New York Giants: Sunday night game a must-win

The New York Giants were the laughing stock of the NFL for the first two weeks of the NFL season, thanks largely in part to horrendous clock management.

Now, the Giants are 2-2, and sitting in prime position to run away with the NFC East.

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Last week, the team played a smart, fundamentally sound game in a hard-fought victory against the Bills. The win was New York’s second-straight, as the team dealt with Washington on Thursday Night Football the week prior.

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With a lot of positivity and momentum on their side, the Giants can absolutely not afford to lose to the 49ers in trap-game fashion.

Yes, the 49ers are bad. Well, not just bad, they’ve been putrid, lacking anything resembling the San Francisco teams led by Jim Harbaugh.

The ‘Niners were decimated with retirements and departures from former starters — Patrick Willis, Frank Gore, Justin Smith, Aldon Smith, Chris Culliver, Michael Crabtree, Chris Borland — during the offseason, so the setbacks are somewhat expected.

This team has talent, especially with Carlos Hyde looking like a star-in-the-making and the returning NaVorro Bowman eager to show he’s back. However, the team has seldom gotten an opportunity to showcase its talents with Colin Kaepernick regressing in nearly every way possible.

The once-promising signal caller has thrown two touchdowns compared to five interceptions, and he looks lost in Geep Chryst’s offensive system.

Essentially, the 49ers are not a good football team, or at least not a football team on par with how the Giants have been playing recently. However, that’s exactly what makes this game a trap game for New York, and it’s exactly why I consider this game as much of a “must-win” game as the previous two weeks.

Like I said earlier, the Giants are in a prime position to take control of the NFC East. Following the Sunday night clash against the 49ers, the Giants travel to take on the Eagles on Monday Night Football and then host the Dallas Cowboys. With the division as dicey as ever, wins are at a premium.

Sep 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA;New York Giants running back

Rashad Jennings

(23) runs the ball against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Dallas won 27-26. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

If the Giants –theoretically — drop the game to San Francisco, the next two games are as murky as they come. When was the last NFC East game that was entirely predictable? The trip to Philly could prove to be especially tough, as well.

If we’re talking worst, and I mean absolute worst-case scenario, the Giants could enter their week 8 game at New Orleans with a 2-5 record. That would put their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy, especially since it’s necessary to prepare for the Cowboys to get healthy and to expect the Eagles to turn it around.

Simply put, this team cannot get complacent. They’re in no position to do so. We’ve seen the Giants lose these types of games before. In 2007, the Giants lost to the 4-6 Vikings at home. In 2011, they lost in dramatic fashion to the 1-3 Seahawks, and then later to the season to the 4-9 Washington team.

So Sunday night is a must-win game. How will they win? Simple: Play smart football.

Oct 4, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Giants beat the Bills 24 to 10. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

The team has done that the past two weeks. In the game against Washington, the opposition made several mental mistakes, including a crucial goal-line fumble. Against Buffalo, the Giants out-coached Rex Ryan’s undisciplined Bills team, and Buffalo committed 17 penalties.

The Giants had an impressive level of consistency during the game in Buffalo, as Shane Vereen, Andre Williams and Rashad Jennings all played important roles in the run game, and Odell Beckham Jr., Rueben Randle and Dwayne Harris made contributions in the passing game.

It’s a primetime game, and the whole country will be watching. So OBJ needs to keep his cool, especially after he was fined by the NFL for punching Bills’ defenders.

With that being said, the Giants need to get the ball to their best player. Beckham and Manning need to get on the same page and regain some of the chemistry they developed so prominently last year.

The Giants need to continue to play hard-nosed, tough football. It’s a must-win game, and even if the Giants win in ultra-sloppy fashion, it will be enough to help them enter the divisional showdown in Philly with much-needed momentum.

Oh, and to win the game Eli Manning can’t throw five interceptions like he did last year.

Next: New York Giants: Time to pay attention to defense

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