Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants: What's the Game Plan for New York?
If you're looking for comprehensive analysis before Thursday night's showdown between the Giants (0-2) and Redskins (1-1), look no further.
Though the records are ugly, this NFC East battle will likely be close throughout and entertaining until the final whistle. The history of the rivalry can't be discounted, nor can the urgency that the Giants will be playing with. New York will try to scratch and claw its way into the win column, while Kirk Cousins and the Redskins will attempt to prove everyone wrong for the second week in a row.
Here's everything you need to know about the Giants' game plan and which players you need to look out for in the first game of Week 3.
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Offensive Game Plan
Find Another Target
With Odell Beckham Jr. handily leading the Giants with 20 targets this season, Eli Manning needs to look elsewhere to move the chains against the Redskins. One-dimensional offenses quickly become ordinary since they’re so easy to guard, which means that Rueben Randle needs to finally step up amid the weakened receiving corps.
With Victor Cruz still sidelined and officially ruled out with a calf injury and Preston Parker recently cut, the Giants are running out of reliable targets. In fact, they may have already done so.
Dwayne Harris, who signed a five-year deal primarily as a punt and kick returner, may be forced to step into the slot against the Redskins, which is concerning since the 28-year-old doesn’t have a catch this season and only 33 in his career.
Manning would be wise to involve his tight ends, as Larry Donnell proved to be a solid weapon last season, though he has issues with ball security at times. Still, in order for him to fumble, he would first need a reception, something that has been difficult for Giants pass-catchers not named Beckham.
Roll with the Hot Hand
The Giants backfield was supposed to be a three-headed monster this season, but early indications are that it won’t live up to the “Earth, Wind and Fire” days of Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward.
Rashad Jennings is better off being a No. 2 back, and Shane Vereen only has nine carries thus far, though he has been as advertised in the passing game. Andre Williams is averaging 4.8 yards per carry but only has a small 12-carry sample size to analyze.
The best thing that head coach Tom Coughlin can do against the Redskins is ditch his loyalty to Jennings.
If Jennings is not running well within the first two drives, get Williams in there. The Giants have to win this game by any means necessary, even if that means ditching their No. 1 back after one drive. Vereen also averaged more than four yards per carry in each of his final three seasons with the New England Patriots, which means he isn’t just a third-down back who can catch a dump-off and take it 10 yards.
Defensive Game Plan
Pressure Kirk Cousins
The Giants have just two sacks through the first two games—more than only five teams in the league.
As far as quarterbacks go, you can do a lot worse than Kirk Cousins.
With that being said, when the Giants have a pass rush, they can make even the most elite quarterbacks look disoriented. Even more importantly, their dominant pass rush has often masked their other various defensive flaws in the past.
The Giants had Cousins' number last season, and nobody has forgotten:
Will that trend continue?
Even without DeSean Jackson, the Redskins have a solid aerial attack that needs to be accounted for. With Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie out due to a concussion, Pierre Garcon has big-play ability downfield and can break off a huge chunk of yards in one play if Cousins has time.
With New York missing Jason Pierre-Paul and likely Robert Ayers this week, it’s imperative that someone else gets some hits on Cousins to make him uncomfortable and throw off his timing.
Contain the running game
Alfred Morris has 180 rushing yards on the season—the Giants have 196 as a team.
The Redskins have the top-ranked rushing offense in the league, averaging 171.5 yards per game on the ground. The emergence of rookie Matt Jones, who ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns last weekend, makes their tandem one of the best in the league. And, while Morris is more of a traditional, hard runner, Jones has the ability to make plays in the passing game out of the backfield and apply even more pressure on a defense.
Around The NFL writer Gregg Rosenthal noted just how talented Jones is:
It’s possible that Washington mashes the beaten and bruised Giants defense to a pulp, but if Big Blue wants to get that elusive first win, it will have to hang tough and stop the ground game.
Key Players and Matchups
Jordan Reed
Though he has never totaled more than 500 yards in a season, Reed is morphing into one of the game’s top options among tight ends this year.
His 13 receptions are tied for second in the league among tight ends—one more than New England’s Rob Gronkowski—and he ranks fourth in yards at the position.
Grant Paulsen, Fox's Redskins analyst, had high praise for Reed:
It’s hard to get too excited after just two games, but Reed has certainly increased his production in the absence of Jackson.
The Giants have historically struggled against tight ends, mostly because of weak linebackers and safeties whose strength was in the run game. Dallas’ Jason Witten torched them for two touchdowns in the opener, and Atlanta’s Jacob Tamme racked up 77 yards last Sunday. Expect Reed to play a large role in Washington’s offense on Thursday night.
Prince Amukamara
With Rodgers-Cromartie sitting this one out, Prince Amukamara will have to carry the load among the corners. It’s already a well-known commodity that the Giants have serious issues at the safety position, which makes his job that much more difficult.
He’ll likely line up across from Garcon more often than not on Thursday night. Garcon has talent, but the Giants held him in check last season, as he totaled six catches and just 64 yards in two games.
Jackson’s injury will help Amukamara’s assignment, but his matchup with Garcon could be the most important one for Giants.
Justin Pugh
The Giants burned the No. 9 pick on the raw Ereck Flowers, who is now injured and likely to sit this game out.
He remains optimistic about playing, however:
Still, Art Stapleton of the Record thinks that it would be wise to be cautious with Flowers anyway:
If Flowers does in fact miss Thursday night’s tilt, Justin Pugh will probably be playing out of position yet again, according to ESPN.coms Dan Graziano. “If Flowers can't go, expect left guard Justin Pugh to play left tackle and backup John Jerry to enter the starting lineup at left guard,” he wrote.
In order for the Giants to be successful, Manning needs to be upright and have enough time to make plays, and the running backs need to be able to find holes and move the chains.
A scattered offensive line that is already a bit barren of high-end talent is a huge issue for the G-Men.
Uani’ Unga
If you read that header and thought “Who?” you aren’t alone.
The interesting thing, however, is that Uani’ Unga leads the Giants with 17 tackles this season. The 27-year-old rookie has emerged from a linebacker corps that was lacking a top-tier anchor and has excelled with his playing time.
Though Unga had a tough time replicating his 12-tackle performance in Week 1, when he also picked off Tony Romo, he can be an important contributor for the Giants this season if he keeps up his solid start.
With running backs Morris and Jones charging his way on Thursday night, Unga will need to play a key role in slowing down the Redskins’ offensive burst.
Prediction
Even with all of their question marks and flaws taken into consideration, it’s still hard to envision the Giants dropping this one at home in prime time.
At the end of the day, Manning is a much better quarterback than Cousins and will find a way to pull this one out, knowing how much is on the line for the Giants.
With their season potentially on the line in front of a big crowd at MetLife Stadium, the Giants will bring everything they have, even if it is much less than in recent seasons. Under normal circumstances and against a different opponent, the battered Giants would likely be toast. Against a division rival and while trying to dig out of an early 0-2 hole, however, New York should hang on and avoid blowing yet another fourth-quarter lead.
I expect Donnell to be a large factor on offense and for Randle to wake up from his season-long slump. He has disappeared in 2015, but he totaled 938 yards as a 23-year-old last season.
Prediction: Giants 26, Redskins 16
Daniel Ferrara is Bleacher Report's Giants Gameday Correspondent. Follow him on Twitter for all New York Giants news and analysis.
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