New York Giants 2016 Schedule: 5 Games The Defense Needs To Win
By Neal Lynch
The New York Giants heavily relied on their offense – specifically Eli Manning – to win games since their Super Bowl title in 2011-12. But, as we’ve seen over Eli’s 12 years in the league, he can only win so many games by himself. There are some teams Manning severely struggles against, so if the Giants hope to put a mark in the ‘W’ column, they’ll need their newly revamped defense to come up big.
There have been teams that Eli Manning has put up great numbers against, but hasn’t been able to beat most of the time. Then, there are teams Eli just can’t figure out. Manning has a below average passer rating (less than 80) against 12 teams, but has winning records against five of them. While my post on Eli’s lack of success against teams he excels against upset a lot of fans who viewed it as an attack on Eli, it was actually a reminder that Eli is just one man, and he needs the other 52 players on the roster to do their part to get the victory. Also, it’s an oddity, an anomaly. Good QB play usually equals wins.
However, those teams that have historically flustered Eli are on the horizon. Four of the of the top 5 teams Eli has underperformed against – and one in the top 10 – are on the Giants 2016 schedule. The odds are not in Eli’s favor. So, what is Big Blue to do?
Well, they’ll definitely need the running game to step up, but the onus will be on the defense to be at their absolute best. The D will inevitably be placed in some really precarious positions because of turnovers or three-and-outs and they’ll need to respond with stops and turnovers of their own.
Who are the five teams the Giants defense will have to step up against (and possibly bail out Eli)? Let’s go…
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