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NY Giants Schedule: 3 Keys to starting 1-0 by beating Broncos

By Danny Friedman

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 15: The Denver Broncos line up against the New York Giants at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 15, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 15: The Denver Broncos line up against the New York Giants at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 15, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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The NY Giants must get off to a good start in 2021.

The NY Giants haven’t won a Week 1 contest since their 2016 win in Dallas, on the 15th anniversary of 9/11.

On September 10th, 2001, the NY Giants played the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. The entire world had no idea it would change forever the next day.

20 years after 9/11, the New York Giants are coming full circle and will take on the Broncos in Week 1 to kick off their 2021 season. It will be an emotional, special, and exciting game. It will also mark the return of fans back in MetLife Stadium since their last home game in 2019.

The NY Giants haven’t won a home opener in five years. Before that, they last won their Week 1 in 2010. They are now 2-9 in their last 11 Week One contests dating back to 2010.

The Broncos will be a good matchup for the NY Giants to see Week 1. Both teams are led by third-year quarterbacks and the Giants ex-Head Coach, Pat Shurmur, makes his return to MetLife Stadium.

Here are 3 keys for the Giants to start off 2021 with a Win.

The Giants need to establish a run game early and often vs Denver

The NY Giants need a more steady and consistent run game in 2021.

It will all start and end with the Giants’ top runner, Saquon Barkley.

Barkleywill be one of the team’s most important players and his return from a torn ACL injury will be critical to the entirety of the team’s success this year.

Besides Barkley, the Giants need to find ways to create favorable matchups in the run game and scheme up plays for success. Whether it’s using Sterling Shepard or Kadarious Toney in the backfield or giving them endarounds and jet sweeps, this offense has to look different than the vanilla offense it showed in 2020.

Daniel Jones is a very capable runner as well. Jones’ speed and agility must be a component of the run game. Utilizing RPOs, read options, and play-action plays will make defenses commit to a decision, they will bite on the RPOs and options, and it keeps the defense honest and on its toes.

The NY Giants’ offense struggled with setting the tempo for any game last year. Rarely it seemed that their offense was dictating what and how the defense played and lined up. This needs to change immediately come Week One.

The run game has to be a big part of the Giants’ offense. It will be up to the lineman upfront to give Barkley holes to run through, Jones must make the right reads on his RPOs and options, and Jason Garrett needs to a better job of when and where to call up these run plays.

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