G-Men return to The Queen City

Joe Judge’s team will be faced with a difficult test when they travel to Cincinnati to take on 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and the Bengals. After finishing with the league’s worst record in his first season as a head coach, Zac Taylor now appears to have his team heading in the right direction. The Giants must put a lot of pressure on Burrow and keep him in the pocket in this matchup. The first overall pick in this year’s draft is having an impressive rookie season and has already torched plenty of defenses so far in 2020. Offensively, Daniel Jones needs to take advantage of the vulnerabilities in the Bengals’ secondary. This area of their defense is not exactly their strongest, so Jones should take some deep shots with Darius Slayton and Golden Tate. With Cincinnati drafting Burrow, it appeared as though veteran A.J. Green could be in position for a huge bounce-back season. However, Tyler Boyd has really emerged as the top receiving option in the Bengals’ offense. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham must have a good game plan for taking Boyd away. Here are TGI’s keys to victory against Cincinnati:

- Mike Addvensky

Put pressure on Joe Burrow and keep him in the pocket

Through his first eight NFL starts, Burrow had five 300-plus passing yard performances. His transition from LSU to the NFL has been relatively seamless. Burrow’s mobility is also something that Graham needs to game plan for, as he can make big plays with his legs. He rushed for three touchdowns through Cincinnati’s first eight games this season. Defenses that have been able to successfully contain Burrow have done so by putting pressure on him. The Baltimore Ravens sacked him seven times in a 27-3 rout of the Bengals in Week 5. Burrow was brought down eight times by the Philadelphia Eagles in a Week 3 tie. Graham must bring pressure from the edge with Leonard Williams and Kyler Fackrell. He should also call a few safety blitzes with Jabrill Peppers. The Giants’ defense will have a chance to slow Burrow down if they are able to push past Cincinnati’s offensive line and prevent him from escaping the pocket. They cannot give him time to look for Boyd, Green or Tee Higgins.