The New York Giants head down to the nation’s capital to face their division rivals, the Washington Commanders, on national television this Sunday night.
Here are five things to know about the Week 15 game.
An unusual 'back-to-back' matchup
The Giants and Commanders faced each other at MetLife Stadium two weeks ago. The teams tied, 20-20. The Giants played the Philadelphia Eagles last week, losing 48-22, but the Commanders had a bye, manning they’ll be facing the Giants in consecutive games.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is the third time since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger that a team will play the same opponent in consecutive games. The other instances happened in 1991 (Seattle-San Diego) and last year (Cleveland-Baltimore).
This will be the first time the Giants have been an opponent in consecutive games since November 20 and 27, 1960 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
A lot at stake
Both teams head into the game at 7-5-1. This game will serve as the tiebreaker between the two teams should they be deadlocked at season’s end.
The Giants are 1-4-1 since Week 8 while the Commanders are 4-1-1.
Big Blue is 0-3-1 versus NFC East opponents this season and are trying to become the first NFL team since 2002 to qualify for the postseason with less than two division wins (they also play the Eagles in Week 18).
A rare Sunday night game
The Giants have only played three times on Sunday night since 2017. Their last victory was on October 15th of that year, a 23-10 win over the Broncos in Denver.
This is the Giants’ third appearance on national television this season. Their other two games were against Dallas on Thanksgiving Day and on Monday night in Week 3.
The Washington franchise is 19-18-1 all-time on Sunday Night Football. It is the first time they have hosted Sunday Night Football since Week 3 of the 2017 season versus Oakland.
Washington is 5-2 in seven primetime games under head coach Ron Rivera. They have a .714 winning percentage over that span — the highest in the NFC.
Saquon flaming out
Giants running back Saquon Barkley began this season with a bang, putting up big numbers while leading the Giants to a 7-2 record in the first nine games. He was on pace to lead the NFL in total yards from scrimmage.
Over the last four games, however, Barkley has cooled down considerably. He has gained just 152 rushing yards and caught only 13 passes for a total of 64 yards while scoring twice.
The Giants are 0-3-1 over that span.
Giants defense crumbling
The Giants’ defense is beginning to crack, mainly due to the many injuries they’ve incurred as the season has unfolded.
Over the first nine games, they allowed just 19.2 points per game. Over their last four, they’ve permitted 31.7 points per contest.
Their offense can’t keep up with that as they have scored more than 24 points just once this entire season.
The defense has been getting shredded on the ground. Philadelphia ran for 235 yards last week and the Giants had been allowing an average of 164 yards rushing over the prior three weeks leading into that game.
