The Green Bay Packers will make their way to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Giants in Week 13. The Packers are hoping to get back into the win column after suffering a blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday.
Green Bay is coming into this game with an 8-3 record, atop the NFC North. The Packers are tied with the Minnesota Vikings at 8-3 but they own the tiebreaker over their divisional rivals.
As for the Giants, they are 2-9 and are amid a seven-game losing streak. New York is now tied with the Washington Redskins for last place in the NFC East following Washington's victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 12.
Considering that, here are four things to watch and a prediction for Sunday's game between the Packers and Giants.
4. Will the Giants be able to get Saquon Barkley going?
To begin the season, Saquon Barkley was able to rush for over 100 yards against the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills. But since then, the dynamic running back has been unable to eclipse 100 yards on the ground.
As a result, many people have been led to believe that Barkley is dealing with an injury. Is he still ailing from his sprained ankle? Or is his struggles a product of New York's offense lacking at multiple positions?
Regardless, for the Giants to stay close in this game, Barkley is going to have to be a factor in the running game.
3. Can Matt LaFleur get Aaron Jones involved?
When Green Bay's offense was firing on all cylinders earlier in the season, it was when Aaron Jones was heavily utilized. From Weeks 4-8, Jones had five straight games of four or more receptions.
In those games, the Packers went 4-1 and their offense was rolling along smoothly. However, in the past three games, Jones has just one reception for negative one yard.
Matt LaFleur needs to revert back to using Jones as a dual-threat back for their offense to get back into a rhythm.
2. Aaron Rodgers against a hapless Giants secondary
It has been quite the rough patch of games for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay's last three games. The gunslinging quarterback has combined for only 498 yards and two touchdowns in that span.
Above all, Rodgers struggled on the road in both of the West Coast games for the Packers. Luckily for him, he'll get a chance to bounce back on the East Coast against a hapless Giants secondary.
New York has the 27th-ranked pass defense, surrendering 260 passing yards per game.
1. Daniel Jones and his fumbling woes
Daniel Jones has definitely had his ups and downs in his rookie campaign. The rookie out of Duke has thrown for 2,134 yards, 17 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
Those numbers are respectable considering the state of New York's offense but he's also made some mistakes by fumbling the ball. In the 10 games that Jones has played in, he's fumbled the ball at least once in seven of them.
There's no doubt that Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith will be trying to pry the ball from Jones on Sunday.
Prediction: Packers 37, Giants 13
The Packers are coming into this game motivated following their lopsided 37-8 loss to the 49ers in Week 12. An extra-motivated Rodgers against a terrible pass defense is a recipe for disaster.
There's absolutely no reason to believe that New York can keep this game close and end their lengthy losing streak.
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