The Giants will look for their first win of the season as they take on the Houston Texans Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Although this is only week 3 of the season, this is a must. The Giants can ill afford to dig themselves into a deep hole has they did last season.
Here are 3 keys for the Giants in order for them to win on Sunday.
Win the turnover battle- So far this season the, Giants defense has yet to force a turnover, while committing a total of six turnovers. Losing the turnover battle is a recipe for losing, and is one of the reasons the Giants are off to a 0-2 start.
Head coach Tom Coughlin emphasized the importance of not turning the ball over after the Giants 25-14 loss to the Cardinals and throughout this week. This mainly falls on Eli Manning who threw a career high 27 interceptions last year and already has 4 this year. You can expect the Giants to take better care of the football this week, and to force at least one turnover on defense as Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is turnover prone
2. Stop The Run – The Texans heavily rely on their running game, as they are averaging 151 yards per game. Most of those yards are by their workhorse Arian Foster who is averaging 4.4 yards per carry. So it will be imperative for the Giants to slow down the Texans running game. This could be a tall task for the Giants since they’ll be without linebackers Jon Beason and Devon Kennard due to injuries. Expect linebackers Mark Herzlich and Jacquian Williams to start in place of Beason and Kennard. In addition look for safeties Antrel Rolle and Stevie Brown to creep closer to the line of scrimmage on run situations.
If the Giants can keep the Texans to fewer than 100 yards rushing, it will bode well for them.
3. Do Not Let J.J Watt wreak havoc – The Houston Texans arguably have the best defensive lineman in the game in J.J Watt. He can single-handedly disrupt the opponent’s offense. So the Giants will have to make sure to keep him off Eli Manning if they are to win. The Giants will probably keep running back Rashad Jennings to help pass block more instead of using him as a receiver on obvious passing downs.
Prediction: The Giants know that this is an essential must win game, as they cannot afford to start the season 0-3. Offensive coordinator said the offense had their best practice of the season on Thursday and expects it to carry over to Sunday. Look for the Giants to win their first game of the season 24-17