3 Keys to Giants Maintaining Hot Start Entering Week 5
The New York Giants have been one of the most surprising teams in the NFL through four weeks, but keeping up the positive momentum may be tough in the coming weeks.
The Giants head to London to face the Green Bay Packers with a ton of injuries at the offensive skill positions.
New York has gotten by with a below average passing game because Saquon Barkley has been amazing and the opponents have not been too tough.
Beating the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears with under 200 passing yards is one thing, but defeating the Green Bay Packers or Baltimore Ravens with that approach is much more difficult.
Brian Daboll and his team could be in for a reality check in the next two weeks, or it could add to its list of surprises and either win, or come close to it, against the Packers and Bears.
Any path to victory in the next two weeks, or the rest of the season, involves the defense slowing down the opponent's top players, or earning a bunch of turnovers.
The Giants excelled at the latter and that may be the biggest key to keeping up their strong start with Daniel Jones not at 100 percent.
Keep Feeding Saquon Barkley
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The most obvious way for New York to keep up its impressive start is to put the ball in the hands of its best player many times per game.
Saquon Barkley has returned to his pre-injury form with 463 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging 115.8 yards per game and 5.5 yards per attempt.
The Giants need Barkley to be successful on the ground in order to hide Daniel Jones' flaws in the passing game.
So far, that strategy has worked and Barkley has been given some support from his quarterback in the ground game. Jones has 193 yards and two scores on 31 carries.
Barkley must continue to be effective to keep the ball out of the hands of Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson over the next two weeks.
The Giants were opposed by Ryan Tannehill, Baker Mayfield, Cooper Rush and Justin Fields in the first four weeks. The lack of star power at quarterback on the other side of the ball allowed the Giants to have a few ineffective drives and still stay in the contest.
That may not be the case against Green Bay and Baltimore, and thriving on the ground may be even tougher since those defenses know Jones is dealing with an ankle injury and the offensive game plan may be super conservative.
The Packers and Ravens could make life difficult on the Giants ground game, and if that is the case, the NFC East side can drop to 3-3 real fast.
Find Ways to Have More Effective Passing Game
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The Giants enter Week 5 with the second-worst passing-yard total in the NFL.
Only the Chicago Bears have a lower passing-yard total than New York. The Giants rank 28th in completions and tied for the second-lowest passing touchdown total with three.
Some of the aerial flaws have hidden behind Barkley's success on the ground, but there will come a time when the lack of a strong passing attack hinders the Giants.
Daniel Jones is dealing with an ankle sprain and his status could be in question for Sunday's London game. Head coach Brian Daboll was not too specific with his Monday injury update, per ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan.
"Daniel is feeling a little bit better today," Daboll said. "We'll just see how that goes."
Jones has not been aided by a strong wide receiver group through four weeks. Kadarius Toney, Kenny Golladay and Wan'Dale Robinson have all dealt with injuries. Richie James and David Sills have been his top targets by default.
There are many reasons why the Giants have not had success through the air, but eventually, the injury excuses will run out and they will have to find a way to be more effective.
New York will not climb the passing yard chart in a flash, but if it can at least improve its totals on a weekly basis, it could have a shot at finishing above .500.
Improve Rushing Defense
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New York allowed the fifth-most rushing yards in the NFL.
The Giants gave up over 100 yards on the ground to their last three opponents and Tennessee ran for 93 yards on them in Week 1.
A rushing defense that concedes over 100 yards per game will not help the Giants sustain their winning record.
The rushing defense will be put under pressure in the next two weeks by the Aaron Jones-A.J. Dillon duo and a fresh J.K. Dobbins in his third game back from a torn ACL.
Green Bay and Baltimore could produce 100-yard ground performances easily and that could hurt where the Giants stand in the NFC.
The four teams with a higher rushing-yard concession than the Giants are all .500 or worse; none of them has winning records.
Dallas and Minnesota are the only other teams that rank in the 10 worse rushing defenses with a winning record.
New York's path to a losing record is clear if it does not improve its rushing defense. The entire defensive unit may need to win games over the next few weeks if Jones is hampered by his ankle injury and the offense maxes out around 17-20 points.
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