Garden State Gridiron – Week 9

GIANTS PREVIEW

The Giants will head down to Landover, MD to take on the Washington Football Team where one of these teams will not lose, despite their greatest efforts. Washington is well-rested coming off their bye week and enters the week as 2.5-point home favorites. The key matchups to watch in this game are how both Daniel Jones and the Giants’ struggling offensive line handle Washington’s talented and productive offensive line. Expect Daniel Jones to hit the ground early and often. Don’t be surprised if his turnover issues ring true in this one and that pass rush forces a fumble or two. Additionally, the offensive line, which is already in a major talent deficit, will also be at a disadvantage because of the terrible condition of the grass at FedEx Field. Over the course of the game, the field surface will deteriorate and make it increasingly difficult for offensive lineman to anchor and hold their positions. For the Giants to be able to pull off this win, it will likely need to come from an impressive performance by the defense because the offense is going to face some major obstacles.

JETS PREVIEW

The Jets will host the Patriots on Monday night in a matchup that could serve as a get-right game for either the team. The winless Jets are obviously underperforming compared to where they had hoped to be, but New England isn’t doing much better. The Patriots only have two wins seven games into the season. This week, head coach Bill Belichick gave the public a glimpse behind the curtains when he noted that the Patriots “sold out and won three Super Bowls” in his comments about the team’s struggles. This was one of the most vulnerable public appearances in Belichick’s career and it may be marking that he is near the end of running the “Evil Empire” of the AFC. New England currently stands as 7.5-point road favorites as of the writing of this piece with a 41.5 over/under. Our experts are expecting both teams to struggle a bit, with a low implied point total. Don’t expect fireworks in this game unless Cam Newton breaks out of his recent funk.

EAGLES PREVIEW

The Eagles are on their bye this week, so their only opponent is their reflections in the mirror. Nearly every member of the team, coaching staff, and front office needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror and decide what their story is going to be for the rest of the season. Following the bye week, the Eagles take on the Giants and then face the gauntlet of Cleveland, Seattle, Green Bay, New Orleans, and Arizona. We are going to learn a lot about this team during that stretch. The bye week may serve as an opportunity to hit the reset button and break out of the funk that the team is in. Until the team shows us otherwise, don’t expect high scores from the Philadelphia Eagles.