Happy Thursday everyone, welcome to week 4 of the NFL Season and the last slate of games before October. Crazy to think that after this week, most of the leagues is a quarter of the way through their season (Rams, Seahawks, Broncos, Bengals, Browns, and Cardinals all have a bye this week). What’s even crazier is that there are still teams out there that are difficult to identify at all due to inconsistent play through their first three games.

Thursday night’s matchup pits two of those teams against each other, as the Redskins host the Giants in their first game this season.

New York started off the season terribly in Detroit, lost a heartbreaker of a home opener against Arizona, and beat the Texans convincingly. The Giants offense has seemingly improved every week, which makes sense. Eli Manning is starting to look more comfortable in McAdoo’s offense, getting the ball out quickly and without hesitation. Victor Cruz stepped out of his funk and helped Manning get into a rhythm with short passes over the middle, and Larry Donnell continues to impress at tight end.

The offensive line also looked like a different beast in week 3 than they did in the first two games, as they consistently opened up holes for Rashad Jennings to run through, and they kept JJ Watt under control. There are still a lot of questions, especially on defense, where it seemed like Perry Fewell eased up in the second half and allowed the Texans to get 17 (garbage?) points in the second half.

I have trouble getting a read on the Washington Redskins for the obvious reason of they have a new starting quarterback — at least for now. Robert Griffin III could end up being out upwards of six games with his ankle injury, which leaves Kirk Cousins with the keys to the car. Cousins proved he can still drive Washington’s offense down the field, amassing 450 yards and three touchdowns in a tough loss against the Eagles last week, including this bomb to Desean Jackson:

Cousins came up short in the second half though, throwing an interception that tipped the scales in Philly’s favor, then he killed a drive at the end of the game with three straight incompletions. The Redskins wouldn’t have been in position to win the game if it weren’t for Bryan Orakpo and Washington’s front seven shutting down their opponents’ run game — again. In three games, Washington has faced Arian Foster, Toby Gerhart, LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles and given up less than 200 yards total on the ground.

Both of these teams have a number of different faces, and that makes it tough to predict who either of them really are. Is one big week enough reason to say the Giants offense is fixed now, or are they bound to beat themselves with turnovers again? Can we really expect Cousins to light it up again, or will we see him regress a bit as the sample size grows?

I’ll do my best to tackle these variables and break down this week’s matchups, but first, here are the injury reports:

New York Giants:

OUT – WR Odell Beckham Jr., OLB Devon Kennard. DOUBTFUL – MLB Jon Beason. QUESTIONABLE – CB Zack Bowman, OT James Brewer, OT Charles Brown. PROBABLE – P Steve Weatherford.

Washington Redskins:

OUT – LB Akeem Jordan, QB Robert Griffin III, TE Jordan Reed. QUESTIONABLE – DL Chris Baker, DE Kedric Golson, DE Jason Kearse, G Shawn Lauvoa, WR Desean Jackson, DE Frank Kearse, C Kory Lichtensteiger, CB Tracy Porter, S Trenton Richardson. PROBABLE – LB Brian Orakpo, K Kai Forbath, RB Alfred Morris, LB Keenan Robinson, OT Tyler Polumbus.

As you can see, the Redskins are considerably more banged-up than the Giants right now, particularly on defense. Washington’s best defensive back Deangelo Hall also went down last week, tearing his achilles and ending his season. This leaves rookie Bashaud Breeland with the number one cornerbacking duties, which presumably entail covering Victor Cruz or Rueben Randle. That’s a lot to ask of a fourth round rookie, but there’s not really another option.

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Here’s how these two teams match up on both sides of the ball:

Giants offensive line vs. Redskins front seven — I have to give Washington the edge here, even though New York’s big men did a great job last week against Houston’s talented line (without Jadaveon Clowney). Bryan Orakpo (.5 sacks this year) will be wearing some kind of club or cast on his left hand to help protect his dislocated middle finger, which may or may not have an impact on his performance. He isn’t the only threat though, as Ryan Kerrigan (4 sacks) and Jason Hatchers ( 2.5 sacks) have had little difficulty rushing the passer this year. Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett loves blitzes as well, he isn’t afraid to send one or both safeties to create havoc up front. Justin Pugh did a great job against JJ Watt last week, and he’ll likely be tested even more tonight in Washington.

Giants passing game vs. Redskins defensive backfield — This one goes to the Giants. Eli and his recievers have looked better every week, and injuries to Porter, Richardson, and Hall really puts a lot of pressure on Washington’s secondary. This could go one of two ways, either Haslett calls a blitz-heavy game to help mask deficiencies down the field or he drops more guys in coverage. I think he’ll opt for the former, and it will be on Manning to make quick reads and get the ball out fast — most likely to Cruz, who’ll probably be defended by Breeland. I think Manning will react correctly and connect with Cruz and Donnell on short passes like last week.

Giants running backs vs. Redskins linebackers — This one is a bit tougher, but Washington has the better unit. Kerrigan and Orakpo are tasked with containing Rashad Jennings, who is coming off the best game of his career, but they’ve played well against the run so far and they’ve done it against better running backs. As mentioned early, I expect Washington to bring the pressure tonight, stacking the box and running disguised blitzes. If Eli Manning can get into a groove early, it may force the Redskins to respect the pass and open things up for Jennings, but in a close game (which I expect it to be), I think Haslett will figure out New York’s run game.

Redskins offensive line vs. Giants front seven — Outside of Jason Pierre-Paul vs. Trent Williams — which could be a game-deciding matchup — it looks like New York is going to get pressure on Cousins. Mathias Kiwanuka will likely line up across from right tackle Tyler Polumbus, and more than likely, he’s going to present problems on passing downs. DT Jonathan Hankins has had a strong start to 2014, and he’s going to be bullrushing injured interior linemen Shawn Lauvoa and Kory Lichtensteiger. Unless Alfred Morris makes something out of nothing, expect the pass rush to be in full effect for the Giants

Redskins passing game vs. Giants defensive backfield — It looks like DeSean Jackson is going to play tonight, but he’s going to test his shoulder before the game just to be sure. If Jackson is in, he will be covered by Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, which means Prince Amukamara on Pierre Garcon. In all honesty, this is a toss-up. All four of these players have playmaking ability, and the end result will likely depend on the play of Cousins. If Cousins gets comfortable in the pocket, he’ll probably have no issue putting on a clinic for the second week in a row. If JPP and Kiwi force him off his spot though, it could expose Cousins’ inexperience. Edge goes to the ‘Skins here, but only if Cousins has all day to throw. Look for Niles Paul to expose Mark Herzlich’s shoddy pass coverage.

Redskins running backs vs. Giants linebackers — Injuries to Beason and Kennard could be troublesome for the Giants ‘backers. The three guys Fewell sends out will likely be Jaquan Williams, Jameel McClain, and Mark Herzlich. None of these players really inspire fear, but they’re all pretty solid run defenders. When you take into account the injuries along the Washington offensive line (especially on the inside) , it will likely be difficult for Alfred Morris to create something on his own. On passing downs, however, its a different story and I don’t think any of New York’s three guys will be able to contain Morris. This is a stalemate for me — I don’t see either group dominating the other. We could see Morris catch a couple screens or dump passes and make something happen, but I don’t think he’ll be the deciding factor in this game.

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In all three Thursday night games so far, the road team has lost by at least 20 points. So should we expect heavy amounts of Manning face and disappointment for the Giants? I don’t think so. This will be a hard fought game, as both teams are 1-2 and desperate to finish the first month of the season on the right foot. The game’s outcome will depend on a few things above all else: JPP against Williams, Cruz against Breeland, and how effective each team’s pass rush is.

Cousins fades late, and Manning doesn’t. Giants win 28 -21.

Sports – Kings Down & Distance Contributor Jim Bearor