New York Giants: 3 keys to beating the Washington Football Team

Every week seems to be a must-win game for the New York Giants, who have fallen to 0-5 and are in the midst of losing all hope during the 2020 season. General manager Dave Gettleman surely can’t survive his team’s latest floundering, and falling to the Washington Football Team in week six would be the icing on the cake for his tenure in New York.

Washington represents a better defense than the Dallas Cowboys, but their offense is undergoing major shifts since the benching of Dwayne Haskins. The Giants have some offensive momentum after posting 34 points against Dallas, and we saw a spark of their capabilities in the first quarter last week.

Three keys to beating the Washington Football Team:

1.) Win the turnover battle

Every week it’s the same story, and it is no different in week six. The Giants must win the turnover differential and keep the ball safe. This year, they have a -3 margin, with Daniel Jones throwing five interceptions and fumbling four times.

Jones must take care of the football against a stellar defensive front for Washington. Left tackle Andrew Thomas and pass rusher Chase Young will have a legendary battle, and with the way Thomas is playing, Jones is going to be running for his life all day.

Washington currently ranks 10th in the NFL with 46 sacks, as the Giants are at 22nd with 36. The offensive line for Big Blue ranks near the bottom of the league in pass protection but has seen a gradual improvement in run blocking. This would be a great week for them to show their true potential and dominate in the trenches finally.

2.) Creative on offense

Creativity on offense is essential for the Giants, who have underwhelmed in the category this year. They rank at the bottom of the league in pre-stop motion with Jason Garrett calling plays, and that is simply unacceptable.

Pre-snap motion can give essential information before the play is activated. Whether the defense is playing man coverage or zone is a big take away from utilizing this factor, and we saw a bit of it against Dallas in week five. On one specific play, Jones motions Golden Tate to the right side of the scrimmage line where Jalyn Smith is forced to follow him in man coverage. This opens up a lane and a perfect match up for Garrett’s outside zone-blocking scheme. Devonta freeman picks up 9 yards on the carry and attests to what the offense is capable of.

I also want to see Garrett push Darius Slayton downfield like he did against the Cowboys and utilize Evan Engram in the seam.

Engram has been misused all season, running stick routes and curls far too often. They need to get him into space, running drag routes and streaks up the seam. These are just a few ideas to spur some creativity on offense, but it comes down to Garrett to make it happen.

3.) Put pressure on Kyle Allen

Putting pressure on Kyle Allen is an essential factor for the Giants if they want to win this week. Allen started his first game for Washington against the Rams in week five and was sacked twice in just 46% of available snaps.

He left the game the second half with a head injury but is all set to go against the Giants. With his minimal reps, I expect defensive coordinator Patrick Graham to use creative blitzes and try to confuse the young quarterback, who’s on his second team in three years.

As stated above, the Giants have 36 sacks on the season but recently lost Lorenzo Carter with a torn Achilles for the remainder of the year. They also have Oshane Ximines on injured reserve, so they will be wholly relying on Kyler Fackrell and Markus Golden to get the job done. They are more than capable pass rushers, but I fear the run defense will take a hit without Carter sealing the edge.