In what looks to be a defensive and hard-nosed battle. The New York Giants host the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, September 12th at 1:25 pm PST. Coming into the matchup both teams will look to see what improvements they have made and start Week 1 (1-0).

The four time Super Bowl champion New York Giants come into this season hoping to take a giant leap this year and make their first playoff appearance since 2016. The Giants coming off a 6-10 record, tied with the Dallas Cowboys for second place in the NFC East. In the offseason the team added wide receiver Kenny Golladay, tight end Kyle Rudolph, and cornerback Adoree Jackson. In the draft they most notably selected Kadarius Toney and Azeez Ojulari. Moreover, although the team finished the preseason 0-3, there is still hope the Giants will start the season strong with their dynamic playmakers on offense, Danny “Dimes” Jones entering his third year as the starting quarterback, and the return of Saquon Barkley. Although the Giants offense overall is filled with uncertainty, one aspect the team can count on the most is their ninth ranked defense. Their 3-4 defense led by defensive coordinator Patrick Graham features Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence, and an experienced secondary in Adoree Jackson, James Bradberry, Jabrill Peppers and Logan Ryan. 

In order for the New York Giants to defeat the Broncos they must:

1. Protect Daniel Jones (O-Line last season ranked 31st by Pro Football Focus)

2. Establish the run game (Saquon Barkley was one the best NFL running backs before his torn ACL and is close to being fully cleared for the game)

3. Giants offensive tackles Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart must slow down/stop the pass rushing duo of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb

4. Disrupt the Broncos pass game, pressure Bridgewater, and contain Denver’s run game.

5. Create Turnovers/Don't Turnover the ball. 
   
   

Following a disappointing 5-11 season and finishing last in the AFC West, the Denver Broncos under new general manager George Paton come in motivated and ready to be relevant again. Overall what makes the Broncos compelling this season is their talent on both the offense and defense. Analysts, team officials, and players such as Von Miller have compared this roster to that of the Super Bowl 50 winning team in terms of how deep the team is at every position. On offense the team brings back a returning core primed for a breakout season with players such as Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, rookie Javonte Willaims, and etc. The focal point of the team this season will be their defense featuring a returning Von Miller, Bradley Chubb and an upgraded secondary featuring Kyle Fuller, Ronald Darby, Justin Simmons, and first round pick cornerback Patrick Surtain II.

In order for the Denver Broncos to defeat the Giants they must:

1. Protect Teddy Bridgewater (O-line ranked 25th by Pro Football Focus)

2. Bridgewater shouldn’t always take the safe short yard plays but instead take appropriate shots down the field

3. Establish Run game (Doing this allows the threat of play action and as shown in the preseason to be very effective) (Ex: Melvin Gordon against the Rams in the 1st quarter and Javonte Williams versus the Vikings)

4. Don’t TURNOVER the ball (Broncos led the league in turnovers with 32).

5. Stay healthy and Jeudy hopefully fixed his drops.

6. Pressure Daniel Jones and cause turnovers. (Although the defense was not great last season, they showed potential this season by allowing zero touchdowns in the preseason).

In the end, look for this game to be competitive or either team possibly dominating the other.