New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams | 5 Players to Watch
According to the oddsmakers, the New York Giants shouldn’t even bother showing up for their game Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Giants are a 13.5 underdog per BetMGM thanks to their 0-3 record, their inability to run the ball or score points, and their struggle to find and live out an identity that screams winner.
Giants head coach Joe Judge has insisted all week that no one is ready to raise the white flag, and his players have echoed those sentiments, vowing to get better.
But it’s now a line we’ve heard every day since the team first took the field for practice. Granted, the team didn’t have a proper off-season, but at some point, they have to turn the corner, right?
Will it be this week? Hey, you never know (even though everything on paper suggests otherwise. And if that’s to happen, here’s a look at five players (well, three players and two units) that need to do their part to positively influence the game for the Giants.
TE Evan Engram
The Giants keep waiting for Evan Engram to have that breakout performance that will reinforce that they made the right decision to pick up the option year of his rookie deal.
They can help Engram out by sending him up the seam a bit more than they have so far this year and letting him test those wheels against a Rams defensive backfield where he’d likely be covered by safety John Johnson III.
Johnson is off to a strong start for the Rams, allowing just 54.5% of the pass targets against him to be completed. Although he’s allowed tow touchdowns, he also has one interception and one pass breakup for a very respectable 75.4 NFL rating.
Johnson matches up very well with a tight end of Engram’s caliber, so if the coaches are serious about getting him into the mix, they might want to use him less inline (and devote some of those snaps to Kaden Smith, who has played a lot better than Levine Toilolo) and make sure Engram sees a lot of time in the slot where he’d have a dream matchup against Rams slot cornerback Troy Hill (5’11, 183 pounds)
The Offensive Line
There are many reasons the Giants offensive line, PFF’s 31st ranked line through three weeks of play, draws a place on this week’s list, starting with their inconsistent play for which right tackle Cameron Fleming was kind enough to take responsibility for this week.
“We’ll take all the blame, we’ll take all the things that are being said,” Fleming said this week.
“I think we truly believe that as we go, the team goes. We’re willing to take all the pressure on us, all the burden on us. We know if we do what we need to do, then we’re going to see success as an offense.”
The interior of the line—center Nick Gates and guards Will Hernandez and Kevin Zeitler—in particular, better have their best games ready for Sunday against defensive lineman Aaron Donald, a one-person wrecking ball all by his lonesome whom Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley has lined up all over the formation.
Speaking of Donald, he was asked by the Rams media what he thought about Gates, who will be making his fourth start at center this weekend.
“He’s a guy that played tackle for them, guard, that moved around and he’s anchoring that offensive line now,” Donald said. “They’re a group that’s a young group, but they do thing good and you see certain things and certain calls they make that are good, but our job is to try to get after him.”
ILB Blake Martinez
The Giants tackling machine has done a nice job shooting gaps and limiting running backs from sneaking out to the second level. This week, he’ll get another good test in Darrell Henderson, the Rams’ third-round pick this year out of Memphis who is averaging 5.7 yards per carry and 3.06 yards after contact per attempt.
Henderson is a compact 5’8”, 208 power runner who can break tackles with his deceptive speed and strength and has proven himself a handful in the last two games, rushing for 81 and 114 yards, respectively.
Henderson also has caught three out of five pass targets for 46 yards, two receptions for first downs.
The Giants Safeties
Rams tight end Tyler Higbee has caught 10 out of 11 passes for 134 yards and a team-leading three touchdowns.
He’ll be facing a Giants defensive backfield that will be without starting box safety Jabrill Peppers and whose free safety, Julian Love, is nursing knee and ankle injuries.
Did I mention both of those safeties have the best NFL ratings in coverage of the team's safeties?
Yikes!
QB Daniel Jones
As for his rushing ability, whatever mistakes the Rams made last week in defending against Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s mobility, well, don’t expect them to make the same mistakes again this weekend.
“Daniel (Jones) is an outstanding mover in the pocket. He's got real speed, he's a 4.5 (second 40-yard dash) guy and he's big,” said Staley. “There are definitely some circumstances where we can tighten up our rush plan. Maybe add a fifth rusher at times six rusher to help with that.”
Hopefully, the Giants won’t have to rely too heavily on Jones’ legs this week. And hopefully, Jones can finally get through a game without some sort of turnover.
In 17 career NFL games, Jones has only managed to get through one game (11/24/2019, vs. Chicago) without throwing an interception or fumbling. And in 10 of his games played, Jones has multiple turnovers.
While an argument can be made some of his interceptions aren’t solely on him, the fact remains that they get charged to his record, and it’s something he needs to clean up.
“That’s something I’m certainly continuing to work on,” he said. “It’s something that I’m mindful of every day in my preparation, and have to continue to work on. It makes it harder to win when we’re turning the ball over and I can’t afford to do that.”
