Early Look at the Giants: Points (at least with Beckham) OK, points allowed not so much
Here’s our Early Look at the Giants …
Next up: The Giants (6-8) travel to TCF Bank Stadium to face the Vikings (9-5) at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. They’ll be without or possibly with receiver Odell Beckham Jr., depending on the outcome of Wednesday’s appeal of a one-game suspension for his now-infamous behavior in Sunday’s 38-35 loss to Carolina.
Playoff scenarios: The Vikings will have clinched a playoff spot before kickoff if Atlanta loses to Carolina at home or Seattle beats St. Louis at home. Meanwhile, the Giants would be eliminated from the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season if Washington beats Philadelphia on Saturday night. The Giants haven’t missed the playoffs four straight years since 1981. The Giants’ last postseason game was its upset win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
The film: Defensively, this is the worst team the Vikings will have faced. They don’t finish games, they don’t stop drives, they don’t pressure the quarterback, they don’t defend the pass and, well, you get the idea. … Offensively, they’re capable of scoring a lot of points in a hurry, as evidenced Sunday when they erased a 35-7 second-half deficit. But can they do it without Beckham Jr.? No. That’s why coach Tom Coughlin stuck with him Sunday when his behavior was embarrassing the franchise, the league and the player. In the final two minutes, Beckham caught four passes for 68 yards and the game-tying touchdown.
Beckham Jr.’s impact: Beckham Jr. has 91 catches for 1,396 yards and 13 touchdowns. That’s 26.1 percent of Eli Manning’s completions, 35.8 percent of his passing yards and 40.6 percent of his passing touchdowns. The Giants’ second-leading receiver has 40 fewer catches for 758 fewer yards and seven fewer touchdowns.
What would you rather have?: We know how much some fans love their passing stats. If you’re a fan of reality football more than fantasy football, which would you rather have? A, Teddy Bridgewater’s 6-1 record when throwing for fewer than 200 yards. Or B, Manning’s 1-2 record when throwing for 350 or more yards. Manning also is 1-2 when throwing for four or more touchdowns.
Did you know?: The Giants are 0-2 when scoring 35 or more points this season. In Week 8, they scored 49 points at New Orleans. Manning threw for 350 yards and six touchdowns. But the Giants lost 52-49 as Drew Brees threw for 505 yards and seven touchdowns.
Rankings: Offense 12th (363.6), 25th rushing (93.6), sixth passing (270.1. Defense 32nd (423.0), 20th rushing (114.6), 32nd passing (308.4).
Scoring: Offense sixth (26.6). Defense 23rd (25.6).
Turnover ratio: T-4 (plus-9). They have 26 takeaways (T-2 in fumble recoveries with 12) and 17 giveaways.
Key stat: The Giants rank last in third-down defense, giving up a first down 45.8 percent of the time (92 of 201).
Groundhog day: The Giants tied the score Sunday with 1:40 left. Naturally, they lost. It was the sixth time this season that they’ve given up the winning points in the last two minutes of the game.
He said it: “I don’t want to say I’m almost numb to it because … we’ve been here. You’re disappointed, but you have no one to blame but yourself. There were so many times we’ve shot ourselves in the foot in this game. Carolina does a great job of taking advantage of teams’ mistakes and they did that today.”
–Defensive back Prince Amukamara, when asked about the sixth time the Giants lost a game in the final two minutes.