5 things to watch as Giants face Packers in Week 14

The Giants steadied the ship heading into their bye week, with undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito able to lead them to back-to-back wins behind an offensive line which has, at last, become mostly healthy. 

Monday night’s game sees them face off with a 6-6 Packers team with a realistic shot at a Wild Card spot. Following an impressive win over the Chiefs, the Packers can’t afford to look past a Giants team that has had plenty of time to prepare for this game.

Here are the biggest stories to watch as the Giants look to win their third straight...

Is Jordan Love the real deal?

The Packers have won three games in a row with Love enjoying the best stretch of his career so far. Love has passed for 285 yards per game over that span, with eight touchdowns and no interceptions and is looking on course to go to the Pro Bowl in his first year as a full-time starter.

Love will be keen to keep that momentum going against a Giants team that has held their opponents to 230 passing yards or fewer in six of the past seven games. Of course, the one exception was the Dallas game where they racked up almost 500 yards through the air, so Love could still be hoping to have a big day. But he will need to be careful against a Giants defense that has forced 11 turnovers in the past three games.

Can the Giants get some consistency from their running game?

The Packers have the NFL’s third-worst run defense and have given up 140 yards or more in four straight games, so the Giants will be hoping to rack up some yardage on the ground.

In recent weeks, Saquon Barkley has either gotten off to a slow start on the ground and then come on strong late or started fast and tailed off in the second half. If the Giants could have a game where Barkley produces consistently throughout, it would give them their best chance of securing the upset win.

Can the Giants continue to get Jalin Hyatt involved?

Hyatt had a breakout game against New England in the game before the bye, as he became the first Giants pass catcher to post a 100-yard game in over a year. Hyatt’s hands, speed, route-running and elusiveness were all on show as he displayed good chemistry with DeVito for the first time following a slow start to the season.

Hopefully, the bye week didn’t come at the wrong time so it curtails this progress, as it would be encouraging to see Hyatt build on that performance.

Can Big Blue prevent Rashan Gary from being disruptive?

When the Giants have the ball, they’ll need to keep a close eye on edge defender Rashan Gary. The 26-year-old leads the Packers with nine sacks this year and primarily lines up on the left side of the defense, so he should provide right tackle Tyre Phillips with a formidable opponent. Gary will be hoping for a strong finish to the year so that he can secure a Pro Bowl spot for the first time.

Phillips has done quite well since he’s been filling in for the injured Evan Neal and looks set to make his sixth start on Monday night. Other than the Dallas game, where he gave up two sacks, Phillips hasn’t surrendered a sack in his other four starts and only has two penalties.

Will Jihad Ward continue to produce?

Prior to their recent two-game winning streak, Kayvon Thibodeaux was the only Giants edge defender to record a sack all season. However, Ward has stepped up with 2.5 sacks in the last two games. It will add another dimension to the Giants’ defense if he can keep up that momentum over the rest of the season.

Thibodeaux will also be looking to add to his own total, as he leads the team and is third in the NFC with 11 sacks. His chances of doing that will certainly improve if someone is producing coming off the opposite edge.