10 things to watch in Giants vs. Ravens

One week after facing the tough task of slowing down Saints running back Alvin Kamara, the Giants’ defense has another difficult challenge coming to MetLife Stadium Sunday. The soon-to-be 31-year-old Derrick Henry is having one of the best seasons of his nine-year NFL career in his debut campaign with the Ravens. Through 13 games, Henry has carried the ball 240 times for 1,407 yards, good for a career-high 5.9 yards per carry, and a league-high 13 rushing touchdowns. He’s also caught 13 passes for another 125 yards and an additional two touchdowns, giving him a league-leading 15 total touchdowns on the season.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 247 pounds, Henry is quite possibly the most physically imposing running back in the NFL. The veteran back has racked up a whopping 51 missed tackles forced, along with an impressive 3.53 yards after contact per attempt. After spending six seasons with Henry in Tennessee, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen knows how big of a challenge his defense faces this weekend.

“I think the first thing is just the size,” Bowen said about Henry. “He’s an outside linebacker playing running back. He’s 250-plus pounds. Runs hard. It’s going to be tough if you let him get downhill. Tough to bring down one-on-one. You’ve got to get hats to the ball. It’s going to take more than one guy. Probably the best stiff-arm guy ever. He uses it as a weapon. Just in my time there, seeing some of the things he was able to do with the stiff arm gives me nightmares this week.

“But he’s a special player and we’ve got to make sure we do a good job of hopefully keeping him bottled up. And the thing that’s unique about him is if he has the crease and he’s rolling, he takes it the distance. He makes your pay, and guys don’t catch him and that’s showing up this year as well.”

Lamar Jackson is putting together yet another dominant season. One year after taking home his second NFL MVP award, Jackson is completing 67.0 percent of his passes for 3,290 yards, 29 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Jackson leads all quarterbacks with a 116.3 passer rating on the season, in addition to his 8.7 yards gained per attempt.

In terms of his rushing, Jackson is up to 678 yards on the ground to go with his 6.1 yards per rush attempt and three rushing touchdowns. Put it all together and Jackson is playing like one of the best players in the league, something Daboll acknowledged on Wednesday.

“This guy’s one of the best players, not just best quarterbacks, best players in the National Football League,” the head coach said. “He’s dynamic in every facet of the game. If he’s running it, then he’s not throwing it. If he’s throwing, he’s not running. He can do it all. He is really a fun player to watch, not when you’re getting ready to play him. He’s a dynamic, dynamic football player.”

Daboll added, “He’s a heck of a player. Those quarterbacks that are multidimensional quarterbacks that can hurt you with their arm and their legs, those are tough quarterbacks to defend. There’s a number of them that have come out here the last few years that are very difficult to defend. Each year he’s played, he’s gotten more experience. But he’s an extremely gifted individual. He’s a headsy player. He’s instinctive. The moment’s never too big for him. He can make guys miss with his legs. He can scramble for seven, eight, nine seconds and find guys downfield with his arm. Very good in the red zone. He’s one heck of a quarterback and one heck of a football player.”

While Derrick Henry is considered a physical specimen on the offensive side of the ball, Kyle Hamilton offers a similar size mismatch on the defensive side of the ball. The 6-foot-4, 224-pound defender is listed as a safety, but the Ravens line him up all over the field with over 200 snaps in the box, at free safety and in the slot in addition to nearly 60 snaps on the defensive line. After the success he’s had in the NFL, especially since the start of last season, it’s no wonder the Ravens deploy him in numerous positions across the defense.

Hamilton was named first-team All-Pro last year after he registered 81 tackles (63 solo), three sacks, 10 tackles for loss, four interceptions and 13 passes defensed. The 23-year-old is having a similarly dominant season this year, as he has already topped last year’s tackle total with 88, and in two fewer games. While the Ravens have talented players on all three levels of their defense, Hamilton is one player that you must account for on every play.

“He’s everywhere,” Kafka said about the Ravens safety. “He’s all over the field. He plays safety, he plays nickel, he plays inside linebacker and he is a talented player. He can handle all that. He’s a smart player out of Notre Dame. I remember watching him a couple years ago in that first round, as you’re peeking at guys that are potentially going to be in that first round order both offensively and defensively. I know guys that liked him a lot and he was a good player.”

The Giants made numerous roster moves this week, starting on Tuesday with cornerback Tre Hawkins being placed on injured reserve due to a back injury. In a corresponding move, the Giants signed cornerback Greg Stroman off their practice squad. Hawkins made his first start of the season this past Sunday and picked up the team’s first interception since the season opener while adding six tackles (four solo). Stroman was out of practice squad elevations after being promoted from the practice squad three times.

The Giants also added four players to their practice squad: quarterback Tim Boyle, who was released on Saturday, two weeks after he was signed; defensive tackle Ross Blacklock, who played in 44 games with three starts for Houston, Minnesota, Jacksonville, and Tennessee from 2020-23; cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe, who played in six games for the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs, and cornerback Azizi Hearn, who has never played in an NFL regular-season game.

The Giants also designated center Jimmy Morrissey as practice squad/injured.

The roster moves continued on Wednesday when safety Tyler Nubin was placed on injured reserve due to the ankle injury he suffered against the Saints. Heading into Week 14, Nubin was tied with Bobby Okereke for the most tackles on the team after he had missed just two defensive snaps all season. His rookie season will end with 98 total tackles (57 solo), four tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one pass defensed.

Center Austin Schlottmann, who has spent the entire season on injured reserve after breaking his leg in the preseason, was designated to return to practice.

Additionally, the Giants signed cornerback Divaad Wilson from the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. Wilson originally signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He has played in four games with one start over the last two seasons and has totaled five tackles (four solo).

The Giants also signed offensive tackle Jalen McKenzie to the practice squad. McKenzie has yet to appear in a game after going undrafted in 2022.