“We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.”
– Vince Lombardi
The Giants were outplayed in the first half of the Ravens game and went into halftime trailing 20 to 3.They never gave up and outscored the Ravens by 3 points in the second half. Still they lost the game by 14 points, Nevertheless the Giants are still alive to make the playoffs. If they beat the Cowboys and later the Washington Football Team loses to the Eagles, then the Giants would win the division. On to play Dallas!
The Eagles defensive coordinator had this to say about their game against the WFT and the Eagles out of playoff contention. “It might not be at stake for us as a team with a playoff berth and things like that, but we’ve got a lot of individual things that players still can accomplish,” Schwartz said. “We’ve got guys that are trying to earn their way in the league, and like I said before, we have a division opponent that’s going to come and try to celebrate on our field. We’ve got to have a no-hat rule this week. We can’t let opponents put division win hats on at the Linc. There’s a lot of pride in that, and all our focus has to be to accomplishing that this week.”
The game against Dallas will be a challenge for the Giants. Dallas has put up over thirty points in each of the last three games and in a total eight of their 15 games. The Giants have not broken twenty points in the last five games. Wayne Gallman lead the team in touchdowns with six. All were from one to two yards out. The Giants have managed 22 drives from within their 26 yard line to the red zone. However they have scored a touchdown on on 59% of those drives. That is 22nd in the league. Their overall red zone touchdown percent of 45% is 31st in the league. Joe Judge had played aggressive when playing better teams. He should continue to do so against the Cowboys. Such as going for it on fourth down. Their fourth down conversion percent of 63% is ninth in the league. Just Go for It! Play aggressive.
This season Dallas has not applied a lot of pressure. They have a 22.6% pressure percentage which is 17th in the league. This should allow the Giants to take some deep shots downfield to Darius Slayton. Slayton is sixth in the league in yards before the catch per reception. He leads the Giants in receiving first downs. Heavy use of Sterling Shepard to move the chains is warranted. Shepard is clutch on third down. Since 2016 Shepard ranks 16th in the league in number of third down conversions. This season he is 33rd with having played only 11 games. His third down conversion on 3rd and 15 on the touchdown drive in the Ravens game was a key play. As of Dec 3rd, Shepard’s season 56.25% third down conversions to 3rd down targets percentage is 17th among 122 players with 10+ third down targets. Evan Engram is tops on the Giants in yards after the catch. You see that in how he fights for those extra yards once he gets the ball in his hands. He averages 4.6 yards after the catch. Spread the ball around! Mix up the short, intermediate and long passes. Take advantage of a weak Dallas defense.
Lastly play the run game heavily in the first half. The Giants are in the top third of the league in games won when teams rush for 130+ yards. They have hit that in all five of their wins. They are 5-2 when they rush for 130+ yards. This will also help keep the Dallas offense off the field and eat up the clock. Try to keep it a low scoring long Giants drive game. Wayne Gallman is ninth in the league in rushing yards after contact per attempt. He has powerful legs that keep pushing forward to move the pile. He averages 2.5 yards after contact. Ground and Pound! Slow down the game.
It has been four years since the Giants even at a shot at the playoffs, This is a playoff game to both teams. One and done! Win and wait to see if you get in. It sounds like Philly will give the WFT a fight. I like the Eagles over WFT. This would be awesome to make the playoffs in Judge’s first year, Go Giants! Enjoy the game!
