Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports
It would seem that New York Giants have a must-win game, but since the last two weeks were must-win as well, a win on Sunday would appear to be too little too late.
Somehow, it might actually matter.
The Dallas Cowboys are two games up but playing the high flying Denver Broncos. If (when) Dallas loses the Giants will have a chance to be just one game back from the division lead. The NFC East is somehow that atrocious, but the Giants will take it.
Luckily for the Giants they get to play a team that has been almost as bad as they are. The Philadelphia Eagles have had all kinds of issues. Many point to the defense as the problem, and it is to some degree, but the offense is to blame as well. The Eagles offense runs a ton of plays, which simply means the other team gets to run more plays as well. What ends up happening is that opposing offenses score lots of points, not because the Eagles defense is simply terrible, but because they get lots of chances. For the Eagles to be a good team their offense has to be in the top ten in scoring. That is how Chip Kelly designed his team, and now he has to back it up. So far he has failed.
To stop the Eagles, the Giants must lock down on the run. The Eagles run a ton, both with LeSean McCoy and Michael Vick. Vick is the somewhat scarier proposition for a Giants team that always seems to have trouble containing outside runs. If the Giants hold up up front on defense and slow Vick down it will be a win for the defense, even if he gets a couple of throws down field.
On offense it’s the same story as every other week: The offensive line cannot protect Eli Manning. Last year Manning was sacked 19 times, and in four games this year he has been sacked 14 times. That cannot happen. If the Giants want to win in Week 5, or in any week for that matter, they must protect Manning at least somewhat better.
This game is one with two extremely talented, but weak teams. Truth be told, it is likely to be a blowout one way or the other, depending on which team can find their form. However, it is impossible to know who will put it together Sunday. To me, it’s a toss-up.
Jay Cullen is a New York Giants writer for www.RantSports.com. Like him on Facebook or add him on Google.
