New York Giants: Madden 19 predicts Week 7 shootout in Atlanta

We’re nearly halfway through the regular season, and the New York Giants already seem to be playing for a consolation prize.

A tough 1-5 start has all but eliminated the New York Giants opportunity to make the postseason in a tough NFC. That doesn’t mean the stakes aren’t still high for the G-Men, who face serious questions about their organization, which can only be answered as the season progresses.

Is Eli Manning the right guy anymore? The majority of Twitter talking heads say not, despite coaches and players claiming to have his back.

Will the partnership of general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur work for the future? It seems that they have done a great job reshaping the team despite what win-loss record says.

Also, can star wideout Odell Beckham ever commit to drinking water? OK, we’ll admit, that latest development shouldn’t be a high priority for the team at this point.

But what will be a major priority for the New York Giants is whether they can stop the bleeding in their second-consecutive prime time matchup, this time on the road against the high-octane Atlanta Falcons offense on Monday Night Football.

Led by gunslinger Matt Ryan, the Dirty Birds are averaging 27.8 points per game, which is good for ninth in the league, per ESPN NFL stats. That’s bad news for a Giants defense that after a solid start to the season, has coughed up over 30 points per contest in their last three games.

More from GMEN HQ

• Workout clip of Evan Neal training with former All-Pro OT has Giants fans excited
• NFL Draft Schedule of Events: How to Navigate Draft Weekend
• 4 NY Giants who must step their game up in 2023
• This SEC CB at No. 25 overall for the Giants is gaining steam
• When is the NFL Draft?

The only question is whether Big Blue can match Atlanta’s scoring prowess and go punch-for-punch on a night where the offensive fireworks will start early and occur often. Current Rookie-of-the-Year front runner, Saquon Barkley, should have no problem exposing the Falcons beat-up defense, which has been without its best player in Deion Jones since Week 1.

As an added bonus, tight end Evan Engram is expected to make his return to the field for the first time since the team’s only victory over the Houston Texans in Week 3.

The stars are aligning for New York in what has been an otherwise dull season. We have entered desperate times, and this could be the New York Giants last chance to steal a win before fans start rooting against them in full support of tanking for a high draft pick this offseason.

Passing stats

• Eli Manning –  24/39, 333 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 114.5 QBR
• Matt Ryan – 33/50, 421 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 105.5 QBR

EA Sports Madden 19 may have not been friendly in giving Manning a low 70s overall rating to start the year, but they were aware of something fans didn’t want to admit right away but are starting to accept. That is, the fact that the 15-year veteran could be toward the end of his illustrious career.

Admittedly, the Giants failures have not all been Manning’s fault considering he has been sacked 20 times in just six games behind a halfway built offensive line. His immobility certainly doesn’t help his situation, but it’s getting to the point where it’s hard to keep making excuses week-after-week for the 37-year-old, two-time Super Bowl champion.

Still, it’s No. 10’s team for the foreseeable future and Giants brass has made that perfectly clear.

He’ll have a juicy matchup against a defense that ranks 29th in passing yards surrendered per game with 295.8. Manning has thrown for just over 300 yards once this season against NFC South opponents, the Carolina Panthers. He’ll likely have to rack up that amount of yardage to keep pace with Ryan, who has eclipsed the 300-yards passing mark three times including a 419-yard performance in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rushing stats

New York Giants:

• Saquon Barkley – 17 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD
• Wayne Gallman – 3 carries, 16 yards

Atlanta Falcons: 

• Tevin Coleman – 21 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD
• Ito Smith – 3 carries, 14 yards, 1 TD

The only reason critics have not over-saturated social media streams with talks about how picking a running back over a quarterback at No. 2-overall was the biggest mistake in the history of the NFL is because Barkley is playing so out-of-this-world right now, it’s actually frightening to think how bad the Giants would be if he wasn’t there.

Barkley has eclipsed 100 yards from scrimmage in every single game he has played in the pros, and he could tie Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt’s rookie record set last season if he goes for 100 against the Falcons on Monday.

That shouldn’t be too difficult for Barkley against a Falcons defense that has been susceptible to running backs this season and allowed Jay Ajayi (remember that guy) to rip them for two scores in Week 1.

Madden 19 predicts Barkley to tally just 70 yards on the ground, which does seem a bit low. Remember, this game has shootout written all over it, so the run game may give way to the air-attack earlier than Shurmur would like. Still, SaQuads finds the end zone at least once in this one.

Receiving stats

New York Giants:

• Odell Beckham Jr. – 7 rec., 148 yards, 2 TDs
• Sterling Shepard – 7 rec., 108 yards, 1 TD
• Evan Engram – 5 rec., 39 yards
• Russell Shepard – 2 rec., 16 yards 
• Saquon Barkley – 3 rec., 22 yards

Atlanta Falcons:

• Julio Jones– 8 rec., 90 yards
• Mohamed Sanu – 11 rec., 160 yards, 1 TD
• Calvin Ridley – 7 rec., 82 yards
• Austin Hooper – 5 rec., 74 yards, 1 TD
• Tevin Coleman – 2 rec., 15 yards

Beckham and the New York Giants front office are like a couple who want to make the marriage work but desperately need to see counseling to improve communication.

Co-owner John Mara has made it clear numerous times that he is tired of answering for Beckham’s off-the-field actions/comments, while Beckham continues to defy him like a rebellious teenager tired of his parent’s strict jurisdiction.

The good news is that it’s painfully clear Mara and OBJ want the same thing: to win. For all of Beckham’s questionable methods of “motivating” his team by calling them out, I don’t see the super-talented wideout going the route of fellow and former Big Apple star Keyshawn Johnson and publishing an autobiography titled Throw Me the Damn Ball: Part II. 

Still, the Giants should throw him the damn ball and do it often.

His six receptions for 44 yards in Week 6’s beatdown just won’t cut it if the offense wants any chance at success this Monday. Madden has him lighting up the Falcons weak secondary for 148 yards and two scores—his first multi-touchdown performance since 2017’s Week 3 game against the Eagles.

Total team stats

New York Giants:

• Total offense: 419 yards
• Total team: 464 yards
• Rushing: 86 yards
• Passing: 333 yards
• Turnovers: 0
• Penalties: 1-5
• Time of Possession: 11:29*

Atlanta Falcons:

• Total offense: 504 yards
• Total team: 521 yards
• Rushing: 83 yards
• Passing: 421 yards
• Turnovers: 1
• Penalties: 6-55
• Time of Possession: 12:31*

(*Madden 19 simulation runs six-minute quarters for the most realistic stat outputs)

Coming off a “mini-bye,” the New York Giants will have had 11 days to prepare for Atlanta, which should give Shurmur and his crew the advantage right off the bat. The last time the head coach faced the Falcons was Week 13 of the 2017 season where his Minnesota Vikings got the 14-9 victory in a relatively quiet contest.

Unfortunately, the Giants defense hasn’t been as reliable as the Vikings defense was that season, and Ryan was in a serious MVP hangover last year also. He’s back to his 2016 form despite the team’s 2-4 record leading us to believe otherwise.

As for Manning, he sports a reputable 5-3 career record against Atlanta including 2011’s 24-2 Wild Card playoff win at home. *sigh* Weren’t those the days?

It’s been a long time since that January afternoon in 2012, and Manning will need everything his veteran arm can deliver to push his career total to six wins.

Final

Madden 19 has this one going exactly how you would expect it to go for two teams that both sport struggling defenses masked by offenses that have plenty of weapons and firepower.

The Giants will have Olivier Vernon back for his second game of the season, so he should be up to speed after a solid performance against the Eagles last week. Corners Eli Apple and Janoris Jenkins will have their hands full with a dangerous trio of receivers in Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu and Calvin Ridley—assuming Sanu and Ridley play—so expect James Bettcher to call multiple blitzes to force Ryan to get rid of the ball quickly.

The Giants offensive line didn’t all of a sudden cure itself overnight, so Manning will still be under duress, though things won’t nearly be as bad like they were last Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles top-ranked defensive line.

Both offenses are projected to combine for nearly 1,000 yards as this game comes down to who has the ball last. Unfortunately, that team is predicted to be the Falcons, who like their NFC South counterparts, the Panthers, will break the Giants hearts on a last-second field goal to save their season and send the Giants spiraling even further down into misery.

Atlanta Falcons 34, New York Giants 31