'Skins Week Thirteen Preview: vs. New York Giants

When the Giants beat the Skins in Week 1, it looked like it would be a long season for Campbell & Co. But Week 13 shows the teams’ stats much closer than you’d guess from their respective records.

The Stats You’d Expect: Despite a discrepancy in their division of labor, both teams are rushing -- uhhh -- giants. New York leads the league in total rushing yards thanks to a trio of backs: Derrick Ward, Brandon Jacobs, and Ahmad Bradshaw. Washington boasts the individual leader in rushing yards this season, Clinton Portis, whose performance helps put the Skins third overall in rushing offense. The Giants also lead the league in points per game.

And the Ones You Never Thought You’d See: Washington’s defense is actually ranked higher than New York's G-Men; the Skins are 3rd to the Giants’ 5th. New York is slightly better against the run – and by slightly, we mean 6th to the Skins 7th – while the Skins have dominated against the pass. Both defenses are allowing, on average, the same amount of points per game. The Giants have the advantage, however, in two game-changing areas: sacks and interceptions. But then again, Jason Campbell doesn’t throw many of those.

Since the fall of the unbeaten Titans Sunday, the Giants at 10-1 are heirs apparent for “best in the league” honors right now (though go figure -- both teams’ only loss was by the same number of points). The Skins can’t outmatch the Giants point for point, so they need to keep the game from becoming a scoring contest. Jason Campbell and Santana Moss were the winning combination behind Washington’s only score against the Giants this season, so Zorn will probably utilize the duo early and often with a healthy dose of Portis.