3 Key Matchups to Watch in Giants-Packers Game

Interim head coach Mike Kafka gets his first chance to turn around Big Blue's fortunes.

Mike Kafka of the New York Giants from earlier this year in his role as head coach in the Senior Bowl. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Nobody has to tell New York Giants Coach Mike Kafka that he's got a tall challenge ahead of him.

He's been preparing for this test since his days as a star quarterback at Northwestern and built on that experience with six years as a backup in the NFL and another 8.5 pro seasons on the coaching staffs in Kansas City (under Andy Reid) and New York.

Now, it gets real: he'll be making his debut as the interim head coach of the Giants against Green Bay on Sunday, less than a week after being elevated in place of Brian Daboll, who exits with a 2-8 mark.

"I think the best head coaches I've been around are guys that are confident, poised, have a direction, have a plan, and then go execute the plan," said Kafka, who has served as the Giants' offensive coordinator and assistant head coach before his latest promotion.

"If something goes just a little bit differently, then you go back and you adjust. You have the flexibility to adjust.

"Accountability, holding guys accountable to the highest standard. If it's not right, fix it, don't wait, and let things just kind of trickle and snowball. You want to be able to do that," he said.

"Guys that empower players to be their best. Those are things that I've learned over my past that I think are great qualities in a head coach and things that I try to mirror."

Yet it remains to be seen how much Kafka can change in light of the Giants' late-game collapses. Does he significantly alter the personnel deployment? Might he go in a different philosophical direction in terms of how he calls the plays now that he is the ultimate authority?

"I really have a lot of belief in this team, a lot of trust in this team, being around them, how these guys fight and battle," he said.

"I think we've just had some things right there at the end that we've just got to grasp and take it. So, just keep that aggressive mentality, keep that growth mindset, continue to learn from these situations, and then when we get another opportunity to capitalize on it, then we've got to go do it."

How can the Giants create favorable matchups versus the defensive-oriented Packers? We sort through that and discuss the most important aspects of what the Giants must do to pull off a win in the latest edition of the Big Blue Breakdown podcast, available in the video above and wherever you get your podcasts.

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