The New York Giants travel to Sun Life Stadium to face the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. The Giants have lost three straight, falling to 5-7 on the year, but are still fighting for a chance to make the postseason in a weak NFC East. Miami is coming off a win over the Baltimore Ravens and interim head coach Dan Campbell will look to have his team ready for their Monday night matchup against New York.
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has been in this position before, and knows his team can not afford a slip up on Monday night, or their postseason chances will be out of their control. Two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning is having a solid season in his second year under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, and has thrown 24 touchdowns to 10 interceptions on the season.
The Giants have let multiple games this season slip through their fingers, including another fourth quarter loss to the New York Jets last Sunday. Manning will look to target star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., against the Dolphins, as he is a matchup nightmare for any defense. Beckham has caught 78 passes for 1,154 yards and 10 touchdowns. Coughlin will look for the ground game to be consistent Monday night, as that can open deep passes with play-action calls.
Running back Rashad Jennings is the leading rusher for the Giants, but Coughlin will look to any of the Giants running backs to get it going Monday. Jennings and running back Andre Williams tend to be used on first and second downs, while running back Shane Vereen has become New York's passing down back. Vereen is the third-leading receiver for the Giants this year and has caught 42 passes for 349 yards with 3 touchdown receptions this year.
While the Giants will look to get their offense rolling in Miami, the Dolphins defense will try to contain Manning and his explosive playmakers. Defensive lineman Olivier Vernon and Ndamukong Suh have accounted for 10.5 sacks on the year, and can create havoc for opposing offenses.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill leads the Dolphins offense, but has struggled to stay consistent this year. The former first round draft pick has thrown for 3,077 yards with 21 touchdowns to seven interceptions. Tannehill has had some explosive games this year including a four-touchdown game against the Texans. But the Dolphins quarterback followed that game with two interceptions and no touchdowns against their AFC East rival New England Patriots.
Campbell has likely instilled in his quarterback the importance of ball security, and expect Miami to try and create strong ground game to alleviate pressure on their quarterback. Running back Lamar Miller will get plenty of touches Monday night, as he leads the team with 680 rushing yards on the year. Miller is coming off a strong performance against the Ravens last week in which he rushed for 113 yards on just 20 carries.
It looks to be a very interesting matchup between two teams that are trying to turn their season around. The game starts at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to the Giants' radio broadcast, go here, and for the Dolphins' radio broadcast, click here.
