Big Blue View
Can the New York Giants, in their first game under the direction of interim head coach Mike Kafka, upset the Green Bay Packers? See how the Big Blue View staff feels about that question and the rest of the NFL Week 11 slate below.
Season record: 83-49-1 (63.0%)
I’ll be honest: I have no clue what to expect in this game. There’s some things I think I think I’m going to see, like the West Coast quick game and levels concepts that worked well for the Giants back in 2022. I also expect to see some banished players like Jalin Hyatt get some looks from Jameis Winston. But will Daboll being fired serve as a wake-up call to some players who haven’t been performing up to expectations? No clue.
On the flip side, I don’t think Packers have a clue what to expect, either. I don’t expect the foundations of the Giants’ offensive and defensive schemes to change — this is Week 11, not OTAs. But nobody knows what Jameis Winston playing in the Giants’ full offense, executing a Mike Kafka game plan would look like. So while the Packers can prepare for the general shape of what they’ll see on Sunday, this is almost like preparing for a Week 1 game from their perspective.
I’ve been going back and forth on this one, and I actually picked the Packers for our Tallysight prediction… But I’m going to flip and go for the Giants. They’ve been giving favored teams all they can handle this year, and the element of surprise could be a deciding factor here.
Pick: Giants
Season record: 92-56-1 (62.0%)
There are so many unpredictable aspects to this game. Will the Giants players react positively to the firing of Brian Daboll and rally around Mike Kafka to give a spirited performance, or will they just go down meekly after another crushing late game collapse? Did Kafka talk to Shane Bowen about being more aggressive in his play-calling? Will the Packers’ surprisingly inept offense in recent games (13 and 7 points scored at home the past two weeks) wake up against yet another passive Bowen game plan? Will the Giants’ pass rush finally start to get home against Jordan Love, who completely wilts under pressure (0 TDs, 2 INTs, 39.8% completion rate, 4.7 YPA in 93 pressured dropbacks)? Will Jameis Winston provide a spark to the Giants’ offense with his fearless approach, or will Xavier McKinney, who hasn’t been quite as good this season as last, pick him off a couple of times in his return to MetLife?
There is, unfortunately, one certain thing: Micah Parsons. Parsons has been every bit as disruptive in green and gold as he was in blue and silver, with 50 pressures (3rd in the NFL) and 7 sacks. Parsons leads an overall strong Packers defense, and with Winston being a fairly immobile QB, things could get ugly for the Giants offense. Packers DC Jeff Hafley is a...
