NEW YORK GIANTS (5-1) at JACKSONVILLE (2-4)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Fox
OPENING LINE: Jaguars by 3, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: New York Giants 5-1; Jacksonville 2-4.
SERIES RECORD: Jaguars lead 4-3.
LAST MEETING: Jaguars beat Giants 20-15 on Sept. 9, 2018, in New Jersey.
LAST WEEK: Giants beat Ravens 24-20; Jaguars lost at Colts 34-27.
GIANTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (25), RUSH (4), PASS (31), SCORING (18).
GIANTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (28), PASS (8), SCORING (8).
JAGUARS OFFENSE: OVERALL (11), RUSH (9), PASS (20), SCORING (T15).
JAGUARS DEFENSE: OVERALL (11), RUSH (3), PASS (21), SCORING (9).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Giants plus-2; Jaguars even.
GIANTS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Daniel Jones is having his best season. He is completing 67% of his passes for 1,021 yards, with five TDs and two INTs. He also has 236 yards rushing and two scores.
JAGUARS PLAYER TO WATCH: Edge rusher Travon Walker, the No. 1 pick in April’s draft, hasn’t had a sack since Week 1 and committed costly penalties in consecutive games. He was flagged for roughing the passer on a third-and-12 play at Indy a week after drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty on third-and-20 against Houston. Both extended drives that ended in touchdowns.
KEY MATCHUP: Saquon Barkley leads the NFL with 771 yards from scrimmage (616 rushing, 155 receiving) and has been instrumental in the Giants’ first 5-1 start since 2009. He faces a Jaguars defense that ranks third against the run, allowing 3.6 yards a carry, and has allowed just one 100-yard rusher (Philadelphia’s Miles Sanders) in six games.
KEY INJURIES: Giants OLB Azeez Ojulari (calf) has missed the past two games. WRs Kadarius Toney (hamstring) and Kenny Golladay (knee) have missed four and two games, respectively. … The Jaguars don’t expect WR Jamal Agnew (knee) to play, but should get DT Foley Fatukasi (quadriceps) back after a two-week absence.
SERIES NOTES: The Giants are one of only two NFC teams (along with Tampa Bay) that have a losing record against Jacksonville, which has dropped 18 in a row against teams from that conference. It’s the longest inter-conference skid in NFL history. The Jaguars have won two straight and three of four in the series. They are 3-0 at home, beating the G-men in 1997, 2006 and 2014. Jacksonville’s most recent victory against an NFC team came in the 2018 season opener, a 20-15 victory against the Giants.
STATS AND STUFF: The Giants, who have won three straight for the second time in six years, have five wins by a combined 21 points. … New York is looking for its first 6-1 start since 2008. … Jones is 8-3 in his past 11 starts. … Barkley’s rushing total is second in the NFL to Cleveland’s Nick Chubb (649 yards). … Rookie TE Daniel Bellinger has TD catches in two straight. … Rookie WR Wan’Dale Robinson caught his first NFL TD pass against the Ravens. … S Julian Love had the Giants’ first and only interception last week. … DL Dexter Lawrence has sacks in three straight and now a career-high four. … LB Kayvon Thibodeaux, the No. 5 pick in the draft, earned his first career sack and forced a fumble in the final minutes last week. … Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence completed a career-high 90.9% of his passes last week. He also ran for two scores. … RB Travis Etienne is looking for his third consecutive game with at least 100 yards from scrimmage. … RB James Robinson has touchdowns in two of his past three home games. … TE Evan Engram faces the team that drafted him 23rd overall in 2017. He’s looking for his third consecutive game with at least five catches.
FANTASY TIP: Barkley is the only slam-dunk start for either team. Several Jaguars could be considered potential fill-ins to help during bye weeks, mainly Lawrence, Etienne, Robinson, Christian Kirk and Engram.
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