Three Reasons Why Packers Will Be Shocked by Giants

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have lost two consecutive games. The New York Giants have lost four consecutive games.

Something’s got to give, and with the Giants having a new starting quarterback and an interim head coach, they could be an incredibly dangerous opponent on Sunday.

Here are three reasons why the Packers will lose to the Giants, whose two wins have come against the Eagles and Chargers, who are a combined 14-5.

New Quarterback

Jameis Winston could probably be featured under the weekly reasons why the Packers will win, as well. In 2019, his final season as a full-time starter, he led the NFL in passing yards with 5,109, finished second in passing touchdowns with 33 and led the NFL in interceptions with 30.

Last season with Cleveland, he started seven games and threw 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He leads all active quarterbacks with a 3.5 interception percentage.

But the charismatic Winston is like a heavyweight fighter with a big right hand. He’ll give the Giants a puncher’s chance because he can make big plays through the air. He plays “fearless,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

“He’s played a lot of ball, he’s had a lot of success,” LaFleur said. “He’s going to let it rip, so we’re going to have to do a great job in coverage, we’re going to have to do a great job with our pre-snap disguises and, ultimately, I think it always comes down to the ability to put pressure on the quarterback.”

Anything can happen in a game led by Winston, whether it’s three touchdowns, three interceptions or three touchdowns and three interceptions.

“He’ll give opps for sure but, at the same time, like he could make plays, as well,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “So, I can’t just sit up here and say that he just going to go out there and throw 10 picks, because he’s not. He’s going to go out there and play a good game.

“He’s a good quarterback, so he’s seen a lot of defenses. He’s seen a lot of coverages and he’s made a lot of plays in this league, so all you can do is really respect it and go out there with the mindset of knowing that he’s a quarterback that can win games, so we have to understand that. We can’t just go out there thinking that the game is just going to be given to us because it’s not. We got to go out there and earn it.”

New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston (19) celebrates after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in October. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Winston has 31 games of 300-plus yards in his career, including five with 400. He’s had 19 games of three-plus touchdowns, including 10 with at least four.

“I want fans to know that I'm going to do my best,” Winston told reporters on Wednesday. “Obviously, I'm going to have fun. But I'm going to execute, have a surgical execution and just play ball, man.

“This is something I've been doing since I've been 4 years old. I just get to do it in the greatest city in the world. I'm going to be singing it with my son. It's the greatest city in the world. Yeah, that's a Hamilton reference, if y'all don't know. A 10-year reunion.”

New Coach

In 2010, the year the Packers won the Super Bowl, the Eagles drafted Mike Kafka, a quarterback out of Northwestern.

On Sunday, he will make his debut as interim coach of the Giants following the firing of embattled Brian Daboll. The Giants are going nowhere. But they will be excited to play for Kafka, and the Packers will have to expect the unexpected with an aggressive approach, new wrinkles and a new attitude.

Kafka is the 13th interim coach over the past five seasons. The last 12 went 4-8 in their first game, including Rich Bisaccia winning his Raiders debut and propelling them to the playoffs in 2021.

“The impact, it’s almost like wherever you was at before that point doesn’t matter,” said running back Josh Jacobs, who was part of that team. “It’s like a fresh [start], a new fresh air. But you want to go hard for that coach and also for your team. You want to finish the right way.

“When Rich did that a few years back, I think we went on like a four- or five- game winning streak and made the playoffs. So, it’s something that I know not to take lightly, playing against a team like that. It kind of almost rejuvenizes the team.”

Here are the last 12 interim NFL coaches and how they did in the debuts.

2021 – Rich Bisaccia, Las Vegas Raiders (replaced Jon Gruden): 7-5; won debut 34-24 at Broncos

2021 – Darrell Bevell, Jacksonville Jaguars (replaced Urban Meyer): 1-3; lost debut 30-16 vs. Texans.

2022 – Steve Wilks, Carolina Panthers (replaced Matt Rhule): 6-6; lost debut 24-10 at Rams.

2022 – Jeff Saturday, Indianapolis Colts (replaced Frank Reich): 1-7; won debut 25-20 at Raiders.

2022 – Jerry Rosburg, Denver Broncos (replaced Nathaniel Hackett): 1-1; lost debut 27-24 at Chiefs.

2023 – Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders (replaced Josh McDaniels): 5-4; won debut 30-6 vs. Giants (won first two games).

2023 – Chris Tabor, Carolina Panthers (replaced Frank Reich): 1-5; lost debut 21-18 at Buccaneers.

2023 – Giff Smith, Los Angeles Chargers (replaced Brandon Staley): 0-3; lost debut 24-22 vs. Bills.

2024 – Jeff Ulbrich, New York Jets (replaced Robert Saleh): 4-8; lost debut 23-20 vs. Bills.

2024 – Darren Rizzi, New Orleans Saints (replaced Dennis Allen): 3-5; won debut 30-17 vs. Falcons (won three of first four games).

2024 – Thomas Brown, Chicago Bears (replaced Matt Eberflus): 1-4; lost debut 38-13 at 49ers.

2025 – Mike McCoy, Tennessee Titans (replaced Brian Callahan): 0-3; lost debut 31-13 vs. Patriots.

“I think we are just ready for a win,” quarterback Jameis Winston said. “I think that's the consensus. I think this city, this stadium, we are willing to do any and everything for the New York Football Giants to be celebrating at the end of the day.

“And we know a good football team is coming in, but it's not about them. It's about us playing our very best. And it's not about our circumstance, conditions, and facts with our coach and with new changes. This is what we signed up for. So, whether we're 10-0 or 2-7 or 2-8, we signed up to do this. So, we have to be willing to do more than what we're required to do when they gave us this opportunity.”

Elite Pass Rushers

For years, the offensive line has been a reason why the Packers won games. That has not been the case this year, though. This season, quarterback Jordan Love has been pressured on 36.4 percent of his dropbacks, according to PFF. Last year, it was 34.4 percent. In 2023, it was 30.2 percent.

New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) celebrates his sack of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Giants don’t do many things well, but they do have the horsepower to rush the passer, even with Kayvon Thibodeaux inctive. Outside linebacker Brian Burns, who leads the NFL with 11 sacks and is playing at a Defensive Player of the Year level, was a first-round pick in 2019. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who had nine sacks in just 12 games last season, was a first-round pick in 2019. Abdul Carter, who had two sacks eliminated by penalties last week, was the third pick of this year’s draft.

The Giants are only 26th in sack percentage for the same reason why the Packers are only 20th. Teams drop back at their own risk.

New York, obviously, has a lot of problems. It’s 27th in points allowed and 29th in total defense. But with that pass rush, the potential is there to make a couple game-turning plays.

“They’ve got a really good pass rush there,” Love said. “They’ve got a very solid defense. We talked about some of the stats earlier, they’ve given up a lot of explosive runs, but I think we’ve got to come into it with the mindset that we’re going to play our game.

“Obviously, we want to establish the run and be able to take advantage of that, but also at the same time, I want to be able to throw the ball. I think we’ll be able to block their front and we’ve just got to handle business and go play our game.”

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