The New York Giants will travel to face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17, a matchup featuring the NFL’s only two teams with just two victories this season. Though it pits two of the league’s struggling franchises against each other, the game carries significant attention due to its implications for the top selections in the 2026 NFL draft.

Both teams enter having dropped their last nine contests. The Giants fell in a close home game against the Minnesota Vikings last week, while the Raiders suffered a two-point road loss to the Houston Texans.

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The Giants opened as slight favorites, but that line has shifted with Las Vegas at -1 as of this writing.

Here are three areas of concern ahead of what amounts to a battle for positioning at the top of the draft order.

Giants’ road struggles

The Giants would hold a clear edge if this game were at home, given the historical difficulty West Coast teams face when traveling east. Instead, New York must make the cross-country trip, and its road performance has been dismal. The Giants have lost all eight away games this season and 13 consecutive road contests dating back to last year. Their most recent road victory came in Week 5 of the previous season.

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Maxx Crosby

The Giants’ offensive line appeared vulnerable last week, allowing five sacks against quarterback Jaxson Dart. This Sunday, it will face one of the league’s premier edge rushers in Maxx Crosby. Left tackle Andrew Thomas suffered a hamstring injury in the previous game; if he is unable to play, the challenge becomes even greater. Regardless of Thomas’s status, Crosby figures to test the Giants’ protection throughout the afternoon.

Giants’ run defense

The Raiders rank last in the NFL in both rushing yards per game and yards per carry, an area where they have consistently struggled. Yet the Giants’ run defense has frequently allowed opposing rushing attacks — even underwhelming ones — to gain traction. The unit suffered a major blow with the loss of Kayvon Thibodeaux, and matters are compounded by the strong recent form of rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, who recorded 25 touches in one of his best performances last week. Expect Las Vegas to lean heavily on its first-round pick early and often.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants vs. Las Vegas Raiders: 3 causes for concern in Week 17