3 Keys to a NY Giants Week 17 Win vs Las Vegas Raiders

Someone has to win this Week 17 contest. IF the Giants want to be the ones to do it, here's what they need to do.

Dec 21, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) looks towards the sideline during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The New York Giants 2025 season has come down to just two more regular-season contests. For a franchise in the basement of the league at 2-13, it feels like there is little reason for anyone to want to tune in, let alone compete, to the bitter end of the miserable campaign. 

However, there is still some meaning left in the final stretch that meets the eye. It starts with the potential for an improved position in the NFL Draft this spring, but that’s assuming that the Giants go out and fall flat against one of the few teams in the league that dwell in the same dark depths as them at this point of the season. 

The more important, short-term factor in play for New York is the team’s desire to finish with a sense of pride and for the teammates alongside them, some of whom carry uncertain fates into the offseason, whether by the end of their contracts or disappointing performances.

With the offseason on the horizon, the draft might be an important piece of the Giants’ big picture, but so is determining which players they can rely on to build a stronger foundation heading into 2026 and who deserve to stick around with the young core they have been establishing around quarterback Jaxson Dart.

That goal resumes once again in Las Vegas, where the Giants are set to battle with the Raiders in their final road trip of the season, and the latter seems to have their eyes set more on the future gains than seeing if there is something to be carried from an abysmal year into the next one. 

Given that the season is coming down to the wire, and health is taking its toll on the roster, it won’t be easy for the Giants to escape Las Vegas with a much-needed victory. If they can follow these three keys on the gridiron with the talent they still have, they will help themselves overcome a horrible stretch and strike some luck in Sin City.

Bring the Pressure

Nov 30, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) drops back to pass against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half at SoFi Stadium. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Last weekend against the Minnesota Vikings, the Giants’ defense was finally able to put together one of those rare outings in which their pass-rushing core found success in getting pressure into the face of the opposing quarterback. 

The Giants, who finished with a team pass rushing grade of 76.3, which marked their highest since Week 9, made sure to take advantage of a weaker Vikings offensive line than the one they last saw in the season opener at MetLife Stadium in 2024.

As a whole, the Giants’ unit created 17 total pressures, including four sacks and five quarterback hits that ultimately knocked out Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy from the game and made it tough for Minnesota to move the football through the air for just 126 passing yards. 

At the center of the backfield action was rookie Abdul Carter, who authored his second game in the last three with a team-high six pressures, one sack, and three hits for a 20.7% pressure win rate. Brian Burns also added two more sacks to add to his own 15 takedowns that stand second in the league entering Week 17.

In their next contest against the Raiders, the Giants could have another big opportunity to get after it and create some chaos for quarterback Geno Smith, as his offensive line hasn’t been the apple of anyone’s eye so far this season. 

The Raiders’ offensive front ranks 22nd in the NFL in both pass-block and run-stop win rates, with the combination the worst for any of their previous five opponents. Three of their five starters have allowed at least six sacks in their area, and it's been the catalyst behind Smith getting taken down a career-high 52 times and having to run for his life a lot. 

Most of the lack of protection has come on the left side of the Raiders’ line as well, especially as injuries have dug into their depth chart and forced them to move pieces around every Sunday. They have lost starting left tackle Kolton Miller to different ailments that have kept him to just four games, and are also relying on backups at center and right guard to finish the year off.

The weakest link of them all has been Stone Forsythe, the swing tackle who was with the Giants during training camp before being cut at the deadline for the 53-man roster. It might have been the right decision given Forsythe leads the league in sacks allowed for offensive tackles with 11 and will now be tasked with trying to slow down the edge rushers he once sparred with at camp.

With the obvious deficiency in pass protection, the Giants would be wise to put on another bout of intense pressure and see if they can foil the Raiders' passing game. They could use this game as a time to try out new exotic blitzes and experiment to find the impact plays that get the ball back to the offense, and watch them thrive.

Open up the Passing Game 

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) signals before a play during a game against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium, Dec 21, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ, USA | Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even Jaxson Dart said it in the postgame availability following last Sunday’s loss to the Vikings—the Giants could have done a lot better with facilitating their passing offense in a game that started slow with the weather conditions. 

The atmosphere at MetLife Stadium was windy, but the real issue for the Giants was facing a relentless Vikings defense led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores that sent exotic blitzes at the rookie gunslinger all afternoon, limiting him to 33 total passing yards at the end of the game. 

The outing marked Dart’s worst of his rookie debut, but it’s hard to fully blame him for the inefficiency through the air. Along with the Vikings’ pressure, he lost a couple of key starters on his offensive line, none more notably than Andrew Thomas, who left his post on the blindside with a hamstring injury that will likely end his year for the third straight time. 

The Giants' run game deserves some kudos for being able to pick up the slack and give the offense some production to remain in their recent games, but that isn’t going to work as the lone game plan against the Raiders, who are not too shabby at clogging up the trenches. 

Las Vegas ranks 16th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed (116.5 yards per game), and male opponents have to work hard to gain every yard on the ground. Whereas the Giants have nearly given up a historic average in that same area, the Raiders are the fourth-best unit, allowing 3.8 yards per carry this season. 

Where they aren’t as crisp is in the passing game, as they rank 21st in average yards per play (6.4) and have given up 23 total touchdowns with a 21st overall opponent redzone scoring percentage as well. They struggle to force turnovers to flip possessions and are the league’s worst team at making key stops on third downs (48.7%). 

While the Giants may turn again to the ground attack to get things started on a Raiders defense that will be without Maxx Crosby to affect the rush, it will be key for them to eventually open up the passing game and let Dart flash his arm. 

The good news is the Giants will be playing in a domed stadium this week, leaving weather conditions out of the picture. It will simply come down to execution on both ends, especially from his receiving targets, who have been victims of the dropsies in recent weeks that have stalled some promising offensive drives. 

There should be opportunities to move the football with ease, given the Raiders' struggles to get their hands on the ball to disrupt passes, and several players have double-digit missed-tackle rates. As a unit, they rank 32nd overall in coverage grade, and that will be one of their main focuses as they pivot to the offseason like the Giants. 

For now, the Giants should capitalize on who they have in front of them and spark one last strong offensive showing before the season ends.

Giants Run Defense vs Ashton Jeanty

Dec 21, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (2) rushes against the Houston Texans in the second half at NRG Stadium. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

It’s another week of writing these keys to the game, and it feels like we’ve had to touch upon the Giants' lack of a presence in the interior to slow down their opponent’s run games for multiple matchups in a row.

No surprise to many that that will not change ahead of their game with the Raiders on Sunday, who haven’t been the brightest run operation this season, ranking 32nd in the NFL in all four major rushing categories (75.7 yards per game and 3.6 per carry).

Still, they have one of the top 20 running backs in their arsenal in rookie Ashton Jeanty, who had built an impressive collegiate resume at Boise State before becoming the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 draft for a woeful Raiders offense. 

Jeanty, who rumbled for 2,601 yards, 29 touchdowns, and an average carry of 7.0 yards in his senior season with the Broncos that launched him into Heisman contention, sits 19th among his fellow running backs with 224 carries for 828 yards and five touchdowns and will be coming hungry to reach the 1,000-yard mark before his debut season ends.

The ability to be that same explosive ball carrier he once was has been the biggest challenge for Jeanty since joining the silver and black. He has only had two games this season with a long rush of more than 18 yards, and has averaged over 4.0 yards per attempt only once over the past couple of months. 

The Raiders also haven’t done their part to fully include him in their game plan, which is likely because they've trailed early in most of their games. Still, it’s an odd thing to have a top-six running back prospect who can’t get the ball more than 15 times in a majority of his starts, including two with just six total touches. 

With the way that the Giants have defended the run in recent weeks, this could be the matchup where the Raiders shift their approach, and Jeanty could earn a good chance to improve his chances of fulfilling his aforementioned goal. 

New York’s defense ranks 29th in the NFL in total yards allowed entering Week 17, and that is still largely in part to them now giving up just over 150 yards on the ground per game, and the league’s worst carry of 5.5 yards, which is dancing dangerously close to setting franchise history for that statistic. 

They haven’t been able to hold an opponent below 100 rushing yards since Week 6 against Philadelphia, when they kept their rival’s backfield to just 73 yards after allowing only 88 yards the week prior. Since then, it’s been a gracious group, including last week against Minnesota, who managed 114 yards and closed out the game with an unstoppable run effort. 

With the Raiders' offensive line banged up and already not the greatest run-support unit for Jeanty, the Giants need to muster a proper response to the talented rookie back. If they can’t, it can spur some confidence into Las Vegas that they can move the football on their foe and make it hard for the Giants' offense to get the extra drives that might matter in the final result. 

That said, it feels like each Sunday we say the same thing, and the Giants provide the same results, getting trampled on during crucial possessions when the game hangs in the balance. 

The hope is that the feasibility of this matchup with the Raiders awakens something out of their key pieces, and a positive outing to wrap up the season can bring an ounce of optimism for the future, where a new defensive leadership comes in 2026 and helps this unit right their wrongs in the trenches.  

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