Giants-Dolphins prediction: BBV staff unanimously picks Giants to win

Your Big Blue View staff members are unanimous in their belief that the New York Giants will end their three-game losing streak and defeat the Miami Dolphins in tonight's Monday Night Football game. Will the Giants, favored by 2.5 points, justify our faith? Will they make us look silly? Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. with the broadcast on ESPN.

Here is your complete broadcast information for Giants-Dolphins. The explanations for each of our selections can be found below.

Alex Sinclair (10-2)

You know when you have a patchy internet signal, and pages load one moment, and then the next moment they don't, but you keep refreshing because sometimes it does come back work properly, and if it was just fully broken, like your wireless router is on fire or something, then you would just find something else to do instead of looking at half-loaded internet pages. This is my massively stressed and forced metaphor for the Giants. At this point in the season, I'm more annoyed that they still have a shot at the playoffs than I am at their losses. This team should be buried. We need to move on with our lives, but we can't because what if ... ? Oh God, the "What if"s on social media surrounding this team right now are driving me insane, and unfortunately, I accept this morsel of hope like a hungry stray dog eating scraps from a dumpster.

The Giants are a bad team, but so is every team in that division. Somebody has to get blown out in the Wild Card round and it might as well be us! I think the Giants do enough to keep everyone's dreams alive at least one more week and do the extraordinary thing of taking care of business in a primetime game against the Dolphins. I think it'll be close -- I have zero doubt about that element of the game -- but the Giants should come away with a win, if only to prolong the torture of "What if" just a little bit longer.

Final score: Giants 24, Dolphins 20

Chris Pflum (6-6)

Does any team actually want to win the NFC East? I mean, I get it. After the way the last two winters went, I don't blame anyone living in the northeast (ie: Giants and Eagles) for wanting to skip out early before the nasty weather really sets in in January and February. But somehow, some way, the Giants entered the weekend in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC East.

But there's that word again. "Opportunity." All year long the Giants have shrunk from opportunities. There have been consistent issues with the team: Inconsistent receiver play (outside of Beckham), no pass rush, no free safety, no consistency from the linebacking corps. But the problems that have sunk the Giants aren't so easy to put your finger on. They have been consistently competitive. They have had a lead in 10 of their 12 games, untalented teams don't do that. But when the opportunity arises to step up and win the game, to take control of a chaotic division ... They shrink.

This game against Miami, a team even younger and more inconsistent than the Giants, is their last, best opportunity to get a win, get something going. The Dolphins struggle with coverage and the Giants have Eli and Beckham. They struggle mightily against tight ends, and Will Tye is emerging as a weapon. The Ryan Tannehill is prone to staring down receivers and the Dolphins are in the bottom third in pass protection, the Giants generate turnovers and the pass rush is -- finally -- starting to come alive.

There are match-ups that truly worry me; Jarvis Landry and Lamar Miller against their defenders, Brandon Albert against whichever pass rusher lines up across from him, and Ndamukong Suh and Olivier Vernon against the offensive line. But overall, I think the match-up favors the Giants. Or they could wind up taking the wrong plane and wind up in Miami, Kansas... With this team anything could happen.

Final score: Giants 28, Dolphins 21

Mike Gallop (7-5)

Despite losing FIVE games this year in the last 75 seconds, the Giants have proved they are a superior team to the Dolphins. On the road in primetime in a must win situation, I have a hunch "good" Eli shows up. I also hope that we have a big lead heading into the two minute warning ...

Final score: Giants 31, Dolphins 21

Jesse Bartolis (8-4)

My guess is the Giants will be leading this game with a 1:50 to go and somehow lose the game in remarkable fashion. A botched handoff? A block field punt returned for a touchdown? Lose on a kick return for a touchdown. Maybe they will score a touchdown, have it called back for holding with no time left and lose. Who knows, but I'm sure it'll be dramatic and extremely frustrating! But I believe they keep things interesting because that's what they do.

Pick: Giants (no score provided)

Keane Macadaeg (6-6)

Both teams have underachieved expectations of a playoff berth this season. The Giants still have a chance to correct this wrong but it will take better effort and okay than they've been giving these past two weeks. Every facet of the team is struggling but the best remedy is to face another team who isn't very good.

Offensively, the Giants have been completely slacking save for Odell Beckham Jr. Even Eli Manning can find room for improvement. The Dolphins defense which was looking monstrous in the preseason has largely underwhelmed. Even the struggling Giants will score points even if it'll look ugly.

Defensively, are the Giants collapsing or is there defense overachieving? The Giants defense has been decimated by injuries in their secondary while their defensive line showed no pass rushing potential at all this season. Losing your top run defender in Hankins sure isn't helping either. Yet the Giants defense for three quarters keeps the team in the game. Though looking back at it, perhaps they aren't good to begin with and the collapses are an indicator of how the defense truly is rather than them blowing it. Regardless again, the opposing offense has struggled to get anything going that the overachieving Giants defense will find a way to contain them for much of the game.

Final score: Giants 23, Dolphins 20

Stephen Milewski (8-4)

I think I genuinely might be more excited to see Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry's pre-game routine than the actual game. Both of these teams have not played up to par this year and are closer to the outside looking in than playing for contention. The late-game struggles this season have been well-documented, but will the Giants ever turn the tide? With games coming up against the Panthers and Vikings, two of the top teams in the NFC, this is a game the Giants need to bring more intensity in.

It's sad to say it, but it really is near impossible to believe in this Giants team, for me personally. Far too often, they've relied on big plays, mostly made by Beckham, to put points on the board. They need to find some success with running the ball, so that's why my X-Factor is Orleans Darkwa. Coughlin's Giants typically win more games when Giants ball carriers rush for more than 100 yards in a game. And we've argued more than once on this site why Darkwa should be receiving more carries, given his effectiveness in small sample sizes. Darkwa was formerly a member of the Dolphins' practice squad, so he may even have some extra motivation to perform.

The Dolphins have a good core in Landry, Ryan Tannehill and Ndamukong Suh to build around, but I think they've faced even more turmoil than the Giants. If Big Blue doesn't allow Miami running back Lamar Miller to bust open some big runs, the Giants will win. If not, it's going to be a long day for Big Blue. I'll say the Giants play just barely well enough for a win, but that there will still be lots of problems to evaluate after the game.

Final score: Giants 24, Dolphins 20

Valentine's View (7-5)

It makes me nervous that ALL of your Big Blue View contributors are picking the Giants to win Monday night. Watching what we have all watched this season, how is it possible to unanimously have that much faith that this ungrateful team -- which keeps sending back its NFC East gifts unopened -- can win in a big spot?

Other than Jarvis Landry trying to outdo Odell Beckham Jr., the Dolphins don't have much to play for. They aren't going to the playoffs. They have an interim head coach. They could be starting over -- again -- after the season. The Giants should have all the motivation. The game should mean everything to them. Win and they remain tied atop the NFC East. Lose and, with the Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings looming the next two weeks, they are probably toast, headed for a fourth straight playoff-less season.

For three years running, the Giants have made an art form of coming up small in big spots. They find unique, incredible ways of doing it, too. Are we to believe that will suddenly change this week? Or, over the next four weeks when they probably need to win at least three of four to earn a division title?

Oh, well. Everyone else is picking the Giants to win. I guess I'm going down with the ship.

Final score: Giants 24, Dolphins 20

Ed	Chris	Alex	Jesse	Mike	Stephen	Keane

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