Subscribe
Follow Us
The New York Giants are rolling high at the moment. After starting the year 0-2, they made a quarterback switch. They benched veteran and future Hall of Fame quarterback Eli Manning. Rookie and sixth-overall pick Daniel Jones was given the keys to the castle.
In Week 3, things clicked. In his first ever start, Jones looked really solid. Yes, he missed some throws and fumbled twice. However, he also threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more. It's hard to ask for anything more from a rookie in his first start.
Most importantly, it led to a win. The first of the year for the Giants.
Now they enter Week 4 with a 1-2 record and they're facing the 0-3 Washington Redskins, a team that looks absolutely lost.
Basically, this season could turn around in the blink of an eye. New York could go from 0-2 and lost, to 2-2 and having fun. To do that though, they need to answer some questions.
Here are three burning questions surrounding the Giants as they enter Week 4.
3. Can Daniel Jones Keep it Up?
This is the most obvious question of all-time. A rookie quarterback had a good debut. Where does he go from here? Does he continue to trend upwards, or does he take a step back?
The good news for Jones and company is that they're going up against the Redskins. At the beginning of the year, I would've told you this is bad news. However, they've looked completely miserable so far.
Washington got knocked around by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second half of their Week 1 contest. Then they looked terrible against the Dallas Cowboys for almost the entirety of their Week 2 game.
In Week 3 they let Mitchell Trubisky and the Chicago Bears offense light them up. Yes, it didn't help that Case Keenum was constantly turning the ball over and giving them short fields, but still.
Washington showed a little extra life last week on defense but still nothing close to what was expected. So as of right now, Jones is going into a Week 4 game against a below average defense.
With that in mind, he should be able to look good enough. No one's asking Jones to be perfect. But can he show flashes? Can he put together some good drives? Can he limit the turnovers? New York needs him to show improvements, will he?
2. What's Going on with the Running Game?
Saquon Barkley is hurt. He'll be out for a few weeks now. That's miserable because for my money, he's the best running back in football (also reps the Lehigh Valley).
This could make things much more difficult for Jones, as he doesn't have a fantastic running game to bank on.
Last week, Jones led the team in rushing with 28 yards. Meanwhile, wide receiver Sterling Shepard was second with 21 yards. You can't win with that bad of a rushing attack.
Article Continues Below
Currently on the roster, the Giants have Wayne Gallman and Elijhaa Penny. The two have combined for 209 carries in 64 games played – clearly they aren't used to playing much.
Gallman averages 4.0 yards per carry and has two career rushing touchdowns, while Penny averages 3.0 yards per carry and has two career rushing touchdowns as well.
So the Giants aren't set here, and are going up against a solid defense against the run. Yes, I know I bashed the Washington defense earlier and they definitely haven't been amazing against the run yet. But they have a very talented defensive line that you can't look past.
So where do they go from here? Do the Giants try to make it work with these two until Barkley comes back? Do they abandon the run? Or do they make an addition via free agency or a trade?
1. Can the Defense Figure It Out?
The Giants defense hasn't been good. They gave up 35 points to the Dallas Cowboys, then 28 points to the Buffalo Bills. Finally, in Week 3 they gave up 31 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In case you were wondering, those are all season-highs. All three teams scored their highest totals of the year against New York.
Now they face a surprisingly solid Washington offense. Case Keenum looked miserable against the Chicago Bears, but it's the Bears.
The Redskins still have Adrian Peterson (even though he's struggled to this point). They also have the electric Chris Thompson and the ageless wonder Vernon Davis. Then there's the duo of Terry McLaurin and Trey Quinn. Both have been amazing and McLaurin especially looks like a serious superstar.
Can the Giants get back on track against this team? McLaurin will be tough to contain but they could stop the run and create issues for Keenum. I mean, he was so bad last week that the Dwayne Haskins train has started up in full force.
New York needs to get something going on defense, why not pick on the bones of Keenum that the Bears left. Maybe this is how they start to figure things out.
Or do they let McLaurin and company torch them and continue struggling?
