The eyes of the NFL world will be watching FedEx Field Sunday night in one of the top games of the weekend.
The Washington Commanders and New York Giants enter Week 15 with identical 7-5-1 records. The Commanders hold the No. 6 spot in the NFC playoff race, with the Giants right behind them hanging onto the final spot.
Sunday’s game has major playoff implications, particularly after their first meeting in Week 13 ended in a 20-20 tie. According to Football Outsiders, the winner of Sunday’s NFC East battle has around a 90% chance of making the postseason.
To get us better prepared for Sunday’s game, we spoke with Giants Wire managing editor Dan Benton for a preview of the rematch.
What do the Giants need to do on offense against the Commanders this time around?
Dan Benton: Pass protection is a big key. Game film over the past several weeks has shown the potential for big plays but the limited time Daniel Jones has received in the pocket has prevented the Giants from connecting. Not only that, it has put the underneath targets at risk and against the Eagles, we saw that actually lead to an injury. One way to help combat that is to get the ground game working again, but the interior line has fallen apart and rookie Evan Neal isn’t getting the job done at right tackle. Saquon Barkley and the other backs have been getting hit at the point of the handoff, leading to more negative plays. It’s a vicious cycle at the moment.
The Commanders seemed to have stopped New York’s running game in the second half two weeks ago. Is Daniel Jones the key to the running game vs. Washington?
DB: Fair or unfair, Daniel Jones is the key to everything right now. Very few are getting the job done around him, so the onus falls squarely on his shoulders. And that’s not an exaggeration. He’s their leading passer, leading rusher, and second-highest graded run blocker over the past month. The only thing he’s not doing is throwing the ball to himself. So on Sunday night against Washington, he’s going to have to find a way to win by any means necessary. If that means calling his own number 20 times, so be it
Taylor Heinicke had success against New York’s pass defense. Is that a concern heading into Sunday?
DB: The Giants are so thin in the secondary it’s become a constant concern. Adoree Jackson and Xavier McKinney are still out, Aaron Robinson is on IR, Nick McCloud has an illness and Julian Love is burning out due to overuse. They’ve resorted to playing guys out of position and relying on practice squad elevations just to fill out depth. The pass rush really has to create organic pressure in order to lighten the load on the back end.
How healthy are the Giants this time around?
DB: In what has become an unexplainable trend, the Giants are once again one of the NFL’s most-injured teams. For 10 years they’ve finished in the bottom-5 in terms of health and are on pace to do so again. They will be without at least three starters on Sunday night (not including McKinney or others on IR) and could be without five more depending on how things progress over the weekend. They will most definitely be limping into the Week 15 game.
What did the Giants do well in last week’s loss to the Eagles?
DB: Nothing. Literally, nothing. It was the ugliest performance of the entire season and felt a lot like the Joe Judge era. They were committing penalties, dropping passes, failing in their protections, missing tackles and assignments, the coaches failed to adjust, the clock management was suspect and the only real success came in desperation moments and garbage time.
Prediction?
DB: If the Giants had come into this game with any level of health, I’d feel a lot more optimistic about their chances. But since they’ve gone in the opposite direction on the injury report, it’s hard to believe they’re going to be able to overcome all of that on the road. And while Daniel Jones has typically played very well at FedEx Field, he’s also 0-9 in his career in primetime. As a team, the Giants haven’t won in primetime in 11 straight contests. Even with their playoff lives on the line, I don’t think they get it done. Washington also has the advantage based on the scheduling quirk. Commanders 27, Giants 23
