New York Giants: 3 key players to overcome the 49ers in week 3

After two tough matchups to open the season, the New York Giants are sitting at 0-2 and are looking to collect their first win against the San Francisco 49ers and week three. The 49ers are ravaged by injuries, giving the Giants a good chance of walking away with their first victory.

New head coach Joe Judge has instilled fight in his team, but moral victories are no longer acceptable for a Giants fan base waiting years for any semblance of success.

Despite featuring reserves at multiple positions, walking away with a comfortable win is not likely. San Francisco‘s coaching staff is one of the best in the NFL, and they will give the Giants a difficult time on both sides of the ball. Big Blue’s defense has been solid to open the year, but their offense has been lackluster.

Winning the turnover battle is a necessity, and quarterback Daniel Jones must be efficient in the passing game. In addition, with Saquon Barkley out for the season after tearing his ACL against the Chicago Bears, the running game will have to be a creative display.

Three players the New York Giants need to step up to overcome the 49ers in week three:

1.) Lorenzo Carter

For the Giants to win on Sunday, their pass rush must get after Nick Mullens. Through two weeks, one of their more promising players has been Lorenzo Carter. Zo looked phenomenal during training camp, dominating the Giants’ tackles regularly.

So far, through two games, he has earned 11 combined tackles and one sack. He’s played 98% of defensive snaps in both games and even participated on special teams.

I believe Carter is the difference-maker in this game, getting after Mullens regularly and displaying some of his potential. San Francisco has Mike McGlinchey and Trent Williams as their tackles, two quality players who will pose threats for the Giants’ pass rushers. Carter has shown that he can be a solid contributor, but this is the game he can finally explode onto the scene.

2.) Wayne Gallman

The Giants signed Devonta Freeman this past week, but I don’t imagine he will play a big part in Sunday’s game against the 49ers. There’s no possible way he could’ve learned the playbook that quickly, considering management has eased Logan Ryan into the mix, and he’s been on the team for multiple weeks now.

I estimate that Freeman will play about 25% of offensive snaps, giving Wayne Gallman the bulk of the carries at tailback. In 2019, it seemed as a former head coach Pat Shurmur disliked Gallman. The Giants went out and signed Joe “Buck” Allen to handle a majority of the reps when Barkley went down, which left the former Clemson stand-out on the bench. He totally just 29 rushes for 110 yards and two scores.

Overall, Wayne is not a bad running back in any sense and actually is capable of breaking some big plays on occasion. I think the Giants will give him the first crack at it, as they ease Freeman into his regular workload.

The Giants only have 104 total rushing yards on the year, due to their offensive lines inadequacy in run blocking support. If Gallman can get going and control the tempo of the game, the Giants will have a much better chance of securing victory on Sunday.

3.) Evan Engram

Ahh, Evan Engram, the golden goose who can’t even show his own value in gold. The speedy tight end has struggled to find his groove so far in the 2020 season, primarily due to a lack of live-action during the off-season.

Engram injured his foot in week 9 against the New England Patriots last year and spent multiple months rehabilitating on crutches. Head coach Joe Judge stated that Engram goes 100% all the time — he has looked stellar during practice, but it simply hasn’t translated to regular-season games. He currently has eight receptions for 74 yards, hosting a 53.3% catch rate. After struggling immensely in week one against Pittsburgh, Evan saw his snap count increased by 3% to 97%. His receiving yards per target went from 1.29 to 8.13, which is a sizable difference.

Overall, we know what Engram is capable of in the passing game, but he is a liability in pass blocking and must be utilized away from that factor. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has done some good things with him, getting him open in the seam and sitting him down at the 1st-down yard-marker. However, dropping passes and slipping at the point of attack is unacceptable. Daniel Jones‘ single interception last week was a result of Engram slipping on the sod with the ball in the air.

I believe week three‘s contest against the 49ers represents a fantastic opportunity for Engram to break out of his slump and return to his normal self.