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Sunday night under the MetLife lights. The Giants will be looking to reach the .500 mark against a Bengals team that lost a heartbreaker to the Baltimore Ravens in week 5
Do you hear those whispers? They're saying Daniel Jones is back. The $160 million dollar man is having himself an impressive season so far and is 11th amongst all quarterbacks in total passing yards (1,138). Those passing numbers helped the Giants pull out wins in Cleveland and Seattle and vaulted Jones back into the spotlight. I hope for the sake of all Giants fans that this is not a fluke, and all Jones needed was a competent offensive line and some guys that can catch the ball.
Big Blue grabbed themselves an impressive win in the Pacific Northwest this past Sunday, stunning the Seahawks and their fans alike. This was a monumental win, as the Giants came into the game as 7.5 point underdogs, but played like a well-rounded team on both sides of the ball.
I had to get all of that off my chest before moving onto another week and a new opponent.....
The Bengals are coming into town for an NFC East vs AFC North battle. Here are a few things to watch for when the two teams kick off at 8:20pm EST on Sunday night.
Giants pass rush is the truth
Doubts began to rain down after the first two weeks of the season. It seemed like Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux were non-existent out there, and that the Giants made another Giants-esque blunder and overpaid for a player that would end up being a non-factor. Now, the Giants pass rush is one of the best in the league. After Sunday's massive win, they now rank first in the NFL with 22 sacks.
Dexter Lawrence (3), D.J. Davidson (2), Brian Burns (1), Kayvon Thibodeaux (0.5) and Rakeem Nunez-Roches (0.5) all accounted for a half sack or more on Sunday. 16 of the Giants 22 sacks have come in the last three games. Lawrence leads the team with six sacks, while Burns, Davidson and Thibodeaux all have two. Good ol' Jason Pinnock is part of the party too, generating three sacks and keeping with the big boys up front!
Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen preached aggressiveness and physicality before the season started. That is the key to success up front for any defense and has been the case over the last few weeks. The pass rush is finally coming into it's own after a shaky first couple of weeks. Guys take time adjusting to schemes and playing with each other, and a lot of what the Giants are doing is new and different compared to Wink Martindale's defenses of the two years prior. The big thing here is that the pass rush is building itself an identity, one in which opposing offensive lines are having trouble corralling. Especially when a 360 pound mountain of a man is shedding double teams and eating centers for lunch. Yes, we're talking about you Dexter Lawrence.
When Joe Burrow has been pressured this season, his completion percentage drops to 60.7 percent as opposed to 74.5 percent when he has a clean pocket. Pressure needs to be applied this week to wear down the Bengals offensive line and force Joe Burrow into mistakes - which he hasn't had many of so far this season - that put the Giants offense into a position to score points. It will be a tall task for the secondary to manage both Jamarr Chase and Tee Higgins, but if the pass rush does their job - minus Kayvon Thibodeaux who is injured - then there is an opportunity to come out of this game with a big win on this side of the ball.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. has won our hearts
The young (25 isn't young for an NFL running back but you catch my drift) former college wide receiver is here and here to stay. After a strong camp where I had the opportunity to see him play and an injury scare that almost cost him his rookie season, Tracy Jr. finally got his opportunity to be the bell cow in this offense and boy he did not disappoint. The former 2024 fifth round pick ran for 129 yards on 18 carries good for 7.2 yards per carry this past Sunday. This run was one of his best of the day:
We have seen Brian Daboll's usage of Tracy Jr. increase over the past few weeks and this statement game will only build trust in the first year back. Devin Singletary is out for a second straight week, so Tracy Jr. will be RB1 in this matchup. Given the Singletary news on Saturday, look for Daboll and the offense to lean on him as an important piece given the struggles the Bengals have had stopping the running game.
The Bengals enter week 6 averaging 151.4 rushing yards allowed per game to opponents, good for 30th in the league. Here are the per game yardage numbers allowed to their opponents through week 5:
Week 1 vs New England: 170 yards
Week 2 vs Kansas City: 149 yards
Week 3 vs Washington: 108 yards
Week 4 vs Carolina: 155 yards
Week 5 vs Baltimore: 175 yards
That is extremely bad and a flaw of the Cincinnati defense that the Giants need to attack from the jump to set the tone. If they set the tone in the running attack and get the Bengals safeties on their toes then the Giants can take shots in the passing game.
This is a great matchup for the Giants on the ground, however, we saw the running attack sputter against an abysmal Cowboys run defense in week 4. They need to adjust from that performance and attack the vulnerabilities of the Bengals defense.
Week 6 X-factor
I think I have to go with a brand new x-factor that hasn't been talked about much in my previous pieces but can be a huge piece in the Giants game plan this week and moving forward. This is a guy who is young and raw but showed a lot of potential in the week 5 win in Seattle.
The guy I'm referring to is tight end Theo Johnson. Johnson was on the field for 78 percent of offensive snaps last week. He hauled in a career high five receptions on 48 yards receiving. With Malik Nabers sidelined again as he works his way back from the concussion he suffered in week 4, look for Johnson's number to get called more often than not in this one. If he shows up again, that just adds another piece to Brian Daboll's arsenal that can be used as a threat against opposing defenses. The more guys that can make plays, the more defenses need to adjust to cover those positions.
He is 6-foot-6, 264 pounds and can be a force in the passing game or blocking game. The Bengals have allowed 246 yards receiving to opposing tight ends, with 132 of those yards and three touchdowns coming last week against Baltimore. There is a chance Johnson can make an impact against a Bengals defense that is 22nd in the league in yards allowed against tight ends. In the play below, he recognizes the opening in the middle of the field and sits on a stick route for his first catch putting the Giants into Seahawks territory.
His time on the field has increased and with that should come more opportunities to become a playmaker in a young and underrated Giants offense. I'm looking forward to seeing if he can translate his week 5 output into this one against the Bengals.
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