One of the surprises heading into Week 7 is that the (5-1) New York Giants are 3-point underdogs to the (2-4) Jacksonville Jaguars.
Maybe this is due to some people believing what New York has pulled off is a fluke, or maybe it’s just the betters being wrong.
Head coach Brian Daboll has had his team playing united and determined throughout the season, and they’ll just look at being underdogs as another opportunity to prove their doubters wrong.
But Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson will have his team highly motivated as they look to end their three-game losing streak.
Both rosters are filled with young and talented players that will be major contributors to their teams for years to come. These young playmakers are some of the noteworthy items to watch for in Sunday’s game.
Andrew Thomas & Evan Neal vs. Josh Allen and Trayvon Walker
Often a team’s identity is defined by its offensive line and defensive front seven. Big Blue’s offensive line is the best it has been in ages thanks to third-year left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is emerging as one of the best tackles in football, and rookie right tackle Evan Neal.
Thanks to these two, Daniel Jones has had more time in the pocket, which is one of the reasons he’s playing the best football of his career.
The Jaguars are building a dominant front seven, which is being led by fourth-year linebacker Josh Allen and rookie Travon Walker. The statistics don’t show how effective these two can be, as they have just four combined sacks on the season. But ask anyone that has played against them, and they will tell you they can apply an enormous amount of pressure and disrupt an offensive game plan.
Allen and Walker will be lined up directly across from Thomas and Neal on Sunday, and the battle of who gets the better of these individual matchups will go a long way toward determining the outcome of the game.
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Is Wan’Dale Robinson poised to be Daniel Jones’ go-to guy?
Coming into this season, the belief was that Kadarius Toney, Kenny Golladay, and rookie Wan’Dale Robinson would be Daniel Jones’ top three targets. Needless to say, Toney and Golladay have yet to make an impact. The duo has been limited by injuries, but even when healthy, have proven ineffective.
In the four games, he’s appeared in this season, Golladay has just two receptions for 22 yards. In the two games that Toney has played this season, the second-year pro has yet to catch any passes and has run the ball twice for 23 yards.
However, after being injured early in the season opener against the Titans, Robinson made his return last week against the Ravens and gave the passing game a much-needed spark. After punting on their first two possession, Robinson was inserted into the game and immediately caught a 15-yard pass for a first down, and then a few plays later, he scored the first touchdown of his career on a five-yard pass.
Both Golladay and Toney were unable to practice on Thursday, and it appears both will miss Sunday’s game. Now with a full NFL game under his belt, Robinson should see his playing time increase as he faces the Jaguars’ 20th-ranked pass defense. This could be a coming-out party for the 5-foot-8, 185-pound receiver as he looks to become the go-to guy in New York’s passing game.
Related: Daniel Jones out to prove he’s not the chink in the New York Giants’ armor
How New York Giants manage without one of their top pass rushers, again
There had been some optimism on the injury front for the Giants as second-year linebacker Azeez Ojulari was able to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday and Thursday. He led the team in sacks last year with eight but has appeared in just two games this season and hasn’t played since Week 4 due to a calf injury. Unfortunately, Ojulari has now been ruled out for Sunday’s game.
It’s hard to fathom the success the Giants’ defense has had this season allowing just 18.8 points a game, and they have yet to have their three best pass rushers on the field together in Kayvon Thibodeaux, Leonard Williams, and Ojulari.
The defense has just 13 sacks on the season, and four of those are by Dexter Lawrence, but that number should go up dramatically once the trio is on the field together.
The Jaguars have a respectable offensive line as quarterback Trevor Lawrence has only been sacked ten times this season, but even with Ojulari out, the Giants will have to find ways to create constant pressure from their front seven. It could be the key to their success.
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