3 Trends NY Giants must break to beat the Falcons

The NY Giants enter week 3 at 0-2 as they welcome in the Atlanta Falcons, who are also looking for their first win of the season in a typical “loser goes home” matchup.

The NY Giants have once again started slow in the early going, losing 27-13 to the Broncos week 1, and 30-29 in a heartbreak against the Football Team in week 2, but are favored Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Week 3 of the NFL season offers a prime opportunity to get on the right track against a lowly Falcons team, but in order to get in the win column, the Giants have three trends they have to break, or else they’ll be staring 0-3 right in the face.

Here’s a look at what needs to go differently for the NY Giants against the Falcons

Running the ball on long-yardage downs

It’s been a rough go for Saquon Barkley early on, tallying 83 yards on 23 carries without finding the end zone through two games. Additionally, he’s had just three receptions for 13 yards through the air.

Despite Barkley’s struggles, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has been insistent on getting him and free agent addition Devontae Booker going on early downs. No matter how hard they try to make it work, it simply hasn’t been effective.

On 16 designed runs on 1st and long, the duo has compiled a measly 34 yards, amounting to 2.1 yards per carry. They’ve had just four of those carries go for five yards or more, while 10 have gone for two yards or less.

It doesn’t get much better on 2nd and long, as the tandem of Barkley and Booker has mustered just 21 yards on eight attempts, excluding Barkley’s 41-yard run in week 2 against Washington, which serves more as an outlier.

As early as it is, Daniel Jones has showcased the ability to throw downfield. On 1st and long, Jones is 22-for-33 with 264 yards and a touchdown. On 2nd and long, he’s 7-for-11 with 86 yards and a touchdown. In all, he’s 29-for-44 with 350 yards and two touchdowns on early downs with seven or more yards to go.