A highly-anticipated Week 2 showdown in the NFL commences this coming Sunday with the Atlanta Falcons (1-0) aiming to stay unbeaten when they pay the New York Giants (0-1), who’ll be looking for their first win of the year, a visit at MetLife Stadium.
Which team will be going home with a win? Will it be Matt Ryan and the Falcons going 2-0 on the season? Or will it be Giants redeeming themselves from their gut-wrenching season opener loss to the Cowboys? Read on below for more about this mouth-watering NFC bout.
And for more Week 2 game previews, you can click here for Dolphins vs. Jaguars and here for Texans vs. Panthers.
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Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants Preview
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
When: Sunday, September 20, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Atlanta Falcons (+3) at New York Giants (-3); total: 51.5 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
Betting on the Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons definitely got their money’s worth when they signed wide receiver, Julio Jones, to a five-year, $71.25 million contract just last August 30.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Jones couldn’t be stopped during their Week 1 game on Monday night. He finished with nine passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns to help lead the Falcons to a thrilling 26-24 upset win over the visiting Philadelphia Eagles, which also marked their second consecutive season opener victory.
Quarterback Matt Ryan didn’t have a notable game, but nonetheless performed just enough to lead his team to the right direction. Ryan went 23-of-34 for 298 yards and found Jones for a pair of TDs to make up for his two interceptions. His other wide receiver in Roddy White provided some plenty of yardage as well with 84 on four receptions.
Now looking forward to their Week 2 collision with the New York Giants, the Falcons will hope to take advantage of their momentum and particularly through their offense that ranked eighth-best with 284.6 passing yards per outing in 2014. The Falcons should have their way with a Giants secondary that was dissected by Dallas’ Tony Romo to the tune of 356 yards.
Defense, though, will be the key for the Falcons to earn their second win of their 2015 campaign. New head coach Dan Quinn knew that his team has been flat out awful in defending against the pass (279.9 yards allowed per game) and the run (118.4) last year. And this reality is precisely the reason why they drafted linebacker Vic Beasley and cornerback Jalen Collins. These two rookies still have a long way to go, as they only managed to combine for three solo tackles in their NFL debut last Monday night.
That being the case, Atlanta hopes for another strong effort from their safety William Moore and linebacker Paul Worrilow, who both delivered a combined 16 tackles with six assists to help shut down an Eagles rushing game which posted 124.5 yards per contest in the 2014-15 season.
The Falcons are 4-6 SU and 6-4 ATS in their previous 10 games as the underdogs.
Heartbreaking would be the best word to describe the New York Giants’ 27-26 loss in their season opener to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
The Giants ultimately blew a 10-point, fourth quarter advantage thanks to their poor decision-making in the final seconds. That paved the way for quarterback Tony Romo’s game-winning 11-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten with seven seconds remaining, which eventually allowed the Cowboys to complete the thrilling comeback and earn the fifth-straight triumph over their division rivals.
It’s not going to be easy to absorb such a devastating defeat; however, the Giants need to keep moving forward and put their focus on bouncing back opposite the Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons for their Week 2 clash this coming Sunday.
Giants QB Eli Manning, who completed 55.6 percent of his passes for a sad 193 yards with no touchdowns, ought to redeem himself from his Week 1 performance. For this to happen, Manning will need his playmakers, Odell Beckham Jr. and Shane Vereen in particular, to bring their A-games and establish their presence.
Beckham had no impact in their loss to Dallas as he barely got his usual touches and was held down to just 44 yards on five receptions. Shane Vereen, meanwhile, also has nothing to boast about. He failed to provide a spark from the backfield with only four catches for 46 yards to his name. But both Beckham and Vereen are likely in for a promising outing, especially with an easily dissectible Falcons’ defense that yielded 398.2 total yards per game—the most in the NFL last season.
New York, though, will also need to improve its own shaky defense (375.8 ypg)—which was among the worst in the league in 2014 as well. That said, the onus is on cornerback Trumaine McBride and linebacker Uani Unga to continue in solidifying their defense. Both combined for 14 tackles with two interceptions during their loss to Dallas.
The Giants are 4-1 SU and ATS in their past five contests as the favorites.
Writer’s Prediction
The Giants (-3) escape with a 31-28 win to notch their first victory of the 2015-16 season.
