The New York Giants (2-12) head down to Georgia to face the Atlanta Falcons (7-7) on Sunday afternoon in a game that has postseason implications — for the Falcons, that is.
Here are five things to know before Sunday’s Week 16 kickoff.
The series
This will be the 26th regular season meeting between the clubs since Atlanta entered the NFL as an expansion team in 1966. The Falcons have a 14-11 edge in the regular season with the Giants winning the only postseason meeting, in the 2011 NFC Wild Card round.
This will be only the Giants’ second game at Mercedes Benz Stadium. They lost the first meeting there, 23-20, on October 22, 2018.
Atlanta has won three straight and four of the last five games against New York. The Falcons’ victories in the three most recent games have been by four, three, and three points.
The Giants’ most recent victory in the series was on October 16, 2014, by a score of 30-20 at MetLife Stadium.
QB shuffling on both sides
The Giants are still deciding who will be their starting quarterback for this game. Tommy DeVito suffered a concussion in last week’s game against Baltimore and was relieved by Tim Boyle. He is still in the protocol. Drew Lock, who started the previous two weeks, missed last week’s game with heel and elbow issues and will be evaluated for duty this week.
The Falcons have benched veteran starter Kirk Cousins in favor of this year’s first-round pick, Michael Penix Jr. Head coach Raheem Morris stated the reason for the change very plainly. Cousins wasn’t getting the job done.
The Falcons surprised everyone with the selection of Penix with the eighth overall pick this past April and this will be his first NFL start. He has played in two games this season but has thrown just five passes as a pro.
What's at stake
For the Giants — nothing. Their season ended long ago and they are just simply trying to get through the next month without getting any key players seriously injured. They have a massive injury report and are either near — or at — the bottom of every major offensive statistical category that matters. They are currently in line to select second overall in the 2025 NFL draft.
The Falcons (7-7) are currently in second place in the NFC South, one game behind Tampa Bay (8-6). They are ninth in the NFC seeding at the moment, but their best bet to make the postseason would be to win their division.
They defeated the Bucs in both head-to-head meetings this season, so the Falcons own the tiebreaker should it come to that.
Tale of the tape
The Falcons are 9th in the NFL overall in total offense and 20th in total defense. The Giants are 29th in total offense and 21st in defense.
The Giants are dead lately in points per game on offense (14.9) and are 20th in points allowed (23.4). Atlanta is 21st in points scored (20.9) and 25th in points allowed (24.4).
The Giants are allowing opponents 143.7 yards per game on the ground (31st). The Falcons are averaging 124.2 yards rushing per game, 12th in the NFL this season.
London calling
The Giants didn’t go to London this season, but London will sure be coming to them.
Drake London, that is, Atlanta’s star wide receiver. The former USC standout is having his best season. He has career highs in catches (78), receiving yards (919) and receiving touchdowns (7) with three games remaining on the schedule.
London is one of five players with 11+ games (11) with 50+ receiving yards in 2024. He has had a touchdown catch in three of his past four games at home.
With the Giants missing so many starters in the secondary these days, London will be a player to watch on Sunday.