The NY Giants have a chance to pick up their first win of the season, if they can contain Washington Football Team rookie Chase Young, protect the football, more
Washington Football Team rookie defensive end Chase Young has the chance to be a problem for Daniel Jones and the NY Giants. A big problem.
Young, 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, has shown that his elite pass-rush ability has translated from his dominant collegiate career at Ohio State to the NFL.
NY Giants’ rookie class offering very little through first 5 weeks
The NY Giants' 2021 NFL Draft class has so far been disappointing, beginning with first-round pick Andrew Thomas' struggles at left tackle.
In three games since being chosen by Washington with the No. 2 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, Thomas has already produced 2.5 sacks, 10 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and forced one fumble.
“He has a great knack for finding the ball in the pocket and really going and attacking the quarterbacks as they’re trying to step up in the pocket.,” Giants head coach Joe Judge said Wednesday. “He’s a good tackler. This guy plays with a high motor. Look, whether it’s him or (Montez) Sweat on the other side, these guys come off the edge, they’re dangerous players.”
Through five weeks, Jones has already been sacked 16 times, tossed five interceptions, and lost three fumbles.
Jones, who lost a fumble that was recovered and returned for a touchdown by the Dallas Cowboys last week, is going to need to account for Young on every snap.
“He’s really athletic,” Judge said of Young. “That kind of goes, yeah, I got you. But he’s really athletic, which enables him to do a variety of things. His speed off the edge is very good, his reaction on the counter moves, the way he plays off contact. He has great instincts to find the ball.”
There might not be an aspect of Sunday’s game more important to the Giants’ chances of winning it than making sure Young doesn’t get to Jones and doesn’t force any fumbles. If Young has his way with rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas and is able to wreak havoc in the backfield, it could be a very long afternoon for the Giants.
Scroll through for three more keys to the Giants’ beating Washington and notching their first victory of the season:
Win the turnover battle
Neither of these teams have done particularly well protecting the football.
The Giants have nine giveaways, with Jones accounting for eight of them, good for a negative-3 turnover differential, while Washington enters Sunday with only a slightly better negative-1 differential.
It goes without saying that in order for Jones to take the next step in his development and be considered a legitimate franchise quarterback, he’s going to need to stop turning the ball over. But, the Giants’ chances in this game likely come down to not having offensive drives stall out or giving Washington extra chances.
In Washington’s lone win of the season, Week 1 over the Philadelphia Eagles,Head coach Ron Rivera’s Football Team intercepted Carson Wentz twice and recovered a fumble.
If the Giants struggle similarly to the Eagles, they’re going to struggle to win.
Make Devonta Freeman the focal point of the offense
There are few things that take the teeth out of a pass rush, and pressure off your quarterback than running the football effectively.
The Giants might need to do exactly that against Young, Montez Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, and Washington if they are going to have any chance of winning.
Fortunately for the Giants, last week the offensive line finally seemed to find its footing in the running game, paving the way for running back Devonta Freeman to rush for 60 yards and a touchdown while averaging 3.53 yards per carry.
Washington presents a more stout front than the Cowboys and are significantly better at stopping the run, but Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett must commit to the running game early and stick with it if he is going to keep Young, Sweat, and Kerrigan from simply pinning their ears back and making life miserable on Jones.
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.