Giants vs. Ravens Week 16 preview: Everything you need to know for gameday
James Bradberry of the New York Giants intercepts a pass intended for John Hightower of the Eagles in the end zone during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on Oct. 22 in Philadelphia. Credit: Getty Images/Mitchell Leff
GIANTS (5-9) AT RAVENS (9-5), M&T Bank Stadium, Sunday, 1 p.m
VITALS
Line: Baltimore by 10.5; O/U: 44
TV: Ch. 5 (Kevin Kugler, Brock Huard, Laura Okmin)
Radio: WFAN-660 AM (Bob Papa, Carl Banks, Howard Cross); Sirius 106; XM 386
INJURY IMPACT
Giants: OUT: WR Golden Tate (calf); QUESTIONABLE: QB Daniel Jones (hamstring/ankle), CB Darnay Holmes (knee), LB Blake Martinez (ankle).
Ravens: OUT: CB Jimmy Smith (ribs/shoulder); QUESTIONABLE:
WR Dez Bryant (thigh), DE Calais Campbell (calf), DB/LB Anthony Levine (abdomen), OLB Pernell McPhee (knee), CB Marcus Peters (calf), OT Tyre Phillips (concussion), C/G Matt Skura (back), LB Kristian Welch (foot), FB Patrick Ricard (knee), WR Marquise Brown (knee).
FEATURED MATCHUP
James Bradberry has gone up against some of the NFL’s best wide receivers for the Giants this season. On Sunday his toughest opponent may be boredom. The run-heavy Ravens are last in the NFL in pass attempts per game (25.8 for the season, 21.3 in the last three games), but the Pro Bowl cornerback said he needs to stay alert. "You just want to make sure you’re locked in the whole time throughout the game," he said. "You have those run plays, especially when they’re going away from you, they’re running the ball away from you, you can tend to get lackadaisical and lose focus. You definitely want to make sure you stay locked in because you never know when they’re going to try to throw the ball deep."
QUOTABLE
"I wouldn’t say it’s a blown opportunity because we haven’t blown it yet."
– WR Darius Slayton on the dimmed but not extinguished chances for the Giants to win the NFC East after two straight losses
INTANGIBLES
The Giants are trying to beat the Ravens on Sunday, but they are also may be trying to be like the Ravens beyond Sunday. "They have demonstrated a level of consistency and excellence in this league and how they’ve played," Joe Judge gushed over his opponent this week. "I like the way they have built this team to be a physical team. I like the way they develop their players." Still, Judge stopped short of saying the Ravens are a role model franchise for what he wants to Giants to become. "They’re far from the only team that I look at in terms of how they manage their roster, develop their players, and build in terms of how they practice on a weekly basis and how they game plan," he said. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. That being said, I’m not going to throw anything out there, ‘We want to be like this organization or that organization.’ We want to be the New York Giants."
NUMBER, PLEASE
7: Years since the Giants have faced a reigning NFL MVP like they will against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Sunday. Their last such meeting was when they played and beat running back Adrian Peterson’s Vikings, 23-7, in Week 7 of the 2013 season.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
