The New York Giants look to ring in 2024 with a New Year's Eve victory over the Los Angeles Rams, but it will be no easy task Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The Rams, after a 3-6 start to the season, have won five of six games since their bye week. Their only loss came on the road in overtime to the Baltimore Ravens, who own the best record in the NFL heading into the penultimate week of the regular season.
The Giants, meanwhile, were eliminated from postseason contention on Christmas Day in Philadelphia, where they lost their second consecutive game after a three-game winning streak that had put them back in the playoff picture.
"Got a lot of respect for (Rams Head Coach) Sean (McVay)," Brian Daboll said. "They've played really well. You know, they were 5-12 last year, started out 3-6 (this) year. (Rams quarterback Matthew) Stafford is as good a quarterback as there is in the league right now, has been for a long time but 5-1, scoring a ton of points, on point, does a great job of getting those guys the ball. He's an exceptional, exceptional player, they do a great job and they're playing really well."
View photos of the Giants on the practice field ahead of the Week 17 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
Here are three keys to victory for the Giants:
Get off blocks
Puka Nacua (1,327) passed Hall of Famer Randy Moss (1,313) in Week 16 for the fifth-most receiving yards by a rookie in NFL history, needing 147 more to break the record. Cooper Kupp, his teammate and fellow mid-round draft choice, joined Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce as the only players in Rams history with 7,000+ career receiving yards in their first 100 games. But that's not what makes the tandem the ultimate challenge.
"They're the two best blocking wide receivers in the league, and that's also helped the run game," Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. "I think that it just shows you that Sean and (tight end coach/passing game coordinator) Wes (Phillips), they get together and Sean says, 'This is a guy I want and here's how we'll use him,' with his system and it's a tough system to defend. It's one of the toughest to defend in the league."
Martindale added, "They have the same skillset. They've got great hands. They run great routes. They are great run-after-catch guys. They're physical when they block. It's like having tight ends out there playing wide receiver, that's how well they block. So, we've got to work on getting off blocks and shedding blocks and things like that, just like you would if there's a tight end coming to block you."
Get on blocks
Aaron Donald needs no introduction, but here's one anyway. Starting with his rookie season in 2014, this will be the sixth time the Giants face the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, nine-time Pro Bowler, and seven-time first-team All-Pro defensive tackle. The No. 1 item on every game plan is how to handle No. 99.
"I've been in this league a long time and not many defensive linemen that play that position play the way he plays," Daboll said. "He's a really hard player to block. He's got tons of awards. He's powerful, quick, strong, creates a lot of problems for everybody that he plays for as long as he has played. He's really a remarkable, remarkable, fantastic player."
"He's just an alien," Martindale said. "There's no other - he's just unreal and it's down after down after down after down. He is one of the best. He'll go down as one of the best three techniques of all time."
Win or lose by the takeaway
The Giants' fortunes have been tied to takeaways this season. They forced 12 turnovers during their three-game winning streak, which ended with an 18-point loss in New Orleans. Uncoincidentally, they managed no takeaways in that game.
Last week in Philadelphia was trending in a similar way. Down 20-3 at halftime, Tyrod Taylor replaced Tommy DeVito as Daboll looked for a spark. Taylor provided one later on a 69-yard touchdown pass to Darius Slayton, but the major momentum swings came from takeaways. Isaiah Simmons forced and recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half, which the Giants quickly turned into a touchdown on the ensuing possession. Adoree' Jackson then scored on a 76-yard interception return to make it a two-point game heading into the fourth quarter.
The Giants will now attempt to take the ball away from Stafford, who has a franchise-record streak of four consecutive games with multiple passing touchdowns and no interceptions. The last quarterback to do so in five consecutive games was Aaron Rodgers in 2021, when he picked up his fourth MVP crown.
Stats to impress your fellow football fans over the holiday weekend
Linebacker Bobby Okereke and safety Xavier McKinney have played all 1,001 defensive snaps for the Giants this season.
Stafford is the only quarterback in the NFC who has won a Super Bowl as a starter.
The Rams are 7-1 in 2023 when Kyren Williams scores a touchdown (0-3 when he plays and does not score).
The Giants have placed nine offensive players on injured reserve after they appeared in a game this season, most in the NFL.
The Giants are 3-1 when scoring 18+ points in 2023 (only loss was last week in Philadelphia).
Saquon Barkley is one of three players with at least four rushing touchdowns and four receiving touchdowns in 2023 (Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel).
View rare photos of the history between the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams.
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