New York Giants - Washington Football Team Preview

For two weeks, the Giants have come close, only to end up doing something stupid that resulted in them beating themselves.

Will the third time be a charm in their attempt to get that elusive first win for head coach Joe Judge?

To quote the late Elvis Presley, “It’s now or never.”

Injury Impact and Lineup Notes

The Giants listed three players--DL Dexter Lawrence II (knee), WR Darius Slayton (foot), and FS Adrian Colbert (shoulder)--as questionable.

Lawrence popped up on the injury report this week as sort of a surprise. Still, I have a feeling his appearance on the injury report could be more of a maintenance type of deal, especially with another game coming up Thursday night.

Looking at his workload, Lawerence has played in 166 snaps over the last three games (55.3 average). That's a jump from the 43 snaps per game he was averaging in the first two weeks of the season.

That's why I am anticipating more snaps for Austin Johnson this week.

I'm very interested to see what the Giants do at receiver with Slayton ailing. The Washington defensive backfield has allowed 22 big-pass plays (20 or more yards) this season, as teams have not been afraid to test them deep.

If the Giants can stymie that Washington pass rush, there will be opportunities down the field. But will Slayton be able to stop, cut, and juke on his bad foot?

That question is a big reason why I wouldn't be surprised to see Austin Mack, promoted this week from the practice squad, worked into the mix.

The 6'2" Mack ran a 4.59 at the combine, but a knock against him coming out of college was that he didn't separate well from man coverage.

But Judge said that Mack has been developing at a steady pace.

"He’s a guy that’s been consistent for us from day one," Judge said. "He’s a young guy, but he does a lot of things in terms of instincts that help him make the right decisions on the grass at full speed.

"He’s a guy that when he was working on some of our look teams, really gave our guys fits in different scenarios."

Unrelated to the injury list (sort of), don't be surprised to see the Giants give a large chunk of snaps to inside linebacker David Mayo, who was activated off injured reserve Friday after healing from knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Projected Lineups/Depth Charts

The Giants have also called up OLB Trent Harris from their practice squad for this game.

Giants Offense vs. Washington Defense

Remember the twice-yearly battles between Giants defensive end Michael Strahan and Eagles offensive tackle Jon Runyan?

Those battles were legendary and a highlight among the Giants divisional games. Now, Giants and Washington fans might have a new battle in the pit to look forward to twice a year.

That would be the battle between Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas, the fourth overall pick in the draft, and Washington edge rusher Chase Young, the second overall pick in the draft.

After just five games in, the stats say that Washington came out with the better end of the deal. Young leads all rookie edge rushers with nine total pressures and two sacks, while Thomas leads all rookie offensive tackles--in total pressures (28).

But lest anyone panic over Thomas' "slow" development, perhaps this story by offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who had a front-row seat to watch Cowboys Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith develop into a stud, might calm your concerns.

When we first got him there, he was going against DeMarcus Ware in practice every day. To be honest with you, right at the start, he didn’t do very well. DeMarcus Ware really got after him.

As it went along in training camp and as it went along when they competed against each other, Tyron started to win some. Then he started to win some more of them, and then it would be back and forth, and then it was 50/50. Then he started to win more than half.

That’s really what these guys have to do. They have to keep battling, keep learning from their experiences. Be mentally tough; be physically tough. Technically, become better, and you’ll grow and improve as a player over time.

There’s no question; it’s one of the most challenging positions in football. To block these elite rushers every week – Andrew has done a nice job so far. He’s going to get better and better as we go.

By the way, Thomas isn't the only offensive lineman who is going to have his hands full Sunday. Right tackle Cam Fleming mostly see Montez Sweat on the other side of the formation. Sweat currently leads the WFT with 3.0 sacks and seven quarterback hits.

And let's not forget about old friend Ryan Kerrigan, he of 11.5 career sacks in 17 games against the Giants. Kerrigan has played most of his snaps this season on the left side, so he'll more than likely line up opposite of Fleming as well.

Per PFF snap counts, Sweat and Young have played both sides of the defensive formation. So if the Giants were hoping to catch a break in the pass-rushing department, well, that's not coming this week.

"We can talk about the front all day," Judge said. "They’re a penetrating defensive line. It creates a lot of disruption. To me, the guys who really take opportunities off the front behind are the linebackers, with (Jon) Bostic and (Kevin) Pierre-Louis."

Washington's defensive secondary, which plays a lot of zone coverage, ranks fourth in interception rate (3.85%), having recorded six for the season.

"They have great eye control in their zone drops and have vision on the quarterback," Judge said of the Washington defensive backfield.

"When bad throws come out, especially when you’re throwing across the field like you’ve seen a lot with their turnovers, they do a great job of breaking and taking advantage of that ball right there."

Washington Offense vs. Giants Defense

Washington might be ranked 31st in the league rushing wise (81.4 yards/game), but rookie Antonio Gibson is someone that defensive coordinator Patrick Graham wants to account for.

Gibson currently has the fourth-most rushing yards (213) of all rookie running backs and is at his best when he can plant his foot and head downhill.

As previously noted, don't be surprised to see David Mayo get the start in the base defense alongside Blake Martinez and ahead of rookie Tae Crowder, who got the start last week.

Mayo is a stout run defender who posted 37 stops in 463 run defense snaps last year, with just 15 missed tackles.

Meanwhile, Crowder will likely move to the nickel package where his coverage skills will be put to use.

But in getting back to Gibson, Washinton has deployed his talents pretty much how Giants fans had hoped Jason Garrett might deploy Saquon Barkley.

Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner has used Gibson in the screen game and out wide and has had some modest success, catching 15 of 17 pass targets for 122 yards, about 6.1 yards per reception.

Speaking of receivers, two weeks ago, the Ravens defense had no answers for wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who caught 10 of 13 pass targets for 118 yards, his second 100-yard receiving game of the year.

Giants cornerback James Bradberry has been nothing short of spectacular this season in playing mostly against the opponents' top receivers.

That will likely happen again this week as Bradberry, still, the league leader (8) in passes defensed per PFF, could be seeing a lot of McLaurin, who has caught 29 passes for 413 yards and one touchdown this season.

Lastly, the Washington offensive line, which has struggled almost as much as the Giants version, gave up eight sacks last week to the Rams defense and is ranked last in sacks per pass attempt (11.93%), according to league stats.

If there were ever a golden opportunity for the Giants pass rush to do some damage, this would appear to be it.

New York's defense is ranked 13th in sacks per pass attempt (7.45%), the scheme put in place by defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, finally delivering on a promise to make life uncomfortable for opposing quarterbacks.

Geron Christian Sr., who has stepped in for the traded Trent Williams, leads his team with 20 pressures allowed. He is followed by left guard Wes Martin (14).

Markus Golden, the Giants team leader in sacks last year, is expected to get a bump in his snap activity this week. Interestingly, Lorenzo Carter, now on injured reserve, started taking on some of what Golden performed so well last year.

Will Golden be asked to replicate Carter's hunter role? That wouldn't be surprising.

Washington's sill position players have accumulated 67% of their receiving yardage after the catch, a concern Judge mentioned this week.

"We need to do a really good job of tackling them in space," he said of Washington's skill position players. "They can all do a good job of catching and running with the ball after the catch."

Blue Notes

This is the 177th time (including postseason) these two franchises have met. Washington is the Giants' most-common opponent. New York is 102-68-4 in regular-season games against WFT and is looking for its fourth consecutive win against Washington.

Quarterback Daniel Jones seeks his third consecutive game with 20 completions while completing at least 65% of his passes vs. Washington.

Tight end Evan Engram needs 87 yards receiving (1,913) to reach 2,000 for his career.

Kicker Graham Gano needs one more field goal of 50 or more yards to pass Aldrick Rosas (4 in 2018) and Josh Brown (4 in 2014) for the most 50+yard FG's in a season in franchise history.

Prediction

I promised myself I wouldn't pick the Giants to win a game until they showed me they were ready to do so. Well, I think this week they might be ready.

Why? Although they came out on the losing end in their last two games, they kept both close enough to where a bounce here, a better call there, and maybe they're riding a two-game winning streak.

I don't think this is going to be as easy a game as some might believe, but I think the Giants are going to finally do just enough to get in the win column.

Pat's Pick: Giants 24, Washington 16

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