5 things to watch as Giants face Raiders in Week 9 of 2023 NFL season
The Giants should have improved for 3-5 on Sunday, but the Jets’ improbable late-game comeback and overtime field goal dropped them to 2-6. They have what looks like a winnable game this Sunday, though.
Here are the biggest stories to watch...
Daniel Jones’ return
Jones was cleared for contact last weekend, so he is expected to return to action against the Raiders. It’s just in the nick of time, too, as Tyrod Taylor is dealing with a rib injury and Sunday’s game plan suggests the team doesn’t think Tommy DeVito is ready to run their system at this stage of his career.
The offensive line has started to get healthy while Jones has been out, so hopefully for the Giants, he won’t be dealing with as much pressure as he had been before he went down. Saquon Barkley has also returned since then, too, giving Jones another useful outlet.
Maxx Crosby will of course be a threat coming off the edge, even though he’s been limited with a knee injury recently. However, if Jones can get rid of the ball and the Giants can protect him well enough to make some downfield throws, he has a chance to have a good game.
How will the Giants cope with Darren Waller out?
Despite Jones coming back, the Giants still won’t be at full strength on offense because Waller suffered a hamstring injury against the Jets and could miss multiple games.
Waller has had an inconsistent season, but he’s their best pass-catching option and will be missed. However, the likes of Darius Slayton and Isaiah Hodgins have stepped up recently when bigger names have gone down, so perhaps that will happen again. Alternatively, the Giants could seek to give rookie Jalin Hyatt a bigger role.
Daniel Bellinger was the only other tight end on the roster, but the team will presumably promote Lawrence Cager from the practice squad. Cager is a converted receiver, like Waller, so his skill set should enable him to take over a lot of Waller’s duties, even though he should be a downgrade.
Could rookie Jordon Riley step up now that Leonard Williams has been traded?
Perhaps the biggest sign that the Giants have at least one eye on next season was the fact that they traded Williams to the Seattle Seahawks, recouping some valuable cap space in the process.
Dexter Lawrence has been playing so well that the Giants may have felt they will have a dominant interior line even without Williams. Lawrence had a phenomenal 15 pressures against the Jets and should be able to build on this performance on Sunday.
In the preseason, Riley showed some promising flashes, but he’s mostly been inactive during the regular season. Is this the opportunity he’s been waiting for to step into the rotation and prove that he could be a future contributor for this team?
Will the Giants be able to exploit the upheaval affecting the Raiders?
The Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels earlier this week, as well as their general manager and offensive coordinator. They also announced that rookie Aidan O’Connell will start against the Giants at quarterback rather than Jimmy Garoppolo.
Clearly this season hasn’t gone to plan for either of these teams, but the Giants seem like they are better off in terms of the locker room and players, coaches and the front office remaining on the same page. Could this turmoil impact the Raiders’ performance on Sunday?
Can the Giants win the turnover battle this week?
The Raiders have turned the ball over at least once in every game and have only won the turnover battle twice all season, so the Giants will hope to make some momentum-changing plays on Sunday, especially with the rookie quarterback at the helm.
Over the past four weeks, the Giants have won the turnover battle three times but, bizarrely, they lost all three games and won the one where they lost the turnover battle.
Jones’ Achilles heel has been fumbles, so his ball security will be pivotal. However, it could come down to how opportunistic the Giants’ playmakers can be on defense.
