Packers at Giants Matchups: Almost a Clean Sweep

This phase of the team has been a pleasant surprise, considering the amount of concern there was surrounding it with the departures of Kenny Clark and TJ Slaton.

On the other side, the Giants’ rushing attack has been searching for answers. Overall, they’re ranked 11th in the NFL in rushing, but a large chunk of that is going to be missing on Sunday. Their leading rusher is rookie Cam Skattebo, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury last month. Their second-leading rusher is Jaxson Dart, their quarterback, who will be inactive.

Couple that with Green Bay’s ability to defend the run, this matchup favors the visitors.

Advantage: Packers

Giants Pass Defense vs. Packers Passing Offense

Once upon a time, the Giants called themselves the NYPD, which was short for “New York Pass Defense.” That group was led by cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Landon Collins. They were the best pass defense in the NFL in 2016 before being torn apart by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Green Bay’s wild-card victory at Lambeau Field.

This secondary is decidedly not as good as that group.

The Giants are ranked 23rd against the pass and are coming off a game in which they blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead against Caleb Williams and the Bears.

The Giants’ superpower, however, is their defensive line. That was the expectation for them going into the season, as they’ve invested heavily in that group. They already had Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence to rush opposing quarterbacks before using the third overall pick of the draft on Abdul Carter.

The results have been more of a one-man band in the first half of the season. Burns leads the team with 11 sacks. Thibodeaux is next on the list with 2.5.

Burns is the game-wrecker of the group with 15 tackles for losses. He missed a few opportunities to add to that total on Sunday with Caleb Williams dodging Giants rushers in the backfield.

Green Bay’s offensive line is embattled. Love was sacked three times and was pressured on more than 40 percent of his dropbacks. If Love is able to have time, he should be able to find some receivers to help make some plays.

That has been a big if in recent weeks, but we’ll give the nod to the group that is more talented.

Advantage: Packers

Giants Rush Defense vs. Green Bay’s Rush Offense

Green Bay’s opponents are daring them to run the football. The Packers want to run the football.

They have not been able to do so with any semblance of consistency.

Matt LaFleur said the running game was “solid” and “effective” against the Eagles, though the numbers do not back that up. Running it better “could help us immensely,” he said after the game.

“The more you can keep teams off-balance, if you're really humming, that alleviates a lot of stress on your offense,” he said.

Green Bay’s run game averaged 3.5 yards per carry against the Eagles.  For context sake, that would be the lowest mark in the NFL for a full season.

The struggles do not stop there.

According to Next Gen Stats, Josh Jacobs is averaging 0.6 yards before contact. Jacobs is doing a good job of creating yards, but every yard is earned the hard way. Now, they’ll be installing a new center with Elgton Jenkins likely to miss the rest of the season with a leg injury.

Perhaps this is the week the Packers can find the medicine that cures their run-game woes.

The Giants’ run defense is not good. In fact, they’re ahead of only the Bengals with 152.1 rushing yards allowed per game. Chicago’s D’Andre Swift averaged 6.2 yards per carry on Sunday. A week earlier, the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey and Brian Robinson combined for 159 rushing yards and two touchdowns. A week before that, the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley started the game with a 65-yard touchdown.

With LaFleur’s desire to continue to stick to his ground game, this could be a week he really tries to establish Jacobs. If Green Bay cannot move the ball on the ground this week, they may never be able.

Advantage: Packers

Special Teams

Green Bay was supposed to have one of the most stable situations in football at kicker. That’s what you expect when you give a three-year contract to veteran kicker Brandon McManus just before the start of free agency.

In theory, they’re stable because Matt LaFleur keeps reaffirming his commitment to Green Bay’s embattled kicker with each passing week. McManus missed another kick last week, though the 64-yard field-goal attempt as time expired on a cold night against the Eagles would have been an incredibly tough ask for any kicker.

The reality, however, is that McManus is ranked 39th out of 39 qualified kickers in field-goal percentage. If the injury played a part in that, then the Packers should have taken that situation more seriously. Now, McManus is off the injury report. Any excuses that McManus could have should go by the wayside.

In the return game, Green Bay has not used Keisean Nixon despite his track record at the position. With rookie Savion Williams the primary kickoff returner, the Packers rank 13th with a 25.6-yard average. With sure-handed Romeo Doubs the punt returner, the Packers are last in that phase.

The Giants’ situation is similar, with kicker Graham Gano placed on injured reserve on Wednesday.  Former Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo is expected to handle those duties in his absence.

If the Packers’ return situation is chaotic, the Giants are stable. Gunner Olszewski averages 28 yards per kickoff return, helping the Giants rank fifth in that phase, and has a long punt return of 21 yards.

Green Bay has the edge at punter, with Daniel Whelan ranking 14th in net average compared to the Giants’ Jamie Gillan ranking 24th.

While nothing is guaranteed, especially with Green Bay’s special teams, but this should be an opportunity for them to play well. However, the Giants’ edge in the return game gives them the advantage.

Advantage: Giants

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