Chiefs vs. Giants: Week 8 Preview and Prediction
On Monday Night Football, the 3-4 Kansas City Chiefs will once again try to rebound from a poor start to the season with a game against the New York Giants on ESPN. The Chiefs are coming off a blowout loss against the Tennessee Titans, whereas the Giants are standing at 2-5 after a huge win over the reeling Carolina Panthers.
The Giants are led by quarterback Daniel Jones, who I still really cannot figure out. Jones has games where he flashes quality work and some good downfield throws, but they are few and far between. His touchdown numbers are pretty low and he is one of the more turnover-happy quarterbacks in the league as well. Despite that, it still looks like Jones is the best, most dangerous player that this Giants team has to offer given injuries.
Fact to Know: The Giants have one of the worst offensive lines in football
This is a team that the Chiefs' defensive line ought to be able to perform against. Currently, the Giants are ranked dead last in team pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF) and rank in the bottom ten in team run-blocking grade as well. The only player who you could consider a positive on this offensive line would be second-year left tackle Andrew Thomas, who has not allowed a sack so far this year with five games played. Unfortunately for New York, he will not play as he was placed on the injured reserve following a Week 6 game against the Rams. Right tackle Nate Solder, center Billy Price and left guards Matt Skura and Ben Bredeson have all been weak points in the offensive line. The Chiefs can and should target them to get to Jones.
Matchup to Watch: Tyreek Hill vs. James Bradberry
Last season, James Bradberry was one of the best cornerbacks in all of football. He allowed 0.72 yards per coverage snap and had a 70.1 passer rating when targeted, along with three interceptions, 14 pass breakups and three touchdowns allowed all season. Things have not stayed that way for him this season, as he has now allowed 1.21 yards per coverage snap, a 100.9 passer rating when targeted and four touchdowns already.
Tyreek Hill’s impact has decreased a decent amount in most recent games, but he has shown that ability to make big plays is still there and he can create them against players on Bradberry, as he still has two 180-plus yard games this season.
Key to the Game: Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid take what the defense gives them
Right now, there is clearly something wrong with the Chiefs’ offense and they must find a way to adjust to how they are being played now. The blitz rate against the Chiefs has been among the lowest in the league and they have been facing lots of Cover-2, as has been stated a lot in the football world recently.
To answer this, one key would seem to be for Reid to draw up traditional plays to beat Cover 2, something he has shown to be capable of before. For Mahomes, he needs to make sure to make both the incredible plays and the simple plays. Sure, he can still go for the incredible throws into tight windows as long as it makes sense and it fits the situation, but we have seen before that Mahomes can take a game with simple throws and be really effective. This needs to be another one.
Prediction: Chiefs 31, Giants 17
It feels weird to take a team that has played objectively terrible for at least four of its last six halves played and give it a two-score win, but it just feels impossible to count this Chiefs team out long-term and they still have not lost to a bad team in 2021. The Giants are a truly bad team. Their biggest highlight this season has been Jones and he has more turnover-worthy passes than he does big-time throws for PFF this season and his fumble issues still persist. He has five fumbles on the season so far, three straight seasons where he's looking at double-digit fumbles.
Hill and Travis Kelce finally get back on track in this one and Mahomes goes out and lets the nation and the football world remember who he really is. The Chiefs get their most convincing win of the year and go to a 4-4 record ahead of a date with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers next Sunday.
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