The Washington Football Team will kick off NFL Week 2 by welcoming the New York Giants this Thursday (16) at FedEx Field in Landover at 9:20 pm EDT. The two NFC East teams are looking to make an immediate recovery in the league after debuting with losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos, respectively, and occupy the bottom two positions within the division considered to be the weakest in the NFL.
The series between Washington Football Team and the New York Giants is largely dominated by the Big Apple franchise, which has 105 wins, 69 losses and just four draws. Without beating the Giants since October 2018, the team from the US capital wants to end the five-match winning streak.
Explore the running game
After perder o quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick In the second quarter of the loss to the Chargers, which could be out for up to eight weeks, Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera bets on Taylor Heinicke to overcome traditional NFC East rivals. The backup came in during the defeat on the debut and completed 11 of 15 passes with 122 yards and a touchdown thrown.
However, given the inexperience of Heinicke, who hasn’t started a regular season game since 2018, it’s likely that Football Team’s game plan will be to exploit ground advances with Antonio Gibson, a running back who is bruise-free despite coaching from limited form last Monday (13). During the first start of the regular season, Gibson produced 90 yards on the ground in 20 runs, but ended up triggering a fumble that cost Washington dearly. After Heinicke starts to feel more comfortable in the pocket as the game progresses, Terry McLaurin comes up with the best passing option available to overcome the Giants defense.
On defense, Chase Young is expected to strike terror into the weak OL of the New York Giants who suffered badly against the Broncos. Agile and explosive, Young should take advantage of the opposing offensive line.
Minimize errors
Daniel Jones’s worst flaw is his “ability” to produce fumbles. In his third year in the NFL, the New York Giants quarterback has lost control of the oval on 29 times, with the opposing team keeping the ball on 17 times. To win the strong defense of the Washington Football Team, which had the NFL’s second-best performer in the industry last season, Jones needs to be very careful about protecting the ball and improving decision-making when distributing the game.
But, it must be recognized that Jones is not just the “only” offensive problem for the New York Giants. The running game performed well below the acceptable against the Denver Broncos. Saquon Barkley, said to be one of the league’s top running backs and doubtful for Thursday’s game, only ran 26 yards in the loss to the Broncos, clearly showing that he is still not 100% physically after tearing his ligaments. of the knee last season. Devontae Booker, Barkley’s reserve, put in a measly seven yards on his debut and the team’s best runner turned out to be Daniel Jones, with 27 yards.
You can’t triumph in the NFL with a low-dimensional attack, especially given Jason Garrett’s very uncreative playbook, useless on his debut, which would end up wasting the talent of a wide receiver of Kenny Golladay’s caliber, on the field during 85% of snaps of the Giants against the Colorado franchise, but author of just four catches for 64 yards.
The bet
According to the Football Power Index, ESPN’s projection engine, the Washington Football Team is slightly favored to win the opening match of week 2, with a 56% chance. The New York Giants own 43.7%.
game sheet
Washington Football Team x New York Giants
NFL Week 2
Date: Thursday (16), at 9:20 pm
Location: FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. Where to See: ESPN, ESPN APP, Star+ and NFL Game Pass
