Game Preview, Week 8: Redskins at Giants
October 26, 2018
by Steve Thomas
It’s been an oddly subdued week in Redskinsland considering that Washington defeated the hated Dallas Cowboys last week and are now headed to another division rivalry game against the New York Giants. The bottom line is that the Redskins have the ability to take control of the NFC with victories this Sunday and next week against the Falcons. The Giants, though, are no pushover despite their 1 – 6 record, almost always giving the Redskins all they can handle regardless of record; frankly, if the head-to-head record is any guide (look below!), New York usually gets the better of the matchup. This week’s contest is a pretty darn important game and Washington desperately needs to keep their little mini-win streak going. The Giants have a significant amount of talent amongst the ball-handlers, but have an equal amount of awful along their offensive line. Plus, New York is in the midst of something of a defensive fire sale right now, having just traded away two starters, corner Eli Apple and defensive lineman “Snacks” Harrison. The point is that, at least on offense, New York can really bring it if they can keep from making game-killing mistakes and their coach doesn’t do dumb things. Irrespective of that, you should be prepared for this game to be a dogfight despite the Giants’ terrible win-loss record, because that’s just how these things normally go. Our preview is below.
Game time & location: Sunday, October 28, 2018, 1:00 p.m. ET, Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ; Gates open 11:00 a.m. ET; parking lots open 8:00 a.m.
Television: Fox
Television announcers: Kenny Albert, Charles Davis, Pam Oliver
DC-area radio: The Team 980
Redskins radio network: Click here
Giants radio network: Click here
Satellite radio: XM: 225 (Giants broad.) Sirius: 106 (Redskins broad); internet: 831 (Redskins broad.)
Redskins roster: Click here
Redskins depth chart: Click here
Giants roster: Click here
Giants depth chart: Click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Giants: 67 – 99 – 4 (last 10: 3 – 7)
Last meeting: L, December 31, 2017, 10 – 18
Early odds: Redskins, -1
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Make Eli Manning as uncomfortable as possible
Eli has had his problems this season, for sure, but he’s still a decent quarterback who has plenty of weapons around him. He’s suffered through an absolute blitzkrieg so far this year, having already been sacked 24 times as a result of an extremely poor protection from the offensive line. Manning has a history of getting a bit rattled and frustrated if opposing defensive lines can put significant pressure on him and repeatedly put him on the ground, so the Redskins’ game plan should include getting to Manning as often as possible without sacrificing downfield coverage due to the extreme threat posed by the Giants’ wide receivers. This is a game where the edge rushers, to include the resurgent Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith, need to actually get home, not just get close. Hit Eli and good things will happen.
Protect against the big play by the Giants’ stars on offense
The Giants may not win the battle in the trenches, but one thing they definitely can do well is hit on the big play. Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham, Jr., and Sterling Shepard are all very dangerous and have the ability to change the game, or keep the Giants in the game, in the blink of an eye. Washington needs to pay particular attention to their zone coverages to make sure there are no blown assignments. In the run game, the linebackers must play solid contain on the edges and guard against the screen pass to Barkley, because he’s very dangerous in that role. If the Redskins can keep the Giants from getting easy touchdowns, I suspect the outcome may turn in Washington’s favor.
Diversify the offensive game plan
The Giants’ defense hasn’t been terrible, but it isn’t a quality unit, either. The Redskins would be wise to have a more balanced game plan this week in order to take advantage of New York’s weakened secondary while simultaneously keeping their running game rolling under Adrian Peterson. Keeping this defense off balance will be key – the Redskins should not allow the Giants to get comfortable in Jay’s play calling patterns. That’s always a good idea, obviously, but should be a big benefit against the Giants in particular. Keep an eye out for whether Jay follows his tendencies, or whether the game plan is more diverse than normal this week.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Preston Smith vs Nate Solder; Ryan Kerrigan vs Chad Wheeler
The Giants’ offensive line has been terrible all year, and their big money offseason signing, left tackle Nate Solder, hasn’t panned out the way New York hoped. Considering that getting to Eli is key this week, the ability of Kerrigan and Smith to win their battles against the Giants tackles are key battles to watch. Kerrigan and Smith are both good enough that – if all goes well, at least – they should be able to feast on these matchups and put Manning under significant heat.
Redskins quarterback Alex Smith has taken quite a bit of criticism over the past two weeks for his misreads and subpar play. In order for the Redskins to be successful, Smith must do a better job of reading the defensive secondary and accounting for strong safety Landon Collins, who is the leader of the secondary and the Giants’ best defensive player. Smith needs to be able to pass his wide receivers open and hit tight windows this week, and being able to correctly read Collins’ intentions is a key to that effort. Watch for the chess match between Smith and Collins.
Josh Norman vs Odell Beckham, Jr.
Nothing really needs to be said about this matchup. Norman and Beckham have infamously had some highly visible battles over the years, dating back to Norman’s time with the Carolina Panthers, some becoming ugly and downright unsportsmanlike between these two. Beckham is an arrogant diva who seems to have the ability to bring out the worst in Norman, although to be fair, things have calmed down in recent matchups. Regardless, Norman is the big money guy in the Redskins secondary and he needs to step up and contain Beckham. It’s not impossible to think that Norman may travel with Beckham this week, although Washington would be foolish to just leave Norman alone one on one, so expect double coverage and bracketing by the safeties. This is the highest profile matchup of the day and the one most likely to make SportsCenter. Keep a close eye on Norman v. Beckham.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (as of Wednesday (active roster only)) (starters in bold)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful
| Redskins | Giants |
| WR J. Crowder, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | WR J. Davis, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| LB Z. Brown, oblique/illness; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: FP | LB A. Ogletree, hamstring; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| CB Q. Dunbar, shin; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: Q | G P. Omameh, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| G S. Lauvao, calf; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | WR R. Shepard, neck; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| RB A. Peterson, ankle/shoulder; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| WR P. Richardson, Jr., shoulder/knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | |
| G B. Scherff, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| LB R. Kerrigan, chest; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| RB C. Thompson, rib/knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP; game: Q | |
| CB F. Moreau, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| T M. Moses, elbow; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| S T. Apke, hamstring; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| LB J. Harvey-Clemons, shoulder; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| CB D. Johnson, forearm; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| QB C. McCoy, right thumb; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| T T. Williams, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
TEAM STATISTICS
Redskins:
The numbers show that the Redskins continue to be a volume rushing team, although not necessarily an overly efficient one despite the strong year by Adrian Peterson. Of the teams that have had their bye week, only the Seattle Seahawks have had more rushing attempts (180 compared to 177 for Washington). What’s out of whack with that number is that the Redskins are only 21st in the league in rushing yards per attempt, at 4.0 (compare that to Seattle at 4.3). On the passing side, what’s incredible is that Jordan Reed leads the team in receiving yards at just 268 yards (ranked 81st). Chris Thompson, who has only played in 4 games, still leads the team in receptions, and that’s not a good thing. Amongst teams that have already had their bye week, only the Seahawks have passed less than the Redskins (165 attempts vs 196 attempts). Of the teams who’ve only played 6 games, only the Oakland Raiders have scored fewer points (110). The numbers show that Washington’s offense needs to open up a bit more in terms of both number of pass attempts and to the receivers getting the targets.
On defense, Washington’s run defense seems to be legit, at least so far, being ranked 7th in rushing yards per attempt. They’ll have a big job this week in the form of the Giants’ Saquon Barkley, who is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. On the pass defense side, the Redskins are in the lower middle of the pack in sacks (24th in the NFL, but 7th of 10 of the teams who’ve had their bye), passing yards per attempt (20th), completion percentage (22nd), and opposing quarterback rating (19th). In other words, Washington has been good so far, but has room for significant improvement. The challenge facing the secondary this week is massive, with Odell Beckham, Jr. who is one of the top receivers in the NFL by almost every measure, on tap and Sterling Shepard right behind him.
The Redskins have been fairly terrible in special teams again, ranked dead last in the NFL in average yards per punt, 31st in kickoff returns, and 20th in punt returns. Washington has been somewhat better in the coverage game, ranked 9th in kickoff coverage but 15th in punt coverage.
Record: 4 – 2 (1st) (Away: 1 – 1; NFC: 4 – 1; NFC East: 1 – 0)
All-time franchise record: 597 – 583 – 28
Offense
| Offensive rankings | 27 (points) (trend +2) / 28 (total yards) (trend +1) / 24 (yards per game) (trend +1) / 27 (yards per play) (trend -1) / 27 (passing yards) (trend even) / 20 (passing yards per att.) (trend +3) / 20 (rushing yards) (trend +1) / 21 (rushing yards per att.) (trend +2) |
| Points for | 126 |
| Yards per game | 337.5 |
| Passing
|
196 att (31st); 124 comp; 63.3% comp per. (22nd); 7.1 Y/A; 1311 net yds; 7 TD; 2 Int |
| Passing leader | Smith (196 att, 1383 yds (24th), 63.3% comp perc (23rd), 7 TDs / 2 Int, 91.9 QB rating (19th) |
| Receiving leader | Thompson (200 yds, 31 targets, 26 rec (59th), 1 TD, 7.7 Y/C); Reed (268 yds (81st), 35 tgts (76th), 22 rec, 1 TD, 12.2) |
| Rushing | 177 att (15th); 714 yds; 4.0 Y/A; 119.0 Y/G (14th); 5 TD |
| Rushing leader | Peterson (101 att, 438 yds (10th), 3 TD, 4.3 Y/A (14th), long 41) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 13 / 9 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 32:15/ 2 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 37.5 / 23 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 50.0% / 24 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 3 (points) (trend +1) / 1 (total yards) (trend +1) / 5 (yards per game surrendered) (trend even) / 7 (yards per play) (trend +2) / 6 (passing yards) (trend -2) / 5 (passing yards per att.) (trend +1) / 2 (rushing yards) (trend +2) / 7 (rushing yards per att.) (trend +5) |
| Points against | 121 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 325.7 |
| Opponent’s passing | 214 att (7th); 143 comp; 66.8% comp perc. (23rd); 7.0 Y/A; 1430 net yds; 10 TDs; QB Rating 94.9 (21st) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 132 att (1st); 524 yds; 4.9 Y/A; 6 TD; 87.3 Y/G (3rd) |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 14 / 24/ Allen, Ioannidis, Kerrigan (3.0) |
| Tackles leader | Foster (51) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 4/ 22 / Swearinger (2) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 41.43% / 21 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 68.75% / 26 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 15.8 Y/R (31st), 9 returns, long 26 yards, 0 TDs |
| Punt returns | 6.7 Y/R (20th), 6 returns, long 12 yards (32nd), 0 TD |
| Kick return defense | 21.4 Y/R (9th), 7 returns, 0 TD |
| Punt return defense | 7.7 Y/R (15th), 11 returns, 0 TD |
| Punting | 40.9 Y/P (32nd) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank): 5 / 11 / +6 / 4
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 38 / 6
Giants:
The Giants offense is a bit of an enigma. This team has a ton of individual talent in the skill positions: rookie running back Barkley is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and has added another 424 receiving yards; Beckham is a top five receiver by almost every measure (4th in yardage, 3rd in receptions); even Sterling Shepard has posted over 500 yards receiving. Despite the eye test, Eli Manning has posted good stats (69.0% completion percentage (8th); 94.1 quarterback rating (ranked 16th)). But, as a team, the Giants: can’t score (ranked 26th), don’t have many rushing yards (ranked 27th), have let Manning get sacked a ton (24 on the year, ranked 28th), and are terrible in the red zone (ranked 29th). In other words, the Giants offense can produce when they get on a roll, but mistakes, poor coaching decisions, and an atrocious offensive line have doomed this team.
Defensively, the Giants aren’t terrible across the board except in sacks (10 on the year, ranked 30th). They’ve surrendered quite a few points (185, ranked 27th), but are middle of the road in yards per game (18th), rushing yards per attempt (17th), and third down conversions (41.11%, ranked 19th). The Giants have been outstanding in the red zone, for some reason, surrendering touchdowns on only 44% of drives, which is ranked 6th, but are putting virtually no pressure on the opposing quarterbacks (just 10 sacks, 30th in the NFL). This isn’t a good defense, but they have kept the Giants at least close in 6 of 7 games this season.
Record: 1 – 6 (4th) (Home: 0 – 3; NFC: 0 – 5; NFC East: 0 – 2)
All-time franchise record: 688 – 591 – 33
Offense
| Offensive rankings
|
26 (points) / 14 (total yards) / 20 (yards per game) / 10 (yards per play) / 9 (passing yards) / 9 (passing yards per att.) / 27 (rushing yards) / 14 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 137 |
| Yards per game | 360.4 |
| Passing | 269 att (8th); 186 comp; 69.1% comp per. (8th); 7.9 Y/A; 1937 net yds; 8 TDs; 4 Int |
| Passing leader | Manning (268 att, 2061 yds (6th), 69.0% comp per. (8th), 7 TDs / 4 Int, 94.1 QB rating (16th)) |
| Reception leader | Beckham (649 yds (4th), 80 targets (4th), 53 rec (3rd), 2 TD, 12.2 Y/C) |
| Rushing | 135 att (30th); 586 yds; 4.3 Y/A; 83.7 Y/G (30th); 5 TDs |
| Rushing leader | Barkley (98 att, 481 yds (4th), 5 TDs, 4.9 Y/A (7th), long 68 yds) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 24 / 28 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 29:33 / 22 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 38.4% / 18 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 42.86% / 29 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 27 (points) / 21 (total yards) / 18 (yards per game surrendered) / 22 (yards per play) / 19 (passing yards) / 19 (passing yards per att.) / 23 (rushing yards) / 17 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 185 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 367.3 |
| Opponent’s passing | 242 att (19th); 155 comp; 64.0% comp per. (14th); 7.6 Y/A; 1774 net yds; 10 TD; QB Rating 94.1 (19th) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 186 att (23rd); 797 yds; 4.3 Y/A; 6 TD |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 10 / 30 / Hill, Carter (2.0) |
| Tackles leader | Collins (57) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 4 / 22nd / Jenkins (2) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 41.11% / 19 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 44.0% / 6 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 23.3 Y/R (14th), 18 returns, long 3 yards, 0 TDs |
| Punt returns | 4.3 Y/R (30th), 16 returns, long 21 yards (19th), 0 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 17.7 Y/R (3rd), 9 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 7.6Y/R (14th), 15 returns, 0 TD |
| Punting | 47.5 Y/P (6th) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank): 9 / 6 / -3 / 25
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 35 / 4
* Statistics courtesy of www.pro-football-reference.com, www.nflpenalties.com, www.nfl.com, www.teamrankings.com, www.espn.com, www.sportingcharts.com
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