KC Chiefs vs. Giants: New York is fool’s gold in Week 8

Before the Kansas City Chiefs were embarrassed on Sunday by the Tennessee Titans, optimism began to spread like wildfire that the team was moving again after their second-half trampling of the Washington Football Team. Many (including myself) thought it was a sign of good fortune that their offense and defense began to click. Unfortunately, it only happens against weaker opponents, however (i.e., WFT). 

With their dominance against weaker teams like WFT (31-13 W) and the Eagles (42-30 W), the Chiefs are set to take on the New York Giants, a team battered by injuries to the likes of Jabril Peppers (IR, ACL), Arron Robinson (IR, Abdomen), Blake Martinez (IR, ACL), and a whole lot more. The Chiefs’ offense is superior compared to others, for instance, ranking third in yards per game and fourth in passing yards per game (despite last week’s near shutout).

So, are the Giants just more fool’s gold for all of Chiefs Kingdom?

I Propose They Are

The Giants aren’t a great team by any means. Sure, they had a solid win against the Saints in overtime, but they have been 1-2 since then, with their only win coming against an exposed Panthers’ team that has lost four straight (like a particular Chiefs’ rival). They were manhandled by the Cowboys (44-20 L) and the Rams (38-11 L). Dak Prescott threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns in the Cowboys’ game, and Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard tallied 185 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns combined on the ground. Moreover, in the Rams’ game, Matthew Stafford threw for less than Prescott at 251 yards but netted 4 touchdowns on the day.

The Giants have allowed 243.1 passing yards per game (T-13th) through seven weeks and are ranked 25th in rushing yards per game (125.6). So, when you look at how top-tier offenses are performing against this battered and bruised Giants’ defense, it’s no question that the Chiefs’ offense will have a field day, despite their blunder against the Titans.

Let’s look at the Giants’ offense. Their o-line isn’t great, but neither is the Chiefs’ defensive line; the Giants’ line has a 52% pass block win rate, ranked 25th in the league, so the Chiefs may be able to force some pressure here. Saquon Barkley hasn’t been in his element as of late after his season-ending ACL injury last year; he is only averaging 3.6 yards per run this year. The Giants’ starting WRs are all now listed as questionable as of the writing of this article, and Evan Engram is Evan Engram, who hasn’t produced a TD all year.

When you look at this Giants team, it’s nothing to fret with their defensive stars out and their offense bombarded with a motherload of new injuries. It feels like a chalk-up, feel-good win for the Chiefs as they try to improve to .500 again.

A Look Into The Future

Looking at the Chiefs as they are now, their chances to win out are slimmer than slim jeans when looking into the future. After the Giants’ game, they face a red-hot Packers’ team dominating everyone in their path at 6-1. They’ve won six straight after their 38-3 blowout loss to the Saints. Then the Chiefs face the Raiders and the offensive firepower of the Dallas Cowboys. To say this is a tough three-game stretch is an understatement. It’s even worse when you realize the Chiefs have the hardest schedule ahead:

This season will be challenging the rest of the way. If they beat the Giants on MNF (as they should), I leave with this word of advice: don’t overreact. As I stated earlier, the Giants aren’t a great football team by any means. Their whole team is battered from their offense to defense, and they don’t give playoff-hopeful teams any threat.

Overall, this game continues to look like fool’s gold for the Chiefs.