Players to Watch in Week 15 matchup

After going two straight games without getting to the quarterback, Brian Burns had a strong performance against the Saints. The veteran outside linebacker picked up his seventh sack of the season in addition to his second forced fumble, while adding two quarterback hits and two tackles for loss. According to Pro Football Focus, Burns led the Giants with five total pressures, marking his sixth game this season with five or more pressures.

Burns is now up to 47 total pressures on the season, seven more than his 2023 total which came across 16 games. He has now reached seven sacks in every season of his NFL career, while his eight passes defensed are already twice as much as his previous career-high. Burns and the rest of the Giants’ pass rush will have their hands full this weekend, as Lamar Jackson is one of the league’s most difficult quarterbacks to take down. The Ravens have allowed just 19 sacks this season, tied for the third-fewest in the league. However, the Eagles were able to take Jackson down for three sacks in the Ravens’ last game back in Week 13.

The Giants’ run defense has struggled for most of this season, but the unit put together perhaps its most impressive performance of the year last week. Saints running backs Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller and Jamaal Williams combined for 30 rush attempts on Sunday, but totaled just 81 yards on those carries, good for an average of 2.7 yards per carry. Micah McFadden played a significant role in the unit’s success against the Saints as he finished with a career-high five tackles for loss, all of which came in the run game. In fact, McFadden stuffed six Saints rushes for no gain or a loss, the most in a game by any defender this season. His 15 run stuffs on the year are now tied for the fifth-most in the NFL.

Whether or not Bobby Okereke is able to play this weekend, the Giants are going to need McFadden and the rest of the run defense to step up in a big way. The Ravens enter Week 15 ranking No. 1 in the NFL in both total rushing yards and rushing yards per attempt, while their 407 rush attempts are the fourth-most. Running back Derrick Henry is not only one of the most talented running backs in the NFL, but he is also the most physically imposing running back. The 30-year-old back is averaging a career-high 5.9 yards per carry with a league-high 13 rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile, Jackson’s 6.1 yards per carry is tied with Saquon Barkley for the highest in the NFL, with the mobile quarterback totaling 678 yards on the ground this season.