Giants at Titans: Preview and Prediction

Eight months. That’s how long it’s been, and it’s felt even longer. It’s been eight whole months since the New York Giants played a (debatably) meaningful game, back on January 9th when they lost to the then-called Washington Football Team 22-7 to close out perhaps their most pathetic season in memory. Big Blue finished last year with a 4-13 record, and since then a LOT has changed. The Giants fired general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Joe Judge, and subsequently replaced them with Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, respectively, both hired away from the Buffalo Bills.

Of course, changes at the top precipitate changes throughout the organization, both among the coaching staff and the players. New York has an almost entirely new set of coaches and a clutch of new players, whether they be free-agent signings or draftees, looking to provide a much-needed spark. Suffice to say, it’s hardly been a tranquil offseason for BIg Blue, but they’re about to put it all behind them as they embark on their 2022 season.

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First up, the Tennessee Titans. The Giants will travel to Nashville on Sunday to take on last year’s number-one seed in the AFC. If the NFL is a league of perennial fluctuation, then the Titans are a prime example of that this year. Despite earning a first-round bye last season, they come into this year with a much lower projection. They traded star receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles and replaced him with first-round pick Treylon Burks, who by most reports has had an inconsistent training camp. Tennessee has also lost top pass rusher Harold Landry to a season-ending ACL injury.

Those two major losses on each side of the ball are certainly a blow, but the Titans still have a solid roster with plenty of players, especially on defense.

The Giants won’t enter this game at 100 per cent, either. Left guard Shane Lemieux is on injured reserve and will have to miss the first four games of the season. Starting outside linebackers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari are nursing injuries and appear unlikely to play on Sunday. This matchup should be a fair test for New York to see whether they’ll be a reasonably competitive team this year.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Sunday’s game, followed by a prediction for the final score.

Where and When

Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday at 4:25pm EST/1:25pm PST

Injuries

New York: WR Sterling Shepard (Questionable), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (Questionable), OLB Azeez Ojulari (Questionable), S Dane Belton (Questionable)

Tennessee: OLB Ola Adeniyi (Questionable), OT Jamarco Jones (Questionable), ILB Chance Campbell (Questionable), CB Lonnie Johnson (Questionable), CB Elijah Molden (Questionable)

Most Concerning Matchup: DT Jeffery Simmons vs. LG Ben Bredeson

Outside of running back Derrick Henry, Simmons is Tennessee’s best player, hands down. In his first fully healthy season last year, he broke out for 8.5 sacks and 25 quarterback pressures. Now with Landry out of the picture, Simmons is the lone game-wrecking force in the Titans front-seven. His combination of power, technique, and athleticism make him a headache to have to block on an every-down basis.

Unfortunately for the Giants, they won’t have a full healthy offensive line to contend with Simmons. Lemieux won’t be available at left guard, so one of rookie Josh Ezeudu or third-year player Bredeson will have to start instead. New York’s current depth chart lists Bredeson as the starter, so we’ll assume that he’ll get the nod on Sunday. Bredeson appeared in eight games for the Giants last season, starting one. He performed poorly, earning a 56.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. Tennessee would be wise to line Simmons up over Bredeson all afternoon to disrupt New York’s running game and get into the face of quarterback Daniel Jones.

Most Promising Matchup: CB Adoree’ Jackson vs. WR Robert Woods

After trading away Brown, the Titans acquired Woods from the Los Angeles Rams to help bolster their receiver corps. With the rookie Burks not appearing ready for a big role right away, Woods steps in as their number-one receiver. Woods has never been the main man in a passing offense before, and at age 30 coming off a torn ACL, this isn’t the best time for him to try. We’ve also never seen Woods be especially productive outside of Sean McVay’s Rams.

Jackson is coming off a strong year in coverage and is one of the Giants’ best two or three defensive players. He allowed just a 52.1 completion percentage when targeted last year. If he can single-handedly lock down Woods, that will leave Titans’ quarterback Ryan Tannehill with little else to target in the passing game.

Keys to Victory

Modern NFL defenses are increasingly about making pass defense their first, second, and third priorities in a quarterback-friendly league. But sometimes a certain matchup can call for an anachronistic defensive approach. For the Giants, this Sunday’s bout with the Titans is one of those matchups. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale would be best served loading the box to stop Henry, forcing Tannehill to take to the air with an underwhelming group of receivers.

Tennessee’s defense is probably weakest at the second level, where linebackers David Long and Zach Cunningham are nothing special. Given this, Big Blue should to attack them with tight ends and running backs in the passing game. It’s too much to already ask rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger to be a focal point of a game plan, but running back Saquon Barkley should be used heavily as a primary receiving option. Barkley having a massive all-purpose game would be a huge stepping stone to a Giants victory.

Final Score Prediction: Titans 24 – Giants 23

Despite these two teams finishing at opposite ends of the standings last year, there’s not much seperating them. Tennessee is has gotten tangibly worse over the offseason, while New York has gotten better. Still, the edge has to go to the home team with the well-established identity and track record over the team looking to start a new chapter with a new identity. The Titans should hold on to a tight one.

– Ryan Cuneo is the Managing Editor of Full Press Giants. He covers the New York Giants. Like and follow on Follow @ryan_cuneo Follow @FullPressGiants and Facebook.