New York Giants Notebook | Competing vs. Baltimore, James Bradberry Explains Why He Landed on the Reserve/COVID List and More
The idea of the Giants hanging around with the Ravens may be a pipe dream on paper, especially with how each team has looked the past two weeks. Still, if Joe Judge's coaching style has yielded anything from these trying season, it's that they have the ability to hang in any game on the road.
The Giants are 3-4 on the road this season, but all four losses were decided by one possession, and the Giants were realistically in a position to win every road contest they've played in this season.
Now, with their season on the brink against a surging Ravens team, the Giants will need to bring their best road effort of the season to pull off another shocking upset and stave off playoff elimination.
For that to happen, it's all a matter of getting off to a hot start offensively against Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Baltimore's explosive offense.
If the Giants fall into a deep hole early, then defensive back Logan Ryan believes that will throw their game plan out of gear, and they will instead be playing to chase their opponent, which plays against the Giants' strengths as a team.
"I compare it to hockey. When you're not winning the game, you're not playing the game on your terms, you pull the goalie to try to get back in the game," Ryan said. "When you get behind by multiple scores in football at this time of the year, there's no learning opportunities."
The Giants' last two games illustrated their clear sense of urgency to win and stake their claim to the NFC East title. These were highlighted by debatable decisions such as rushing starting quarterback Daniel Jones back from injury against the Cardinals and going for it on fourth down in the red zone twice against the Cleveland Browns only to come up empty.
In doing so, their backfired actions might have inadvertently doomed the Giants as they led to a pair of lopsided losses.
To avoid falling into that over-aggressive pattern against the Ravens on Sunday, the Giants will need to capitalize on their opportunities early and execute better than they did in their last two games.
"We have to do a good job on the scoreboard so we can play our New York Giants brand throughout the game and I think starting fast is what I mentioned a couple times so we can go out and run our defense the full game, so we can play on our terms is the best way to put it," Ryan said.
James Bradberry Shares Details of the Mistake that Landed Him on COVID-19
Cornerback James Bradberry may have made the Pro Bowl, but he won't be a 16-game starter for the Giants this year. Bradberry missed his first game of the Giants' season last week and first since his rookie year after landing on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
Bradberry did not test positive for COVID-19 but was labeled a high-risk close-contact after his chiropractor tested positive last week.
The Giants have made it a priority since the start of training camp to avoid potential exposure to the virus by avoiding unnecessary and high-risk contacts. Bradberry's chiropractor was thought of to be a safe contact since he had done work with the New York Jets, leaving Bradberry to assume that he was tested regularly like the players and staff.
Regardless, the chiropractor was ultimately the contact that cost the Giants their top cornerback in a pivotal Sunday night game.
Bradberry's presence was sorely missed by the Giants' defense against Cleveland, as Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants last Sunday night.
"It was definitely weird watching the game from my couch. I was just really disappointed that I wasn't able to go out there," Bradberry said. "I couldn't really say I blame myself. It's just a predicament because of COVID. It was an uncontrollable accident that happened."
Now with Bradberry back, the Giants' pass defense should take a step forward against Baltimore. Bradberry is the Giants' only Pro Bowl selection this year from the defense and is a well-deserved one as he's thrived in his first season in New York in defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's system.
"I was excited, of course, because this is my first Pro Bowl," Bradberry said. "But it was just surreal. Going into my fifth year, I didn't think about making the Pro Bowl, honestly.
"I think I went into my fourth year definitely thinking about the Pro Bowl and it didn't happen, so I was disappointed after the season. This year, I just tried to go in there with an open mind and just try to play the best football I could."
Giants Defense Bracing to Face Lamar Jackson
The Giants' last three opposing quarterbacks were Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, and Baker Mayfield. Now, their streak of top-end dual-threat quarterbacks will hit its climax against reigning MVP Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens are coming off a year in which they boasted the most potent rushing offense in the history of the NFL, breaking the league record for team rushing yards in a season.
While the Ravens' offense hasn't been quite the scoring machine this year, their last three games have proven that they have gotten back into form, as they've rushed for a combined 684 rushing yards during that span.
Jackson's presence as arguably the most explosive mobile quarterback in the NFL is the X-factor that gives opposing defenses endless possibilities to game plan for, and the Giants won't be an exception.
"If Lamar can extend it with his legs, which he's obviously very, very capable of doing, he can go ahead and really give you headaches, either by pulling it down and running it or throwing the thing over your head down the field," said head coach Joe Judge.
Judge last saw Jackson up close last season while with the Patriots and knows what he's capable of as a runner. Jackson rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns in that game while adding 163 yards and a touchdown pass through the air.
"You see him on tape running away from guys, you know he's fast, but when you see guys in person and you watch them athletically up close, that's sometimes when you have to realize that this guy's a lot better than I thought he was on tape," Judge said.
The Giants defense, which has outperformed expectations this season, has still seen its fair share of struggles against mobile quarterbacks.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott led a dominant offensive performance against the Giants in Week 5 for the first two and a half quarters before suffering a season-ending foot injury. In Week 14, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray threw for 244 yards and a touchdown while adding 47 rushing yards.
Jackson poses a different kind of threat from either of those two, and the Giants defense will need to account for a player with even more speed and size than any quarterback they've faced in the past three weeks.
"He's an elite runner," Bradberry said. "He's able to run full speed and make cuts on a dime. That's kind of like Kyler, but Kyler's a smaller quarterback. When you add that skillset to a bigger guy who has a longer stride length, able to cover more ground, it makes it even harder to stop a guy like that. Speed, quickness, all of the above."
See Also
- The Bond Giants Head Coach Joe Judge Shares With Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh
- Daniel Jones Makes Heartfelt Admission Regarding His Play
- Joe Judge Reveals Why He's Firmly Behind Quarterback Daniel Jones
