EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Seven New York Giants starters will miss Sunday night’s matchup with the Denver Broncos. That includes their top three wide receivers -- Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard.
Shepard (ankle) was one of six key players ruled out on Friday. He is dealing with a sprained ankle.
Coach Ben McAdoo is trying to use it all as motivation.
“We’ve got a great opportunity. There is nobody giving us a chance in hell to win this ballgame,” McAdoo said of his message to the team. “People don’t think we can score a point without [No.] 13. They think our defense has lost its stinger, special teams isn’t important to the whole locker room. So we’re going to find out what we’re made out of on a big stage. I think we have a good football team.”
That team will be without more than a few players. Shepard, linebacker Jonathan Casillas, defensive ends Olivier Vernon and Romeo Okwara, running back Paul Perkins and center Weston Richburg were all officially ruled out for Sunday night on this week's injury report. All-Pro safety Landon Collins was also listed as questionable, and Beckham, Marshall and kick returner Dwayne Harris were placed on season-ending injured reserve earlier this week.
To compound their personnel problems, cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. They will "revisit" that situation early next week, but it has hovered over the team in the lead-up to a tough, prime-time matchup.
All this could be trouble for the Giants, especially on the offensive side of the ball, where the Giants were having trouble (16.4 points per game) even before all the injuries. Now they will be severely shorthanded without four wide receivers, a running back and their starting center.
Still, McAdoo is trying to present a united front. He sees reason for optimism that his team can score points against the league’s top defense.
“Practice,” he used as his explanation. “Watching the way we practice and watching the way we execute in practice. Seeing the run game going.”
Orleans Darkwa is likely to be the starter at running back and split time with rookie Wayne Gallman. That's not a major change. The Giants went with that combination last week, when they had a season-high 152 yards rushing.
The wide receivers group, however, will be overhauled.
Roger Lewis was the last man standing in Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Giants re-signed Tavarres King and elevated rookie Travis Rudolph and Ed Eagan to fill out the roster this week. They will be facing one of the league’s best secondaries, which features Pro Bowl cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris.
“I know they’re physical corners, good corners,” Lewis said. “Talib has been playing in the league for a while; he’s smart. But at the end of the day, it’s just football and just go out and do what I do.”
Given the circumstances, it could prove difficult. The Broncos (3-1) are coming off their bye week and the short-handed Giants (0-5) are looking for their first victory of the season.
