The New York Giants (1-2) face off against the winless Washington Redskins on Sunday in what will be the second division matchup for a Big Blue this season.
Scraping out a win will come down to numerous significant points.
For starters, rookie passer Daniel Jones must replicate what he did in week three against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tallying 336 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, he also added two rushing touchdowns.
The rookie showed his poise in the pocket and gave us a reason to believe he can be the future at quarterback for the Giants. However, a small sample size shouldn’t brew too much optimism. We need to see more from Jones, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to pick apart a weaker Washington defense.
Here are three keys for the New York Giants to win on Sunday:
1.) Get after the quarterback
Through the first two weeks of the season, the Giants recorded just three total sacks before a four sack performance against the Buccaneers. Free-agent signing Markus Golden racked up two in the win last week, showing us what he’s capable of and why the Giants took a chance on him after several seasons of inefficiency.
Washington has a lackluster offense offensive line with Ereck Flowers starting at left guard, which should be music to the ears of the Giants brass and defensive coordinator, James Bettcher.
Putting pressure on quarterback Case Keenum will be a priority for Bettcher who utilizes different blitz packages to confuse opposing offenses. Expect to see an influential push upfront from the three-down lineman in Dexter Lawrence, BJ hill, and Dalvin Tomlinson.
2.) Consistency from Daniel Jones
The second key is for Daniel Jones to provide another heartwarming performance. His four total touchdowns and 336 passing yards last week were extremely impressive, but doing it in two consecutive weeks will give us even more faith in his abilities.
There is one category that Jones has been lackluster in—ball security. Jones lost two fumbles last week in Tampa Bay, and those turnovers can end up being detrimental to the success of the team, especially late in games.
Alleviating that concern will be the priority for Jones moving forward.
3.) The secondary
Last week, the Giants secondary allowed Mike Evans to walk all over them with 190 yards and three scores. The impressive part about the unit is that they came alive in the second half of the game, allowing just three points after giving away 28 points in the first two quarters.
A concerning trend is beginning to develop for the Giants who seem to have a quality defense in the second half of games but are porous in the first. This allows teams to jump out to an early lead and force the Giants to make a comeback, just like Daniel Jones did in his first NFL start. They must also stop the run, as they allowed 144 rushing yards last week against the Bucs.
I anticipate cornerback Janoris Jenkins elevating his game after a hugely disappointing performance against Evans in week three. He will face off against top Redskins pass-catcher Terry McLaurin, who has been fantastic this year so far. He is a catalyst in their offense and shutting him down will make stopping Washington that much easier.