Giants hoping to exploit Landon Collins’ big weakness

The Giants admired and came to depend on many attributes Landon Collins brought to the field. Collins is doing many of those same things in his first season with one of the Giants’ NFC East rivals.

The Redskins in three games took 206 snaps on defense, and Collins has been there for every one of them. His 22 solo tackles leads the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Opposing quarterbacks have targeted him 12 times and Collins has allowed 11 receptions, tied for the third-most in the league.

The matchup on tap Sunday is one the Giants grew to understand was not well-suited to Collins’ skill-set. Evan Engram is a gifted pass-catching tight end, and the Giants will be pleased to look up and see Collins lined up to cover him, if that is how the Redskins decide to go.

“They do a lot of stuff with him,’’ Engram said. “I’m watching him more now than when he was here. He’s still a great player, definitely one of the leaders on their defense, and he’s going to be flying around. Coming in the box, making good plays and doing what he does. It’s going to be a challenge.”

The two saw plenty of one another in practices the past three years, so familiarity is part of the intrigue.

“I don’t really think either of us have an edge over anything,’’ Engram said.

You can be sure the Redskins will try to run it early and often with Adrian Peterson, who is not exactly off to a blazing start (22 rushing attempts for 62 yards). It is going to be quite a crew at inside linebacker for the Giants, with injuries to starter Alec Ogletree (hamstring) and erstwhile starter Tae Davis (concussion) making both unavailable. Rookie Ryan Connelly will make his third start and again make the defensive calls. The other inside linebacker spot will be manned by David Mayo with Nate Stupar behind him.

Mayo, claimed off waivers Sept. 1, started four games in four years for the Panthers. Stupar, primarily a special teams player, did not make the final cut and was re-signed this week.

“We have enough,’’ inside linebackers coach Bill McGovern said. “The guys have been working at it. We’re looking forward to it. It’s a great challenge.’’

Rookie first-round pick Dexter Lawrence is coming off his best game, and his blocked extra point in the first quarter turned out to be a significant play in a 32-3 win over the Buccaneers.

“Dexter’s a big man,’’ special teams coach Thomas McGaughey said. “A very big man: 6-5, 340 pounds. If you don’t play with good leverage against Dex, you could have a long day. He’s one of the biggest men I’ve ever coached in my life, if not the biggest. But he is very powerful. A very powerful man. He understands leverage. He really does. He knows that once he gets underneath people, he can make people move.’’

It has already been a long season for Redskins coach Jay Gruden. His team is 0-3, his best player (left tackle Trent Williams) is a holdout, his roster is injury-depleted, and fans want to see rookie Dwayne Haskins take over at quarterback. It is no wonder Gruden, asked how he is doing on a conference call, said “Super.’’

Gruden could be fired if he loses to the Giants, according to the Washington Post.