Offensively challenged Giants and Raiders meet in Las Vegas

Updated Nov. 3, 2023 5:26 p.m. ET

Associated Press

NEW YORK GIANTS (2-6) at LAS VEGAS (3-5)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, Fox

OPENING LINE: Raiders by 1 1/2, according to FanDuel SportsBook.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Giants 2-5-1; Raiders 3-5.

SERIES RECORD: Raiders lead 8-6.

LAST MEETING: Giants beat Raiders 23-16 on Nov. 7, 2021, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

LAST WEEK: Jets beat Giants 13-10 in overtime; Lions beat Raiders 26-14.

GIANTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (32), RUSH (15), PASS (32), SCORING (32).

GIANTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (20), RUSH (27), PASS (12), SCORING (23).

RAIDERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (31), RUSH (32), PASS (22), SCORING (30)

RAIDERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (30), PASS (9), SCORING (T-22)

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Giants minus-2; Raiders minus-8.

GIANTS PLAYER TO WATCH: Dexter Lawrence. He had a sack, one tackle for loss and five quarterback hits against the Jets.

RAIDERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Aidan O'Connell. Is he the quarterback of the future or just of this season? This game might not completely answer that question, but it will provide some insight. O'Connell's first start was forgettable — three turnovers and seven sacks in a Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. More such performances and the Raiders will have to look hard at next year's draft.

KEY MATCHUP: Raiders offensive line vs. Giants defensive front. Led by Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York's defensive front has been on a roll recently, getting 10 sacks over the past two games. That's the Giants' highest total in a two-game span since 2018. Las Vegas' offense has given up at least four sacks four times, including six in Monday night's loss to the Detroit Lions.

KEY INJURIES: Former Raiders and current Giants TE Darren Waller (hamstring), Backup QB Tyrod Taylor (ribs) and PK Graham Gano (knee) are all out. ... There is some hope OTs Andrew Thomas (hamstring) and Evan Neal (ankle) may return. Thomas has not played since the season opener. Neal has missed the past two games. Both are questionable. ... Raiders LB Divine Deablo (ankle), FB Jakob Johnson, LB Luke Masterson and T Thayer Munford (neck) are out. LB Robert Spillane (hand) is questionable.

SERIES NOTES: The Giants have won four of the past five meetings. ... This is the first game between the teams in Las Vegas, though the Raiders own a 5-2 home advantage. Four games were in Oakland and three in Los Angeles. ... New York won the most recent meeting two years ago even though the Raiders outgained the Giants in yardage 403-247.

STATS AND STUFF: This starts a three-game road trip for New York (Las Vegas, Dallas and Washington). ... The Giants offense hasn’t scored a first-quarter touchdown all season. ... Jones had a touchdown pass, no picks and a 104.2 rating in his previous game against the Raiders. ... RB Saquon Barkley carried a career-high 36 times against the Jets for 128 yards, his 17th career 100-yard game. ... New York had a minus-9 net yards passing. ... The Giants defense has held Washington and the Jets to 3 of 30 on third down chances over the past two games. ... OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux had a career-high three sacks last week and his 8 1/2 overall are tied for third in the league with T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett. .... ILB Bobby Okereke has 73 tackles and eight tackles for loss. ... ILB Micah McFadden recovered his second fumble last weekend. ... Jamie Gillan has punted 21 times in the past two games, tying the most for New York since 1981. ... Gano needs surgery and was placed on IR Friday. Cade York was signed off the Titans practice squad and veteran Randy Bullock is on the practice squad. One will kick Sunday. ... The Raiders have not scored at least 20 points in eight of their past nine games. Las Vegas' offense has gone nine games in a row without hitting that mark because a safety allowed the Raiders to get over 20 points Oct. 15 against the New England Patriots. ... All-Pro RB Josh Jacobs, who led the league in rushing last season, has not gained at least 100 yards on the ground over his past 13 games. His previous such game was a 144-yard effort against the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 4. Jacobs averaged 4.9 yards per carry last season, but is at 3.1 this season. ... Raiders CB Marcus Peters' interception return for a touchdown against the Lions was the eighth time he has scored a defensive TD since entering the NFL in 2015. That leads the league over that span. Peters is one of 12 players since 2000 to score at least eight defensive TDs. ... Las Vegas interim coach Antonio Pierce played for the Giants from 2005-09. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham spent two terms with New York, first as the defensive line coach in 2016-17 and then as assistant head coach/defensive coordinator in 2020-21.

FANTASY TIP: Giants defense. That side of the ball is doing its job, allowing its past three opponents to score a total of 34 points. Somehow, New York lost two of those games. Throw in the sacks surge, and this is a defense worth considering.

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