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New York Giants: Week 3 Bold Predictions vs. Washington

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:24 p.m. ET

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Sep 18, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) motions to fans after a call in the game against the New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Here are some bold predictions for the upcoming showdown between the New York Giants and Washington ahead of their Week 3 matchup.

Forget about “the feud.”

The real story for Big Blue Nation is that the New York Giants have a chance to go 3-0 Sunday against Washington. That’s a record which, if they achieve, would make head coach Ben McAdoo the first Giants head coach in his inaugural season to start 3-0 since Dan Reeves in 1993.

Come Sunday, the Giants are ready and willing to throw the win-loss records of both teams out the door and treat the game as though it was a battle for that first ice-breaking win.

“When it comes to a division game,” said defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, “they’re going to give us all they got because those count as two games. It’s going to be a hard game.”

“I don’t care how hungry anybody is,” added running back Rashad Jennings when he was asked if Washington would be “hungry” for their first win of 2016. “We throw the records out the door every single time we get on the field Sundays, especially when you’re in the division.”

Let’s take a look at some bold predictions for Sunday’s big-time NFC East battle.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Odell Beckham Jr./Josh Norman ‘Sequel’ Will Be a Letdown

Remember those movie franchises where the original release had you on edge and wanting more, until the underwhelming sequel came out? That’s probably what we’ll see Sunday when it comes to the Giants Odell Beckham Jr. and Josh Norman of Washington and the histrionics that marred the first meeting between these two last year when Norman was with the Carolina Panthers.

Yes, these two have engaged in some back-and-forth verbal sparring which has seen Beckham claim in a GQ interview this summer that he helped make Norman relevant while Norman told the Charlotte Observer that he was going to hit [Beckham] in the mouth “until he stopped crying.”

This week, however, both players have been relatively civil to one another when the topic of each other has been raised by the media. Beckham, for his part, has shrugged off any talk of the rematch with Norman or the possibility of being covered exclusively by his nemesis.

“Honestly, there really is a bigger concern,” Beckham said Wednesday. “Division game, 2-0 start to the year. Really focused on going 3-0. Wherever I go, wherever I lineup, that’s my job.

“The same way it would be whoever’s job it is to stop me. My job is to win over there. The biggest concern is winning, winning this game.”

Let’s hope he means what he says and that the only saving grace in this sequel, at least for Giants fans, will be Beckham scoring his first touchdown of the new season against the self-proclaimed “best cornerback on earth.”

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

A Giants Running Back Will Finally Score a Rushing Touchdown Against Washington

Eli Manning aside, the Giants currently have no one on their roster with a rushing touchdowns against Washington.

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That’s right, no offensive skill player on the 2016 Giants roster, with the exception of Manning exactly two years to the day from this weekend’s game scored on a 1-yard rush, is currently the only Giants player on the roster to score on the run against Washington.

In fact, the Giants last had  rushing touchdown in their 2015 regular season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles when Rashad Jennings scored on a second quarter, 2-yard run.

That means the Giants have gone 10 quarters in the regular season without a rushing touchdown.

Something needs to give in that area, and this week would be just as good as any against the 28th ranked rushing defense that has already allowed five rushing touchdowns in two games this season.

Taking the bold prediction just a step further, something tells me that Shane Vereen and not Jennings, the starter, is going to be the one who breaks the streak.

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Receiver Sterling Shepard is Going to Steal the Show Again

If you look at last week’s final stats against the New Orleans Saints, you’ll see that rookie second rounder Sterling Shepard finished as the Giants leader in both receptions (eight catches out of eight pass targets) and receiving yards (117). What you probably didn’t notice, unless of course you dug a little deeper into the official game book, is that Shepard did the bulk of his damage on third downs.

According to Inside Football, six of Shepard’s receptions went for first downs, with five of those coming on third down. That’s pretty good if you consider the Giants were seven of 15 on third downs last  week and that Shepard alone  accounted for 71.4 percent of those conversions.

Want another interesting statistic about Shepard?

He is tied with Victor Cruz for the most big-play pass receptions (20 or more yards) on the Giants with three. If Shepard comes up with another big-play reception this weekend, that will mark three games in a row in which he’s caught at least one pass of 20 or more yards.

Shepard, by the way, has caught 11-of-12 pass targets so far this season. Might it just be a matter of time though before defenses realize what a weapon he is and start to hone in on shutting him down?

“That’ll take care of itself,” said head coach Ben McAdoo. “He was a featured player in college. He saw some different things to try to attack him that way. Obviously defenses will start to show him a little more respect than they have, but we have some weapons that we can deal the ball.”

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Olivier Vernon Will Get His First Sack as a Giant

Last week, defensive end Olivier Vernon had himself a tough matchup when he faced New Orleans Saints left tackle Terron Armstead, who limited Vernon to one quarterback hit. Armstead, of course, was protecting a quarterback, Drew Brees, who is known for getting rid of the ball quickly.

This week, Vernon will square off against Trent Williams, who last week was Washington’s highest graded offensive player per Pro Football Focus.

Williams has Kirk Cousins behind him, a player who in last week’s game against Dallas, appeared to struggle with some his decisions despite having decent protection.

An offensive lineman, no matter how good he might be, can’t hold his block forever. Vernon is just too quick off the snap to be denied indefinitely.

If Cousins holds on to the ball too long—a good possibility if the Giants defensive secondary blankets his’ receivers—Vernon, who needs two more sacks to hit 50 for his career, should finally get his first sack in Giants blue.

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