Giants vs. Packers: 4 keys to victory in Week 13

Here are four things the New York Giants can do to ensure a victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday and get their third win this season

The New York Giants host the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday in a tale of two very different seasons.

The Packers are 8-3 and currently sit in third place in the NFC, also leading their division. The Giants are 2-9, sitting second-to-last in the NFC and at the bottom of their division.

The Giants’ wildcard hopes are out the window and their divisional hopes are hanging on by a thread, but that doesn’t mean they can’t curb the Packers dreams. The Minnesota Vikings are hot on the Packers’ tail, and the Giants would do them a big favor with a win.

Here are this week’s keys to victory:

Pressure Aaron Rodgers

Much like the photo above, Markus Golden & Co. need to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is notorious for holding onto the ball too long, and for making poor decisions under pressure. The Packers’ big plays don’t come when Rodgers has a defender in his face, and they have 40 big plays on record this season.

If James Bettcher can get his defense to plow through the Packers’ offensive line and put some serious pressure on Rodgers, the Giants’ chances of winning go up dramatically.

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Friday Flashback: Packers defeat ‘power’ Giants in 1982

In the latest Giants Wire Flashback Friday, we look at the New York Giants’ loss to the Green Bay Packers just prior to the 1982 strike.

The New York Giants came into the 1982 season fresh off their first playoff appearance in 18 seasons. Optimism was high with a defense led by second-year linebacker Lawrence Taylor, and Phil Simms was poised to reclaim his perch as the team’s starting quarterback.

But Simms, who missed the final month and a half of the 1981 season with a separated shoulder, would not get the opportunity to advance the Giants’ surge back to prominence as he tore ligaments in his knee during a preseason game against the Jets.

Behind Scott Brunner once again, the magic wasn’t there this time around for the Giants in ’82. They lost their first two games to open the season before the NFLPA decided to embark on a strike, which lasted 57 days.

In Week 2, the Giants hosted the Green Bay Packers on a Monday night. With the strike looming, the stadium had a pall over it as the talk was that the season would end after the game.

The Giants took an early 12-0 lead in the game, which was interrupted twice in the second quarter by power outages. Many in the stands (present company included) thought the owners or the league was trying to send the players a message. Instead, it was just the ineptitude of PSE&G.

The Giants lost their power after the outages. Fans were treated to a large dose of future Hall of Fame wideout James Lofton, who took an end around 83 yards for a touchdown while catching four passes for another 101 yards.

Green Bay outscored the Giants 27-7 the rest of the game to send the fans home with a deflating feeling. The Giants’ depressing 0-2 start was bad enough, but now they were faced with the prospect of no football for a while as the two sides were miles apart from a deal.

When the dispute was resolved in mid-November, the NFL decided to play the rest of the schedule, which had seven weeks remaining, and set up an ad hoc postseason process to determine who would go to the Super Bowl.

The Giants lost the first game after the break to the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins. They then reeled off three straight wins only to lose two of the final three games, falling one game short of the playoffs.

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Giants vs. Packers: 6 things to know about Week 13

The New York Giants and Green Bay Packers square off on Sunday in Week 13, so here are six things fans should know.

The New York Giants (2-9) will attempt to stop their free fall through the standings with an upset over the Green Bay Packers (8-3) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

Here are six things to know about the Week 13 game

The rivalry

This week’s game marks the 54th regular-season meeting between the two teams since 1928.The Packers lead the regular season series, 28-23-2. The Giants have a 16-15-2 home record against the Pack. The teams last met on October 9, 2016, a 23-16 Packers victory at Lambeau Field. The Giants last played Green Bay at home on November 17, 2013, winning, 27-13, over the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers.

The two clubs have met eight times in the post season. The Packers have won five times (1938, 1944, 1961, 1962 and 2017). The Giants’ three wins came in 1938, 2008 and 2012.

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Gimme Him: One player Giants would steal from Packers

The Green Bay Packers have several players the New York Giants could use, but Za’Darius Smith’s all-around game gets him stolen in Week 13.

The New York Giants will host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, presenting those of us at Giants Wire a unique opportunity to raid a roster we do not typically see.

In pouring over the Packers’ depth chart, there are a few players that immediately catch the eye — quarterback Aaron Rodgers, running back Aaron Jones, wide receiver Davante Adams, inside linebacker Blake Martinez and edge rushers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith.

The argument could always be made for Rodgers, but with Daniel Jones under center and breaking records left and right, we’ll stick with the young gun this time around.

Aaron Jones is also an intriguing option based on his touchdown production alone, but Saquon Barkley is bound to bounce back at some point… right?

With so many injuries at wide receiver, the Giants could also stand to benefit from Davante Adams, just as they could from either of Green Bay’s tackles. But nope, we’re not going that route, either…

Defensively, Blake Martinez would be a substantial upgrade for the Giants on the inside, but he’s not really so much of a game-changer as he is an average consistent presence.

Ultimately, that left us to choose between Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, and while Preston has 10.5 sacks to Za’Darius’ 10, we’re going with Za’Darius anyway.

The 27-year-old Za’Darius flashed talent in Baltimore, but had been moved around from position to position, playing inside, outside, on the line and standing up. There was no consistency and despite marked improvement year-to-year, Smith was clearly being held back.

In Green Bay, Smith has erupted, recording 10 sacks and 23 QB hits in 11 games, but he’s proven himself to be more valuable than a situational edge rusher. He’s also recorded 40 tackles, including 10 for a loss, good for an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 84.6 on the season.

What say you, Giants fans? Would you steal Za’Darius Smith or snag someone else from Green Bay’s roster?

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A year later, Giants’ selection of Saquon Barkley has lost its luster

More than a year later, the New York Giants’ decision to select RB Saquon Barkley at No. 2 overall has lost its luster.

When the New York Giants selected Penn State running back Saquon Barkley second overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, general manager Dave Gettleman claimed he got the best football player in the draft.

For one year, he was right. Barkley was Superman. He did things we hadn’t seen done in the NFL in years. But there were naysayers across the landscape that warned that the honeymoon could be short. Running backs are highly vulnerable and many times go boom before they go bust.

That could be the case for Barkley here in 2019. He was perhaps the best all-around back in the NFL in 2018. It’s 2019 now and Barkley has been trying to battle his way back from a high ankle sprain and an offense that has no identity and no direction.

Barkley’s numbers this season aren’t bowling anyone over anymore and his penchant for breaking the big play and shedding tacklers is less prevalent.

Last season, Barkley averaged 5.0 yards per carry. This season, he’s under four at 3.9. He is closer to himself in the passing game, where he’s averaging 7.4 yards per reception as opposed to 7.9 last season. In 2018, he was targeted 7.6 times per game. That number has been reduced to 6.1 per contest.

Barkley is averaging just 57.6 total yards per game, down from 81.7 last year. His average yards per touch is down nearly a yard per attempt. But more importantly, Barkley hasn’t looked like the same player since the injury. He appears to lack the explosiveness he had as a rookie and has lost his elusiveness.

This could be related to the injury, which many (present company included) believe he returned too early from. But it could be more than that. Barkley hasn’t had a staple game since returning. And he seems to be going backwards.

Over the past three games, Barkley has rushed the football 44 times for just 88 yards. That is not what Gettleman had in mind on Draft Day 2018. In the receiving game, Barkley has caught 16 passes for 98 yards the past three weeks — hardly inspiring.

Meanwhile, the 2018 draft class has more than caught up to him. No one is talking about Barkley’s heroics any longer and the Giants are dead in the water again at 2-9.

Lamar Jackson is playing at another level. Sam Darnold, finally healthy, is making a push with the Jets in the second half of the season. So is Baker Mayfield. Josh Allen is leading the Bills to the playoffs. Minkah Fitzpatrick in doing the same in Pittsburgh.

Not to say the Giants would have — or should have — taken any of those players over Barkley last year but it has become frustrating to watch as he struggles while they all surge.

Much of this is not his fault. The Giants are a horrible team stuck in a loop of losing, devoid of talent with poor leadership and even worse coaching. It’s unfortunate Barkley is becoming the face of this mess.

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Stock up, down after Giants’ 19-14 loss to Bears

Whose stock is up and whose is down following the New York Giants’ loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 12?

For the first time in franchise history, the New York Giants were able to accomplish something, although it wasn’t exactly an honor to be proud of.

The Giants have lost every game played in the months of October and November, falling to the Chicago Bears, 19-14, on Sunday at Soldier Field.

The last game the Giants won came back in September against the Washington Redskins, which seems like a million years ago given how the last two months of the season have transpired — a horrendous down spiral.

With that said, whose stock is up and down for the Giants following the loss to the Bears.? Let’s take a look.

Stock up: Markus Golden

With each passing game, Golden continues to show that he is, in fact, back to his former double-digit sack self.

Golden added another sack to his 2019 total, which is rests at 7.5. He also had a few batted balls at the line of scrimmage and several pressures, making his presence known and felt on defense.

Given the way his season has gone, Golden is going to be in line for a much bigger payday and if the Giants were smart about it, they would sign him to a contract extension immediately.

Stock down: Aldrick Rosas

A year ago. Rosas was an All-Pro kicker and looked like he finally had turned the corner as far as his career goes. A year later, Rosas has reverted back to the guy we saw in 2017, making critical mistakes and costly misses.

Rosas missed two field goals, although granted, one was due to a botched snap. But the miss still goes to Rosas’ record, plus he’s had a tendency for missing kicks over the last few games.

To go along with the two missed field goals, Rosas also had a kickoff go out of bounds.

Rosas is struggling, and if he continues, he might find himself out of a job really soon.

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What we learned from Giants’ 19-14 loss to Bears

The New York Giants lost to the Chicago Bears, 19-14, in Week 12 and here’s some of what we learned from that loss.

The New York Giants went on the road to face the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday, and what transpired was a disaster. The defense largely did its job, save for Corey Ballentine, but the offense couldn’t put enough points on the board, in part due to two missed field goals by Aldrick Rosas.

That said, here is what we learned from the Giants’ loss to the Bears in Week 12.

Aldrick Rosas is a mess

Rosas ranks 32nd among 38 active field goal kickers in percentage made at 67%. He missed two field goals against the Bears. Had he made those, the Giants would have won. One miss was due to a poor snap, but he’s now missed either a field goal or a PAT in the last five games straight.

Not only that, but Rosas had a kickoff go out of bounds and had some words with Pat Shurmur on the sideline. An All-Pro kicker one year ago, Rosas’ decline is surprising and frustrating. He’s in his third year in the league, all with the Giants, and this is by far his worst season yet.

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3 takeaways from Giants’ Week 12 loss to Bears

Here are three takeaways from the New York Giants’ Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears, which dropped them to 2-9.

The New York Giants fell to 2-9 on the season after their listless loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday.

Here are three takeaways from the latest loss.

Daniel Jones shows his grit

Giant fans remember the days when Eli Manning was covered in grass stains and dirt after a hard day’s work. On Sunday, Jones did what he could to penetrate the Bears’ aggressive defense and took many a hit in the process. Overall, he did fairly well, but on the Giants’ final series of the game, Jones sustained a cut on his throwing hand between his index and middle finger, which affected his passing. His final three passes were incompletions.

After the game, Jones sloughed off the injury admitting he did not know how it happened but confirmed he would not need stitches. The team’s seventh straight loss is what hurt him the most.

“It’s tough,’ said Jones. “No one likes to lose. Everyone in this locker room, everybody that’s part of the organization, is trying to do what we can to correct it. We got to keep doing that, look at what we’re doing, get better. Right now, it’s not good enough.”

No, it’s not.

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Giants vs. Bears Player of the Game: Kaden Smith

New York Giants TE Kaden Smith is the Giants Wire Player of the Game after scoring his first career TD in a loss to the Chicago Bears.

The New York Giants had all the opportunities in the world to knock off the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field, but they simply couldn’t get the job done.

Instead, the Giants left with their seventh straight loss — a 19-14 defeat — and fell to 2-9 on the season. With the loss, it ensures the Giants will finish with a sub-.500 record for the third consecutive season.

This was an extremely ugly game for the Giants with too many mental mistakes, blown coverages and a lot of missed opportunities to leave Chicago with a win.

One of the very few bright spots was rookie tight end Kaden Smith, who caught his very first touchdown of his NFL career early on in the game.

Daniel Jones ➡️ Kaden Smith for his first NFL TD!! Giants up 7-0!! pic.twitter.com/Oeow1HRGRY

— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) November 24, 2019

Smith was the San Francisco 49ers’ third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, but was released before the season and awarded to the Giants off waivers. Because of injuries to Evan Ingram and Rhett Ellison, Smith was needed to dress for the Giants and made the most of his opportunities to play.

Smith finished the game with five catches for 17 yards and the first touchdown of his NFL career. If the injures continue for Engram and Ellison, Smith has certainly earned the chance to play more this season and show the Giants what he can do.

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Giants fall to Bears: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants fell to 2-9 with a 19-14 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 12, and here’s a look at the winners and losers from that game.

The New York Giants lost their seventh consecutive game on Sunday, falling to the Chicago Bears, 19-14, at Solder Field in what may have been the ugliest display of football all season (if not longer).

The Giants did have a chance to pull off a miracle at the end, but Daniel Jones was unable to channel his inner Eli Manning and watched as his final fourth-down attempt fell harmlessly to the ground.

Here’s a look at Sunday’s winners and losers (and those in between):

Winners

Julian Love: Love wasn’t just eased into the defensive rotation, he was straight-up thrown into the fire. The results? They were largely positive. While it wasn’t perfect, Love made several key plays, including his first career interception off the arm of Mitchell Trubisky. He also made two other potential touchdown-saving plays.

Markus Golden: On a defense that simply doesn’t play well at all, Golden continues to make his presence felt and Sunday was no different. Not only did Golden record another sack, he added several other pressures and a couple batted balls at the line of scrimmage. He also came up with a huge 3rd-and-1 stop late in the fourth quarter, giving the Giants an opportunity for a last-minute win.

Riley Dixon: It’s a sad day when a punter is one of the few players to appear in the “winners” column, but here we are. But don’t let that be a reflection of Dixon himself, who had quite a day, averaging 51.4 yards per punt with four being downed inside the 20.

Others: Golden Tate, Jabrill Peppers

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