Three Keys To A Giants Victory Over The Kansas City Chiefs In Week 3

After a heartbreaking 40-37 overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants will return to MetLife Stadium for their home opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams are 0-2 this season, but each has knocked on the door of the win column, with the Chiefs coming close twice and the Giants nearly pulling off a seismic upset at AT&T Stadium.

The Chiefs have fallen in back-to-back games against contenders in the Chargers and Eagles, while the Giants showed much-needed life against Dallas after falling flat in their opening game at Washington. Here are three keys to a Giants victory over the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

Limiting Costly Penalties And Turnovers

The Giants drew 21 flags and had 14 penalties accepted against the Cowboys, which resulted in a franchise record 160 penalty yards. The defense had 13 penalties, with seven on the offense and one on special teams.

Left tackle James Hudson III racked up four penalties on Big Blue’s opening drive, with two false starts and two personal fouls, including one that pushed New York back from the Dallas 2-yard line back to the 17-yard line. The Giants ended up gaining 110 yards on the drive but were forced to kick a 38-yard field goal.

Hudson III was benched after the poor opening drive, which also included a sack, and was replaced by rookie Marcus Mbow, who held down the fort at left tackle. Mbow played a solid game and has been one of the team’s biggest standouts since being drafted in April.

However, the Giants cannot afford to be penalized nearly as much against the Chiefs. Andy Reid’s squad is one of the most disciplined in the league, and regularly takes advantage of opponents’ mistakes.

Last week, Russell Wilson made a crucial mistake with an errant deep throw, which was intercepted and led to the Cowboys’ game-winning field goal, while Patrick Mahomes saw a pass bounce off of Travis Kelce’s fingertips and into the hands of Philadelphia’s safety Andrew Mukuba, who ran it back 41 yards and set up an Eagles touchdown.

With the Kansas City offense less explosive than they have been in a long time, it will be primed to capitalize on short fields and let its defense do the rest. It is up to the Giants not to give KC opportunities that could propel the Chiefs to a victory while sinking their own chances.

Getting Pressure On Patrick Mahomes And Defending The Middle Of The Field

The Giants had an incredible day offensively, with over 400 passing yards and 506 total yards, but gave up 40 points and nearly 500 yards to the Cowboys. It is needless to say, but to beat the Chiefs, New York is going to have to tighten up on defense, particularly against the pass.

After allowing multiple late-game scoring drives, the Giants should look to play more man coverage against Kansas City, especially the way the Chiefs have been looking to start this season. This play in particular drew the ire of Giants fans, with Shane Bowen dropping the Giants’ linebackers deep into coverage and allowing the Cowboys to get across midfield, setting up Brandon Aubrey’s game-tying 64-yard field goal at the end of regulation.

Kansas City nearly pulled off a home victory over Philadelphia by completely shutting down the Eagles’ usually high-powered offense, with Jalen Hurts barely throwing for 100 yards and Saquon Barkley running 22 times for 88 yards for a paltry four yards per carry.

The Chiefs’ offense is likely going to be without Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice again, and they have particularly struggled in the run game. Patrick Mahomes was the team’s leading rusher against the Eagles with 66 yards on seven carries, while Kareem Hunt had eight carries for just 33 yards, and Isiah Pacheco had ten carries for 22 yards.

With the surprising lack of a consistent run game and without some of his top receivers, Mahomes will be even more reliant on Travis Kelce than usual, making it imperative that the Giants cover the middle of the field.

The defensive line should look to keep Mahomes in the pocket and fire up pressures, with the disruptive trio of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Abdul Carter starting to round into form. Given Mahomes’ uncanny ability to pick up first downs by scrambling, this will be particularly important to execute.

Meanwhile, the secondary will look to contain Tyquan Thornton in the open field, who had two catches for 59 yards last week, and Hollywood Brown, who had five catches for 30 yards. The Chiefs may also benefit from the potential return of Xavier Worthy and Jalen Royals, both of whom have missed significant time this season with injuries. Both receivers are practicing with the Chiefs without any restrictions this week.

There was a lot of anticipation for the Chiefs’ talent at wide receiver this season. Still, with Rashee Rice suspended and two others returning from injury, Kansas City will have to wait a little longer before seeing the full potential of its offense. The Giants should be wise and take advantage of the situation with a defensive front and secondary that is much more talented than what they showed last Sunday.

Keep The Passing Game Firing On All Cylinders To Open Up The Run

Russell Wilson, Malik Nabers, and Wan’Dale Robinson put on a show for the ages against the Cowboys, with Wilson turning back the clock ten years with a career performance, going 30-41 for 450 yards and three passing touchdowns.

In the second quarter, Wilson hit Nabers on a beautiful ball in the end zone, with the star wide receiver making the acrobatic catch in the end zone for a Giants touchdown.

This was not to be outdone, as Wilson found Wan’Dale Robinson behind the Cowboys’ secondary for a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and then did it one more time with Malik Nabers with about thirty seconds left.

Nabers posted a stat line of 167 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions, which included many deep catches, while Robinson had a career-high 142 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. Although the Kansas City defense will be a much tougher test, the Giants are going to have to continue to air it out to have a shot at winning this game.

This is compounded by the fact that the Giants’ run game has not exactly blown people away to start the season. After an extremely quiet Week 1, Cam Skattebo showed off his speed and strength with 11 carries for 45 yards, with a physical carry that nearly resulted in a touchdown, followed by a rush up the middle and into the end zone.

Outside of him, Tyrone Tracy Jr. had just five carries for 15 yards, while Devin Singletary had one rush for four yards. Russell Wilson had three runs for 23 yards, and Brian Daboll has seemingly built a rushing package for Jaxson Dart, but Dart tripped on his one opportunity last game. Either way, the Giants’ run game has left a lot to be desired, much like the Chiefs.

However, if the passing offense continues to fire on all cylinders, it will open things up for the running game, and with Skattebo punishing defenders with contact while Tyrone Tracy Jr. can turn up the speed, the New York offense can mix up the two and keep the Chiefs’ defense honest.

While Kansas City will be looking to get back on track after falling to two contenders, the Giants discovered their potential in a heartbreaking loss to the Cowboys. It would not be implausible to see Big Blue hand the Chiefs what would be a stunning third loss to open the season if they can implement and execute these takeaways.