The New York Giants will host the Denver Broncos in their 2021 NFL season opener on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
Here are six keys to a much-needed Giants victory:
Protect Daniel Jones
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This is going to be the boilerplate No. 1 key for the Giants for the next 18 weeks so get used to it. A clean pocket for Daniel Jones will only lead to better outcomes and him making better decisions. It will be difficult to achieve on Sunday against a very good Denver pass rush, but it has to get done or the Giants’ offense will once again not score enough points.
Big plays have to happen
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The Broncos have been the NFL’s best red zone defense since Vic Fangio took over as head coach two years ago. The Giants have been atrocious on offense in the red zone. Solution: score from outside the 20, which means they’ll need big plays from their stars who are being paid king’s ransoms to step up and make them.
Turnovers
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Not enough is made of turnover ratio in this league when teams handicap games. The Giants were dead even in takeaways vs. giveaways last year. That’s not bad, but it’s not good enough, either. They need to be aggressive and use more turnovers than they commit in this game. They might be in luck because the Broncos had the worst give/take ratio in the league last year at minus-16.
Harass Teddy Bridgewater
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Teddy Bridgewater has to be lauded for the way he recrafted his career and remade himself after suffering a devastating knee injury early on. Still, he’s not an A-list quarterback. Bridgewater can move around in the pocket but is not considered a runner, or even a mobile QB averaging just 3.2 yards per rushing attempt in his career. The Giants’ pass rush has to take advantage of this and get in his face as much as possible.
Stop the run
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Melvin Gordon averaged 4.6 yards per carry last year in his first season with the Broncos and caught 32 passes out of the backfield. I’m not so much concerned about him as I am about the rookie Javonte Williams, who can run through, over and around opponents. He is very difficult for one player to bring down, if that player can’t slow him, he will turn many of his attempts into large gains.
Special teams
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
The Giants pride themselves in their special teams play. They are going to have to do a better job in controlling field position this year. That means better pinpoint punting and better kickoff coverage. It’s pretty good right now, but it needs to be ear perfect. They also have to be better — much better — in the return game. This is where top draft pick Kadarius Toney comes in. He has to elevate the teams to justify his draft status.
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