The New York Giants scored 41 points across back-to-back wins over the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots before the bye week. Of the 41 points, 34 came directly off of takeaways. Fr
The Green Bay Packers must play clean and protect the ball on offense to beat the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Monday night.
Third-string rookie Tommy DeVito will start at quarterback for the Giants. It’s possible the best way for the Packers to keep DeVito and the Giants off the scoreboard is taking care of the football.
New York has nine takeaways in the last two games. The Giants turned six total takeaways into 24 points against the Commanders, including a game-sealing pick-six. In a 10-7 win over the Patriots, an interception set up both the Giants’ only touchdown and the go-ahead field goal in the second half.
“They’ve done a great job of punching at the ball, getting the ball out. You can tell that’s something that is emphasized there,” Matt LaFleur said. “They’ve made a lot of plays in the secondary, in the backend as well.”
The Giants’ only touchdown drive not involving a takeaway over the last two games was a 62-yard scoring drive that featured a 40-yard touchdown pass from DeVito to Darius Slayton vs. the Commanders.
Giants takeaways turn into points (last 2 games)
Fumble recovery: 45-yard drive for TD
Fumble recovery: 68-yard drive for TD
Interception: 46-yard drive for FG
Interception returned for TD
Interception: 26-yard drive for TD
Interception: 8-yard drive for FG
The Giants have 19 takeaways, tied for the eighth most in football this season. The defense’s 12 interceptions are tied for the sixth most, and nine different Giants players have at least one pick. They’ve also forced 11 fumbles, including four by standout linebacker Bobby Okereke.
Can Matt LaFleur’s team keep playing mistake-free football and win the ball on Monday night?
The Packers haven’t turned the ball over during the current three-game win streak and are 4-1 when they don’t have a turnover this season. Jordan Love has thrown only two interceptions in the last five games.
The Giants have won back-to-back games but remain one of the NFL’s most disappointing teams in 2023. Brian Daboll’s team ranks 31st in point differential, largely due to five losses by three or more scores. Four of the five three-score losses came in games where the Giants didn’t have a takeaway.
The blueprint for the Packers looks fairly simple vs. the Giants: protect the ball and force DeVito to consistently traverse long fields. New York has lived off the momentum and short fields of takeaways. It’s difficult to imagine DeVito and the Giants offense scoring enough points to beat the red-hot Packers without a handful of scores off momentum-changing turnovers on Monday night.