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The on-a-roll, fun-loving, high-scoring, turnover-inducing New York Giants are back at MetLife Stadium on Sunday to face the Tennessee Titans.
By the way, yes I wrote those things about the 5-8 Giants just because I could. When is the last time those things could be said about the Giants? I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
Will the good times continue on Sunday for the Giants? The Giants are 2.5-point favorites. They will be facing a Tennessee team that is 7-6, is in the hunt for an AFC wild-card playoff berth has won its last two games against the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Giants will also be facing a starting quarterback Marcus Mariota of the Titans. All of their recent victories have come against teams starting backup quarterbacks. Mariota is a starter, but not an elite one. Mark Schofield ranked him in the fourth of five tiers in the last version of his quarterback rankings. The Titans are 27th in the league in points scored and 28th in yards gained.
Saquon Barkley will be looking for his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game. Eli Manning will be looking to extend a run of quality play that has seen him go 95-of-143 (65.7 percent) with 10 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in the last five weeks. Manning’s current 67.7 completion percentage and 95.8 passer rating are career highs.
The Giants remain an offense that is more explosive than efficient.
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We’re talking playoffs?
Yes. Yes, we are. Here’s how the Giants can get there.
The @Giants have won 4 of their last 5 games and are now just a few steps away from... the playoffs? @PSchrags details exactly what they need to happen to be playing in January. pic.twitter.com/sNpdTp2Uo1
— GMFB (@gmfb) December 12, 2018
Numbers to know
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Less than 1 — The percentage chance FiveThirtyEight gives the 5-8 Giants of reaching the playoffs.
9 — The Giants (12 takeaways, 3 giveaways) are +9 in the turnover ratio over the past five weeks.
96.6 — Aldrick Rosas is 29-of-30 in field-goal attempts this season, and his 96.6 percent accuracy is the best in the NFL.
31.4 — The Giants’ average of 31.4 points over their last five games is third in the NFL behind the Kansas City Chiefs (39.3) and Los Angeles Chargers (31.5).
12 — Saquon Barkley has 12 games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson (13 games in 1983) has more such games as a rookie.
5 — With his 78-yard touchdown run Sunday vs. the Washington Redskins, Barkley now has five scrimmage touchdowns of at least 50 yards this season. That is the most by a rookie in a single season since Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss (five touchdowns in 1998). Only Billy Howton of the 1952 Green Bay Packers had more such touchdowns in a single season as a rookie (six).
4,800 — Eli Manning needs needs 66 completions (4,734) to reach 4,800 career completions. Manning would become one of six quarterbacks (Drew Brees - 6,536, Brett Favre - 6,300, Peyton Manning - 6,125, Tom Brady - 5,942 & Dan Marino - 4,967) with 4,800 career completions.
350 — Manning needs 40 completions (310) to reach 350 completions for the fifth consecutive year and 6th time in his career.
400 — Odell Beckham Jr. needs 10 receptions (390) over the next three games (59) to become the fastest player in NFL history with 400 receptions (Jarvis Landry & Julio Jones - 64 games).