With a victory on Sunday, the New York Giants will clinch their first postseason berth since 2016. They will face off against Nick Foles and the Indianapolis Colts in their last home game of the regular season.
The Colts are coming off an embarrassing loss on Monday Night Football to the Los Angeles Chargers where the scoreboard was much closer than the game played out.
Meanwhile, the Giants are coming off a heartbreaking loss on Christmas Eve in Minnesota against the Vikings on a last-second field goal.
Big Blue is favored headed into the game — a rare spread in the Giants’ favor in the 2022-2023 season.
Here are three causes for concern going into the game against the Colts.
Colts pass rush
Last week, the Colts got four sacks on Justin Herbert, including a forced fumble in that effort. The Colts pass rush has racked up 43 sacks on the year which is good for sixth in the league.
Daniel Jones has been sacked 47 times this season which is the fifth-most in the NFL. Jones has a history of fumbles prior to this season and if they aren’t able to protect their QB, those fumbling issues could resurface.
Giants injuries
Xavier McKinney and Adoree’ Jackson have inched closer to returning and were back on the practice field this week. Azeez Ojulari, who has been riddled by injury all season long, left the Giants’ Week 16 loss against the Vikings last week. Leonard Williams has also been battling through a serious injury and has been listed on the injury report
Even if any or all of those players are able to play, they likely won’t be at 100%. This will be a challenge for Wink Martindale with a big portion of his defensive unit working through injuries.
Defending the pass
The Colts’ offensive line did not hold up well on Monday Night Football against the Chargers. But make no mistake about it, if the Giants allow Nick Foles to have time, they have talent at the wide receiver position.
Michael Pittman Jr. was supposed to break out this season and although he hasn’t blown up the way many expected him to, he has quietly reeled in 90 catches on the season despite a revolving door at quarterback.
