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5 players to watch on Sunday in Denver

PLAYERS-TO-WATCH-WEEK-7

Coming off a mini-bye following their divisional victory over the Eagles on Thursday Night Football, the Giants will have had 10 days to prepare for Sunday's game. On the other sideline, the Broncos spent nearly a full week in England prior to their Week 6 win over the Jets in London.

Sunday's game will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2021 and their first matchup in Denver since 2017.

Here are five players to watch in the Week 7 matchup.

QB Jaxson Dart

Jaxson Dart put together the best performance of his young NFL career under the primetime lights last Thursday. The rookie quarterback completed 68.0 percent of his passes for 195 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for a passer rating of 104.6. He also added 58 yards and an additional touchdown on the ground, making him one of just three quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era with 50+ rush yards in each of his first three starts.

Dart looked good under duress against the Eagles. The 22-year-old completed nine of 13 passes (69.2 percent) for 99 yards and a touchdown when the Eagles blitzed. On the six plays the Eagles were actually able to get pressure on him, Dart completed four of six passes for 96 yards, one touchdown and a 149.3 passer rating. Additionally, 46 of his 58 rushing yards came on six scrambles.

He will face his toughest test yet with this matchup against an elite Broncos defense. Denver has the NFL's second-best defense in terms of both points and yards allowed. It is also third in passing yards, second in passing touchdowns, and first in net yards gained per pass attempt. Jets quarterback Justin Fields rushed seven times for 31 yards in last week's game. Other than that, the Broncos have allowed a total of 15 rushing yards to the other five quarterbacks they've faced this season, including matchups against Jalen Hurts and Justin Herbert, among others.

See the top photos from practice as the Giants prepare for their Week 7 matchup against the Broncos.

WR Wan'Dale Robinson

Following his career-best 142-yard outing against the Cowboys in Week 2, Wan'Dale Robinson had a total of nine receptions for 70 yards in his next three games. But the fourth-year receiver was able to get back on track against the Eagles last week with another big performance. Robinson pulled in six receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown, all of which led the team. He made a tremendous play on his touchdown grab, breaking a tackle and beating a few Eagles defenders to the goal line for the score.

It remains to be seen if fellow wideout Darius Slayton will be able to return to the field this weekend. Slayton missed last Thursday's game and has yet to practice this week, putting his status for Week 7 in doubt. Whether or not Slayton is able to play, the Giants are going to need another big performance from Robinson.

The Giants may not want to test cornerback Pat Surtain II too often, as the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year is having yet another dominant season as one of the league's top players. However, Denver's other outside cornerback, Riley Moss, has struggled this year with 18 receptions allowed for 270 yards and two touchdowns, according to PFF. Ja'Quan McMillan, the Broncos' slot corner, has had more success than Moss with 14 receptions allowed for 127 yards and a passer rating against of 86.9.

While he has lined up outside on around 25 percent of the team's offensive snaps, Robinson has primarily played in the slot, meaning he could be seeing plenty of McMillan on Sunday. With the Broncos playing the highest rate of man coverage in the NFL, Robinson will have to take advantage of the snaps where he isn't matched up against Surtain in coverage.

LT Andrew Thomas

When talking about the Giants' most indispensable players, you would be hard-pressed not to include Andrew Thomas in the conversation. Thomas returned to the field in Week 3, close to a year removed from his last game action, and yet the star left tackle picked up right where he left off. After seeing limited action in his first game back, Thomas has played every offensive snap in the last three games and has looked like his normal dominant self.

On 246 offensive snaps, including 130 pass-block snaps, Thomas is credited with a mere two total pressures allowed, according to PFF. He has yet to allow a sack while also playing a significant role in the run game. The veteran tackle is moving people in the run game and creating holes for his running backs in a way we haven't seen from him since his All-Pro 2022 campaign. With all of that said, Thomas will have his toughest task to date with his matchup this weekend.

The Broncos have racked up 30 sacks through their first six games, 10 more than any other team in the NFL. Nik Bonitto leads the league with eight sacks, while Jonathon Cooper has picked up 4.5 himself. While 12 different Broncos players have recorded at least a half-sack this season, Bonitto and Cooper are the two most dangerous pass rushers on the team. In their win over the Jets last week, the Broncos generated 16 pressures on 29 drop backs (55.2 percent), their highest pressure rate of the season, while recording a league-high nine sacks (31.0 percent sack rate). The Giants are going to need Thomas to hold down the left side of the line in order to give Dart some time to operate in the pocket.

OLB Brian Burns

Through the first six weeks of the season, Brian Burns has lived up to the expectations he put on himself during training camp. Burns told the media he wanted to elevate his game to another level, and heading into Week 7, he has done just that. The veteran outside linebacker picked up two sacks of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in last week's win, marking his second multi-sack outing of the season.

Burns has at least one sack in five of six games this season, with a total of seven on the campaign. He ranks third in the NFL in sacks, just one behind Bonitto for the league-lead, while his 11 quarterback hits and nine tackles for loss are both the most on the team.

Similar to Thomas, Burns also might be facing his toughest matchup of the season in Denver. Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles has enjoyed some success since joining the NFL in 2017, but is currently in the midst of his best season yet. Bolles has yet to surrender a sack while allowing just five total pressures on the year, making him PFF's highest-ranked pass blocking tackle heading into Week 7.

Getting pressure on Bo Nix will be paramount to the defense's success this week, as the quarterback's numbers drop significantly when under duress. The second-year pro has completed 21 of 43 pass attempts (48.8 percent) for 186 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for a passer rating of 49.2 when pressured this season. When opponents are unable to get pressure on him, Nix's numbers jump to 112 of 163 (68.7 percent) for 1,091 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 98.5.

S Dane Belton

Dane Belton has been a bit of an unsung hero for the Giants this season. The fourth-year safety has played just 33 percent of the team's defensive snaps, although he did come up with a big play in last week's win over the Eagles. Belton punched the ball out of Eagles running back AJ Dillon's hands after a reception, which Dru Phillips recovered to seal the victory for the Giants. The veteran safety also picked up a pass breakup along with seven total tackles (three solo).

The area in which Belton has made a major impact this season is on special teams, where he currently leads the league with 12 tackles. The 24-year-old has played a part in the Giants' coverage teams being among the best in the NFL. Heading into Week 7, the Giants rank fourth in the league in opponents punt return average at 4.7 and third in the NFL in opponents kickoff return average at 21.7.

When Belton takes the field on defense, he could be lined up against Broncos tight end Evan Engram. The former Giant has picked it up after a slow start to the season with at least four receptions in each of the last three games, including his first touchdown as a Bronco in their Week 5 win over the Eagles. Belton will also be needed on special teams, where Marvin Mims is averaging a solid 12.0 yards per punt return, in addition to 27.1 yards per kickoff return. As a team, Denver ranks 12th in punt return average and 14th in kickoff return average.

View rare photos of the history between the New York Giants and Denver Broncos.

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