Sportsnaut
After two road divisional losses, the New York Giants (0-2) will look for some home cooking as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) on “Sunday Night Football.”
Typically, you wouldn’t think a Week 3 game would be must-win territory. But with head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen firmly on the hot seat, they had better win this game and stop the downward spiral.
Unfortunately for Big Blue, they’re facing the three-time defending AFC Champions who will be looking to take out their own 0-2 frustrations on them.
It will take a monumental team effort for New York to pull off the upset, and there will be five players in particular to keep an eye on.
After looking like an over-the-hill quarterback in Week 1, connecting on less than 50% of his passes, Russell Wilson turned back the clock against the Dallas Cowboys. He completed 30 of 41 passes for 450 yards and three touchdowns, finding seven different receivers.
Although people will remember his overtime interception most, the 36-year-old quarterback showed he can still cook.
Wilson will need another vintage performance Sunday night as he may need to match Patrick Mahomes point for point in a possible shootout. If he plays well again and outduels Mahomes, the Giants could pick up their first win.
Through two weeks, Malik Nabers leads the NFL in receiving yards with 238, and his nine receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns against Dallas may have been the best game of his career.
He’ll face a Chiefs secondary that allowed only 101 passing yards last week, and their defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is one of the best defensive coordinators of this century.
Kansas City will game plan to stop Nabers and force someone else to beat them. But the 22-year-old wideout will still be the focal point for the offense. If he has another stellar performance, conversations will begin about whether he’s the best receiver in the league.
An interesting development occurred against Dallas when rookie Cam Skattebo played 33 snaps compared to 27 for Tyrone Tracy Jr. Skattebo was also the team’s leading ground gainer with 45 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown, while Tracy managed just five carries for 15 yards.
What was also telling: Tracy returned five kickoffs for 132 yards. Rarely do teams use starting position players to return kicks, which is why some believe the rookie running back is trending toward being the starter.
Skattebo is the team’s biggest and most physical runner, and he’s also an excellent blocker. He’ll play a pivotal role not just as a runner but helping block Chris Jones and the rest of the Chiefs’ front seven.
If his playing time once again exceeds Tracy’s, that should answer who leads New York’s backfield.
For someone favored to win Defensive Rookie of the Year coming into the season, Abdul Carter has had a modest start to his NFL career....
