Players to watch in primetime Week 8 matchup

Coach Brian Daboll told the media Thursday that the coaching staff would use the full week of practices before making a final determination about the starting offensive line for Monday night. However, he did mention Josh Ezeudu would get the first practice reps at left tackle, so for the sake of this piece, let’s assume the Giants will use the same starting line as last week, which would make Jermaine Eluemunor a key player to watch.

Heading into Week 8, the veteran tackle has been credited with just one sack allowed on the season. Eluemunor has been on the field for every offensive snap this year, totaling 474 offensive snaps and 304 pass block snaps, both of which rank second in the league among offensive tackles. The 29-year-old missed Friday’s practice due to a groin injury, and although Daboll said he’s “hopeful” Eluemunor will be able to play, his situation will need to be monitored. But if he is out there on the field Monday night, Eluemunor would face what could be his toughest test to date.

If Eluemunor is out there at right tackle, then he will be matched up against All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt for essentially the entire game, as the former Defensive Player of the Year almost exclusively lines up across the right tackle. Watt has 4.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hits on the season with three forced fumbles. The 30-year-old has led the NFL in sacks three different seasons, including last year when he racked up 19.5 sacks.

“You watch his tape and all the turnovers that he has and the style that he plays with,” coach Brian Daboll said about Watt. “I mean, he’s one of the best players in the league. He creates issues in the run game. He creates issues in the pass game. He bats balls down. He jumps up and intercepts balls that you’d never think you could be intercepted. He’s got hustle, chase. He’s a dynamic football player. He’s one of the better defensive players in the league. He’s a problem.”

Brian Burns has been heating up the last month. Burns picked up a sack of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts last week, marking the outside linebacker’s third straight game with a sack. Over the last five contests, he has four sacks, eight total quarterback hits, and at least one tackle for loss in every outing. Burns has already set a new career-high with six passes defensed, despite the season being only seven weeks old, and has totaled 27 pressures, two behind Dexter Lawrence for the most on the team.

Burns has a good opportunity to make it four straight games with a sack on Monday night. Steelers right tackle Broderick Jones (17 pressures) and left tackle Dan Moore (12) have surrendered the most pressures among the team’s linemen this season, and by a pretty wide margin. PFF has credited Jones with a team-high six sacks allowed, while Moore is second on the team with two sacks. Burns has been listed as a limited participant at practice this week due to groin and achilles injuries, but the outside linebacker told the media he’s trending in the right direction for Monday’s game.

In last week’s win over the Jets, quarterback Russell Wilson held the ball for over 2.5 seconds on 21 of his 29 pass attempts, something he has done a lot over the last few years. Well, the Giants have generated the highest sack rate (24.4 percent) and seventh-highest pressure rate (55.1 percent) when opposing quarterbacks have held onto the ball for 2.5 seconds or more this season.

“From my experience, I wouldn’t say he’s necessarily tough to take down,” Burns said about the veteran quarterback. “He is hard to find at times, but he does a good job of moving around in the pocket. Sometimes he’s a little deep in the pocket, so you can see him, you can find him.”