INJURY REPORT
HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN, & STREAM
Announcers: Mike Tirico (Play-By-Play), Cris Collinsworth (Analyst), and Melissa Stark (Sideline)
This week’s game can be streamed on NFL+.
Channel: WFAN 101.9FM /660AM
Announcers: Bob Papa (Play-by-Play), Carl Banks (Analyst), Howard Cross (Sideline)
Pre- and Postgame: John Schmeelk, Tiki Barber
Pregame: Giants Gameday begins at 6:20 PM, presented by Hackensack Meridian Health.
Postgame: Giants Extra Point
THE DEEP BALL
Coming into the season, it was widely known that the deep ball was one of the biggest strengths to Russell Wilson’s game. His famous moon ball was something we’ve seen a lot in recent years, and while it did not show up in the season opener, there were plenty of them this past weekend. Wilson completed seven of 11 passes 20+ yards down the field for 264 yards and all three of his touchdowns. The yardage was the most deep pass yards in a game by any quarterback since at least 2016.
Wide receivers Malik Nabers (nine catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns) and Wan’Dale Robinson (eight receptions for 142 yards and one touchdown) were the biggest beneficiaries of Wilson’s deep passes. But it was a collective effort, as assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka pointed out on Thursday, which began with the protection up front.
“I think it started up front,” Kafka said. “O-Line did a heck of a job protecting. Russ, obviously, having confidence in the guys going down field and winning and making those plays. I mean, some of those contested catches, whether it was Leek with the guy kind of hanging on top of him. Just really aggressive to the football, just did a really nice job making those plays. And we’re going to need those. Those are obviously big plays, scoring opportunities, so they capitalized on them.”
GETTING AFTER MAHOMES
After facing off against Jayden Daniels and Dak Prescott in the first two games of the season, the Giants have yet another daunting matchup on the horizon. Although his numbers have not been lighting up the box score through two games, Mahomes is still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, if not the very best. Mahomes has only completed 58.8 percent of his passes for 445 yards, two touchdowns and one interception thus far, but he’s made up for the lack of production in the passing game by using his legs. The veteran quarterback has already rushed for 123 yards on 13 carries (9.5 avg.) and scored twice on the ground, which puts him on pace to shatter his previous career-highs in just about every rushing category.
Getting pressure on Mahomes is the most productive way to affect the talented quarterback in a meaningful way. The signal-caller has completed just six of 18 passes for 85 yards, one touchdown and one interception this year when blitzed, with his 44.9 passer rating against the blitz ranking as the fourth-lowest in the NFL and his 33.3 completion percentage ranking as the second-lowest. But getting pressure on Mahomes is easier said than done, as the quarterback has had an average time to throw of 2.47 seconds this season, which is the second-quickest in the NFL and the quickest of his career. However, he has just a 39.0 percent success rate on passes under 2.5 seconds, the fourth-lowest in the league.