For the second time in the last three weeks, the New York Giants will take on the Washington Commanders in a pivotal matchup between the division rivals. This time around the Giants will be on the road at FedEx Field and the game has been flexed to Sunday Night Football.
After the tie between the teams two weeks ago, the rematch on Sunday night has become much more important to the playoff chances of both teams.
Washington is coming off a Week 14 bye week. Meanwhile, the Giants are coming off a loss where they were dominated by the first-place Philadelphia Eagles.
With the matchup that resulted in a tie so fresh in both teams’ minds, here are three causes for concern for the Week 15 rematch.
Giants sense of urgency
In the Week 13 matchup against the Commanders, after getting the ball first, the Giants turned it over and quickly fell behind 10-0. After that, they came away with points on their next four drives. Big Blue had plenty of opportunities to put the Commanders away and they just couldn’t move the ball enough late.
This game is as big as it gets when it comes to a regular season game. If there is an opportunity to put the Commanders away on Sunday, Big Blue has to execute and put the game away.
They also need to avoid falling behind early this time around as it would be hard to imagine the Giants overcoming a 10-0 hole against the same team twice in three weeks.
This is something that head coach Brian Daboll has pinpointed ahead of Sunday.
Unfortunately for the Giants, they have shown little urgency over the past month.
Washington is well-rested
The Giants’ bye week was six weeks ago and they haven’t been great, going 1-3-1 since their bye.
Meanwhile, Washington is coming off their bye and are well-rested. The Commanders have essentially been preparing for the Giants for three weeks since they were playing New York twice in a three-week span with no game in between.
Washington's front seven
With the bye week, the Commanders are likely to get back pass rusher Chase Young, so their front seven is getting stronger than they already are.
The Washington pass rush got four sacks on Daniel Jones and limited Saquon Barkley to 63 rushing yards in Week 13.
At the start of the season, when the Giants were 6-1, the offense ran through Saquon Barkley. The offensive line, which has regressed in recent weeks, will have their hands full with Washington’s front seven. Their ability to block in the running game and protect Jones will go a long way to determining who wins on Sunday night.
