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Fact or Fiction: X-factors and keys vs. Cardinals

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The Giants.com crew is presented with four statements and must decide whether they are Fact or Fiction.

Jevón Holland will have an interception or force a fumble for the fourth consecutive game to start the season.

John Schmeelk: Fiction – I'm just playing the odds here. No other Giant in the past 30 years has had four takeaways in the team's first three games. It's really hard to force takeaways even though Holland has made it look fairly easy in the first three weeks. The most impressive part of the interceptions and forced fumbles is that none of them were gifts. No tipped balls. No errant throws right to him. He either made elite mental or physical plays on all his interceptions and fumbles. He has had a spectacular start to the season and is very deserving of the defensive player of the month award.

Dan Salomone: Fact – For the record, this will count if he forces a fumble that the Giants don't recover. Just something to keep in mind. Interceptions might be hard to come by. Jacoby Brissett has a 1.4 career interception rate (33 interceptions in 2,363 attempts), the lowest in NFL history with a minimum of 1,500 pass attempts. But Holland has been making history of his own.

Matt Citak: Fiction – This has less to do with Holland more to do with Jacoby Brissett. The veteran quarterback enters this matchup with the lowest interception rate of any quarterback in NFL history. A lot of it has to do with his hesitancy to throw downfield. Of his 113 pass attempts on the season, 85 of them have been either behind the line of scrimmage or 0-9 air yards. His completion percentage on those throws comes in at 81.2 percent, while he has only completed 13 of 28 throws 10+ yards downfield. His tendency to play it safe in the passing game might make it hard for Holland to come down with another interception. Holland will still find a way make a big impact, but it will come in ways other than a takeaway.

The key to Sunday's game is containing rookie running back Jeremiyah Love.

John Schmeelk: Fact – Everything starts with the run game, especially in a Sean McVay-style offensive system that Mike LaFleur brought to the Arizona Cardinals. They want to successfully run the football and then run play-action passes that look identical to the running plays. What makes Love particularly dangerous is his penchant for big runs. Even though he doesn't have a run for more than ten yards so far this season, his college tape is littered with explosive runs. He is very adept and bouncing runs outside and getting to the perimeter where he can use his speed to pull away from the defense. The Giants edge defenders and cornerbacks are going to have to be very disciplined.

Dan Salomone: Fact – Like Arvell Reese, the top-five pick is settling in as a pro and becoming a game-changer. "Usually I'm the type of guy that likes to finesse and juke and do a lot of extra stuff," Love said this week, according to the Cardinals' team website. "The more carries I was getting, I was getting back to my old self and trying to finesse a little bit."

Matt Citak: Fiction – The Cardinals leaned on the rookie last week, which led to 109 yards and a touchdown on 26 total touches. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar workload this week, but to me, the key to Sunday's game is containing someone else on the Arizona offense – Trey McBride. The versatile tight end ranked second in the NFL with 126 receptions last year and is already up to 24 receptions for 211 yards and two touchdowns this season. McBride has no fewer than eight receptions in each game while seeing double-digit targets every week. He has become Jacoby Brissett's most consistent target, and containing him will be key to the defense's success.

View photos of the Giants on the practice field as they prepare for their Week 4 matchup against the Cardinals.

The Giants will have more carries than pass attempts for the third time in four games.

John Schmeelk: Fact – As long as the score of the game doesn't dictate otherwise, I think this is going to be the Giants' goal in every game this year. I expect them to continue to be a very heavy run team again this week since the score should remain close throughout the game.

Dan Salomone: Fact – As long as John Harbaugh is head coach of the New York Football Giants, you can pencil in "fact" and be right more often than not. It doesn't look like it will be as bad as last week, but there is some rain in the forecast again for Sunday. Najee Harris is also getting going, so look for him against the Cardinals.

Matt Citak: Fact – It may not be as wide of a margin as last week (33 rush attempts to 22 pass attempts), as the weather played a factor in the Week 3 game plan, but I do still expect more carries than passes against the Cardinals. The Giants rank seventh in the NFL in rush attempts through the first three weeks, while their 83 pass attempts rank 27th. This is an offense that wants to play big, physical, bully ball, and unless they fall behind big, I'm not sure that changes against a Cardinals defense that ranks towards the bottom of the league in rushing yards and yards per attempt allowed.

The Giants' X-factor in Week 4 is rookie linebacker Arvell Reese.

John Schmeelk: Fiction – I am going with Abdul Carter. The Giants need to get their pass rusher going against a pocket passer without a ton of mobility like Jacoby Brissett. If he is allowed to sit in the pocket, he can pick a defense apart, especially with weapons like Trey McBride, Michael Wilson, and Marvin Harrison Jr. Former Buckeye and first-round pick Paris Johnson Jr. is their left tackle, but Elijah Wilkinson on the right side might be someone Carter can attack with his speed rush.

Dan Salomone: Fact – We're starting to see the plays he made in camp show up in games. And that's a dangerous proposition for opponents. Reese broke onto the scene last week and is on track to stay there.

Matt Citak: Fact – Reese is coming off the most dominant performance of his young NFL career. His 12 defensive tackles were tied for the most by any Giants rookie since they were officially tracked in 1994, and he also added a nice open field tackle on special teams. On top of that, the rookie performed well in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. Reese surrendered just three receptions for 14 yards, which earned him a passer rating against of just 79.2. Through three games, Reese ranks first among rookies and second in the entire NFL with 18 solo tackles. Only Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean (22) has more. Whether it's matching up at times in coverage against Trey McBride or rushing the quarterback in the wake of Brian Burns' injury, Reese's play could go a long way in helping the Giants start 3-1.

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