New York Giants injuries, updates: Golden Tate and Isaac Yiadom trends, Shane Lemieux usage

New York Giants, Golden Tate
USA Today

The New York Giants are preparing face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 10, a contest that has playoff implications as the NFC East is still up for grabs.

At 3-4-1, the Eagles are atop the NFC East in first place, despite having a -19 point differential. Their offense has been lackluster, and quarterback Carson Wentz continues to make mistakes in-game. The Giants, however, are dead last in the division with a -51 point differential, as their offense flounders, but their defense has played above their weight class.

Ultimately, the Giants are underdogs in this contest, as they have been nearly every week a season. Philadelphia is gaining back several players, including receiver Alshon Jeffery and starting running back Miles Sanders. They also saw rookie pass-catcher Jalen Reagor return in week nine against the Dallas Cowboys, in which they won 23-9.

As for the Giants, they have several players on the injury report, and former starting left guard will Hernandez will also be factored into the offense.

The New York Giants could be without Golden Tate:

Late in the week, receiver Golden Tate went down with a knee injury — thankfully, it was not too serious. There’s still hope that he can play against the Eagles, a game that the Giants need all hands on deck and everyone to play at their best.

So far this season, Tate has seen his reps dwindle every passing week. He has 226 yards and two touchdowns, with a 75.9% catch rate. He has been solid when targeted downfield but simply isn’t that effective in the run game. The Giants want to be a run-first team, so his inability to block at a high-level hurts them in the category.

I anticipate the Giants looking more toward rookie Austin Mack, who is ferocious in his style and attacks in the running game. His big frame also helps seal the edge, especially with Jason Garrett’s outside zone-blocking scheme.

As for cornerback, Isaac Yiadom also picked up an injury this week (calf). The anticipation is that he will be ready to play, a position the Giants have struggled immensely at this year. If he is unavailable, the Giants might have to move Julian Love to CB2 or depend on Logan Ryan to pick up the slack.

Changes in the trenches:

Rookie guard Shane Lemieux, on the other hand, will start the game in place of Will Hernandez, who is active and ready to play if called upon. The Giants this week indicated they would be utilizing a rotation on the OL, giving some of their younger players an opportunity to showcase their abilities.