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Giants - Falcons
Game 15 preview
Sunday Dec 22, 1:00 PM - Giants at Falcons

Giants (2-12) Falcons (7-7)
The Atlanta Falcons broke their four game losing steak with a 15-9 win over the LA Raiders on Monday night. In the last ten seconds the Raiders had two chances to steal a win with a touchdown pass, but that didn't happen.
Last Sunday the Giants continued their losing streak with a one sided 35-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. It was their ninth loss in a row, and their eighth in front of the MetLife fans.

Atlanta Falcons
Since 1966, they have won the division title only six times. They somehow managed to scratch their way to the playoffs in six of those last fifteen seasons. That includes 2016, where they lost in Super Bowl LI to Tom Brady and the Patriots, 34–28 in overtime. Arthur Smith had been the head coach for the past three years, and you can say he was consistent. The Falcons had finished with a 7-10 record in all three of his years. Raheem Morris was named the head coach for this season. Morris held various coaching positions with the Falcons from 2015 to 2020, including being their interim head coach in that last year.

Atlanta Falcons Offense
The Falcons brought in Kirk Cousins to get over six straight losing seasons, and as extra insurance they drafted Michael Penix Jr. as well. Cousins was given a four year $180 million contract with $90 million fully guaranteed. Cousins numbers this year haven't varied much from his career averages, as far as completion percentage and yards, but he's thrown just 18 touchdowns, and had 16 interceptions, the most in the league. In the last five games, Cousins has thrown 9 interceptions, and just one touchdown pass.
With thoughts of the season slipping away, the Falcons have made a change to the backup. Michael Penix was the eight overall pick in the NFL draft, and the rookie will be making his first career start in this game against the Giants. Drake London and Darnell Mooney have combined to catch 12 of Cousins touchdown passes. Tight end Kyle Pitts has caught 3 touchdowns and could see more targets if Penix feels the need to check down on some plays. The same goes for running back Bijan Robinson, who has caught 54 passes on 60 targets with one touchdown. Robinson has 8 rushing touchdowns, and Tyler Allgeier has 3. They average about 4.7 yards a carry, and both were relied on heavily last week when Atlanta pushed the rushing attack. Cousins threw only 17 passes, and the two rushers picked up 168 yards on 33 carries.

Atlanta Falcons Defense
The Falcons defense has dropped a bit in a few categories from last season, and one of the areas of concern is in the pass rush. They had 42 sacks last year, and just 23 now, the fewest in the NFL. Linebackers Kaden Elliss and Arnold Ebiketie each have 4 sacks, and Matthew Judon has 3.5. The thing to note though is that 13 of them have come in the last three games.
The Giants offensive line has not been stable, and week to week, quarterbacks have been shuffled in and out. They'll have to take a good look at what's changed on the Falcons defense. For one thing, DeAngelo Malone hadn't been on the field very much except for special teams play, but Malone took advantage of his opportunity on Monday, and he came up with two sacks and three quarterback hits.

NY Giants Offense
This week Drew Lock will be back in as the starting quarterback. Tommy DeVito suffered a concussion in the first half last week, and Tim Boyle stepped in to complete the game. Boyle did a decent job considering the circumstances, completing 12 of 24 passes for 123 yards, one touchdown, and he had one interception. DeVito was cleared to be the backup to Lock for this game. Hopefully Lock is over his heel injury, as the Falcons seem to have discovered they have a pass rush.
The offensive line has given up 45 sacks, which ties them for the seventh most in the NFL. Lock will be relying heavily on the skills rookie Malik Nabers has shown throughout the year. The rushing game is also powered by another rookie, Tyrone Tracy. Both have played well at times, and both have played as rookies do. How far can you go with backup quarterbacks, and two rookies as your star players behind a weak offensive line? The answer is a league low 14.9 points a game.

Giants Defense
Who would the Giants defense rather face, a struggling veteran quarterback, or an inexperienced one, anxious to make his first start in the NFL, an opportunity that has come sooner rather than later? Well, it's not their choice, and instead of Kirk Cousins it will be Michael Penix throwing passes to Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud, and Kyle Pitts. Penix has thrown only five passes this season, and you can be sure defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has added some plays designed to confuse the young quarterback.
The Giants are next to last in the league defending against the run, and it wasn't easy for them last week dealing with dual threat Lamar Jackson, the best rushing quarterback in the league, and running back Derrick Henry. If the Giants show they can easily deal with Penix, the Falcons will make sure running back Bijan Robinson will be heavily involved.
Robinson was 24 yards short of hitting the 1,000 yards rushing mark last season, and he broke that on Monday night, rushing for 125 yards, giving him 1,102 on the year. The Giants defense is banged up, and it's hit and miss, mostly a miss the way the tackling has been, and they'll have to scheme up whatever they can do to keep the Falcons in check.

Overall
The Giants haven't played well, and they are struggling on both offense and defense. The Atlanta Falcons don't know what their untested rookie quarterback Michael Penix can do. They decided they should put it to the test, feeling they can win with or without his efforts. The Giants are a 2-12 team, but their two wins have been on the road, and their players seem to be all in, so who knows?

NFC East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Giants (2-12) at Atlanta (7-7)
Sunday at 1:00pm Eagles (12-2) at Commanders (9-5)
Sunday at 8:20pm Buccaneers (8-6) at Cowboys (6-8)
The Eagles are the only NFC East team favored to win in these games.
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Next Games
Dec 29 Colts at Giants
Jan 2 Giants at Eagles

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