5 reasons the New York Giants reach playoffs in 2018
4. Trouble in the division
Six of the 16 games an NFL team plays are against its own division. This year, that is good news for the Giants.
The Cowboys are a mess now. Ignoring their young secondary and dependence on DeMarcus Lawrence for pass rush, we can look at their offense. Poor Dak Prescott has zero top-end players to throw the ball to. After Jason Witten’s retirement and Dez Bryant’s release, the only thing the Cowboys did to help out Dak was sign Allen Hurns. Allen Hurns.
Hurns exploded in 2015, averaging 16.1 yards per catch while hauling in 10 touchdowns. Since then, he’s averaged less than 50 yards per game with just five touchdowns in the last two years.
It isn’t a problem with his role either. Last year, as the No. 1 receiver for the Jaguars from Week 2 to Week 10, he had two touchdowns, and averaged just 50.5 yards per game. Hurns doesn’t count as giving Dak someone to throw to.
Add to that the fact that Dak will have to run for his life during the year, and it is recipe for disaster. The Cowboys offensive line is a mess of injuries right now and that takes down their biggest strength. Both Zach Martin and Travis Fredrick have gotten injured this preseason. They are vital, irreplaceable pieces in the Cowboys offense and the Cowboys have to figure out life without them.
#Cowboys interior Offensive Line:
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) August 23, 2018
C Travis Frederick - Season threatened by Guillan-Barre Syndrome
RG Zack Martin - Battling hypextended/bruised left knee
LG Connor Williams - Rookie whose play slipped at Texas from 2016 to 2017 has struggled in preseason, getting overpowered
It goes beyond just the Cowboys as well. The Redskins are a huge question mark. A lot of their season is dependent on the health of Jordan Reed. Alex Smith likes to run his offense through his tight end so Reed will be vital to them. While Jamison Crowder can attempt to assume a Tyreek Hill type of role with the Redskins, the rest of their offense is questionable.
The running back situation in Washington is awful. It has gotten so bad and mushed up that it signed Adrian Peterson. While he didn’t look awful in his first preseason game, he has shown enough recently that he isn’t good enough to play in the NFL anymore, a sad reality he needs to face.
The Eagles are an unsure situation as well. With Alshon Jeffery potentially missing six games this year, they will have to figure out their passing attack without him. However, we can expect that the reigning Super Bowl champs will be just fine.
With question marks regarding two of the three teams in their division, the Giants could be in position to take advantage of them on their road to the playoffs.