1. Get the ground game going.
Although the Giants won last week, they managed just 49 rushing yards after having 142 in the previous game. Rookie Andre Williams will look for more of the latter as he will start again at running back in place of Rashad Jennings, who is out with an ankle injury.
"We didn't rush the ball very well," coach Tom Coughlin said in his weekly interview with Giants.com. "We didn't even have enough success, to be honest with you, to continue to try to do it. We had 22 rushes in the game. If you rush the ball 35 times, you win over 90 percent of the time. To be less than 30 is really not what you're trying to do."
2. Two to play.
After their seven-game losing streak ended any playoff hopes, the Giants rebounded to win their last two games and have a chance to finish strong with two games left in the season. They will look for three straight this Sunday on the road against the St. Louis Rams.
"Two in a row has been good," quarterback Eli Manning said. "Going into a talented team, they have beaten some really good teams. They have beaten the Broncos. They have beaten Seattle. They've played teams tough. They are a talented team and their defense has been playing really strong lately. We have a challenge ahead of us and we are going to have to play good football if we expect to win."
3. Giants Injury Report/Game Statuses.
RB Rashad Jennings (ankle) has been ruled out; LB Jameel McClain (knee) practiced fully on Thursday and Friday and is probable.
4. Rams Injury Report/Game Statuses.
DE Chris Long (ankle), G Davin Joseph (not injury related), and C Scott Wells (not injury related) are probable.
5. The pride of the rookies.
Headlined by the record-setting year of Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants' 2014 rookie class has contributed heavily down the stretch in their inaugural season. And they're proud of it.
"I think it starts with the class that they brought in," rookie linebacker Devon Kennard said. "We have a talented group and we all want to play and we all want to help our team win. I think we're competitors and we're showing that on Sundays."
6. Coughlin vs. Fisher.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher and Coughlin began their professional head coaching careers one year apart from each other in 1994 and 1995, respectively. And since their AFC South days with their former teams, Jacksonville and Houston/Tennessee, they have raced up the career victories list with Coughlin's 163 holding a one-game lead over Fisher for 13th all-time in the regular season.
7. Protecting Eli.
Keep your eyes on these 5 players during the game vs. the Rams
DE Jason Pierre-PaulThe Giants have 22 sacks in the last three games, and six have come from Jason Pierre-Paul alone. The fifth-year defensive end has 9.5 on the season and has a chance for his first double-digit sack total since his breakout in the 2011 Super Bowl run. >>WATCH JPP VS. WASHINGTON HIGHLIGHTS
LT Will BeattyThe Rams present one of the toughest defensive fronts in the NFL, and Beatty and the rest of the Giants' offensive line will need to be on top of their game. And they have been recently, allowing only one sack of Eli Manning in the last two weeks. "We have our work cut out for us and we are going to have do an exceptional job with our pass protection, with our recognition of blitz," coach Tom Coughlin said. "Gregg Williams is the defensive coordinator. There will be a lot of pressure involved in their plan. They blitz more than anyone else in the NFL."
LB Devon KennardStarting the last five games, Kennard has 30 tackles and 4.5 sacks with two weeks left in his rookie campaign. "For a rookie, he's very mature," Fewell said. "He's very serious about his work and his business. He has a very professional attitude every single day in the classroom and on the field about his work and how he can improve for a rookie. We always talk about the rookie wall or what have you. It doesn't seem to faze him."
RB Andre WilliamsStarting running back Rashad Jennings has been ruled out of Sunday's game because of an ankle injury, which means rookie Andre Williams will again shoulder the workload in the backfield. After Williams notched his first 100-yard game two weeks ago, the Giants managed just 49 yards on the ground as a team in last week's win over the Redskins. >>WATCH ANDRE WILLIAMS 50-YARD TD VS. TENNESSEE
DT Johnathan HankinsThe second-year defensive tackle had 2.5 sacks last week against Washington, bringing his season total to 7.0 after having none in 2013. "I think Jonathan Hankins is really coming into his own right now," defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. "He's playing with good strength and power. He's playing more snaps for us. He's playing about 35 to 45 more snaps a game and so with he and JPP working together over there, I think that they feel very comfortable in what they're doing and how they're communicating and I just think JPP has turned it up a notch this second half of the season, with the last three, four ball games."
The Giants have allowed Manning to be sacked just once in the last two weeks, but they will have a tough test against the Rams' defensive front. St. Louis has not allowed a touchdown in three straight games, including back-to-back shutouts in Weeks 13 and 14.
*8. Protecting Shaun. *
Meanwhile, the Rams will have to worry about protecting their own quarterback, Shaun Hill. After having just 19 sacks in the first 11 games, the Giants have recorded 22 in the last three weeks to bring their season total to 41, good for fifth in the NFL.
