On Sunday, the New York Giants scraped by with a victory over the Arizona Cardinals. They did their best to make everyone think they were going to tank, but in the end, they rallied behind Daniel Jones and secured a victory.
On Thursday, the Giants face the San Francisco 49ers. It will be their second game in five days on the West Coast. Luckily, they have some momentum coming off of a win. But the Niners won as well, and they didn’t travel far.
Buy Giants TicketsThere are five things the Giants must do to keep their momentum and secure another win.
Start fast and don't let up
Even though the Giants kicked off the game against the Cardinals, they didn’t really show up until midway through the third quarter. That’s not going to work against a 49ers team that’s firing on all cylinders. It’s a short week and they’re on the road, so when 8:15 p.m. hits on Thursday, the Giants must compete for all four quarters.
Stretch the field
Against the Cardinals, Jones averaged 8.7 yards per pass. Against the Cowboys, he averaged 3.7. The Giants spent a lot of time and money adding depth to their receiving corps, and last week Jalin Hyatt had two catches for 89 yards. If Brian Daboll can leverage his new wideouts and give Jones options down the field, the whole season might turn around.
Be creative in the run game
Let’s run with the assumption that Saquon Barkley isn’t going to be available for this game. Without him, the Giants will use Matt Brieda and/or Gary Brightwell.
It’s not the first time the Giants have been without Barkley, and the one time Daboll didn’t have him last season, the Giants lost to the Eagles. Brieda and Brightwell are not Barkley, but they are capable. Creativity is the key.
The Giants could also mix in rookie Eric Gray.
Find a way to pressure Purdy
The Giants have zero sacks this year. Zero. Kayvon Thibodeaux is not living up to expectations. He has one solo tackle in two games. Dexter Lawrence has hit the quarterback four times, but no sacks recorded. The defense must find a way — any way — to put pressure on Brock Purdy.
This has a two-fold effect. Purdy has already been sacked four times this year, so the Giants defense needs to be able to find a way through the 49ers offensive line or there is a serious problem that Daboll needs to address. The other part is that Purdy has fumbled the ball already this season, so getting pressure on him could force an additional mistake.
Defense must be physical
The Giants need to blitz Purdy, they need to swarm the ball, tackle well, and be physical with the 49ers wide receivers. When the defense is physical, the offense makes mistakes. Physicality causes turnovers, it causes opposing players to second-guess their movements and make mistakes, and it causes defensive play callers to make adjustments. The more physical the defense is, the more likely they are to stay off the field.
