gut checks” over the course of a 16-game schedule. The Giants know they shot themselves in the foot last week with brain-dead penalties & inexcusable turnovers. That’s exactly the brand of pigskin the Vikes have forced onto their opponents so far. Their D has taken the ball away 9 times already & their only giveaway all year was their defense fumbling away a fumble recovery. Special teams & defense have as many touchdowns (3) as their entire offense – so clearly the key to a Big Blue victory here is to protect the football & not allow the league’s worst offense (yardage-wise) short fields.
Without Adrian Peterson or Teddy Bridgewater, the revamped Giants defense should feast. They’ve been about as stingy as can be against the run going up against an abysmal rushing attack averaging almost a full yard less than the second-worst squad so far. There’s certainly some concerns in the New York’s secondary. DRC won’t be near 100% tonight while rookie Eli Apple sits. Andrew Adams lucked out of his assumed pink slip after there being no other safeties left standing besides Landon Collins & will start tonight. Still, we’re talking about Sam Bradford – a defensive end’s favorite punching bag. JPP & Vernon must put pressure on him to get rid of the ball quickly. As long as Jenkins can hang around with Stefon Diggs all night there should be ample opportunity for the G-Men to help Bradford even out that TD/TO ratio.
The biggest test will be on the other side of the ball. Minnesota’s defense is aggressive as fuck. Pressure, takeways, sacks, big hits – this group does it all. Their linebackers are all studs as is Harrison Smith. If the Giants offensive line can’t contain guys like Everson Griffen & Eli’s forced to dump balls across the middle, it’s gonna be a problem. A running game led by Orleans Darkwa will be there to do nothing more than keep them honest. All this means it’s most likely gonna take a vintage effort from Beckham on the outside. If this kid really thinks he’s in the same class as all-time great Lawrence Taylor, it’s about time he makes the highlight reels with a dominant performance instead of getting roughed up by kicker nets.
OK ODB. I ride with you bro. You wanna get chin-checked by inanimate objects? You wanna cry because you want the ball? Fine. But it’s a “what have you done for me lately” league & there’s still a zero in that TD column. Put up 9-140-2 in a Giants win tonight & I don’t care if you greco-roman wrestle a Gatorade cooler. It’s hard to envision another way that this Big Blue offense can take down a stout purple D in prime time under their own roof.