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Zach Penrice and Kenny McDonald are back with another preview to get you ready for part 2 of the 2024 Giants vs. Commanders matchup. Buckle up, as these two teams are heading in what looks like opposite directions and there are a ton of storylines to watch out for in week 9.
Find a good spot on your couch and get ready for game time at 1pm.
Nuts & Bolts
Date: November 3, 2024
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Venue: MetLife Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ
How to Watch: FOX
Matchup History: New York leads all time series 108-72-5
Last Meeting: Washington def. New York 21-18 on 9/15/24
Betting Lines: Via DraftKings
Spread: Washington -3.5
Over/Under: 44.5
Zach’s Prediction: Washington 20, New York 16
Kenny's Prediction: New York 21, Washington 24
Official Washington Game Notes: HERE
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Zach Penrice - DMV Sports: https://twitter.com/Zach_DMVSports
Kenny McDonald - Kenny “Football Guy”: https://x.com/Kmac6262
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Head Coach: Brian Daboll (3rd season, 17-24-1 record in New York)
Record: 2-6 (0-3, 4th in NFC East)
Last Time Out: Lost @ Pittsburgh 26-18 on 10/28/24
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Daniel Jones
Kenny’s two things to watch for on Sunday
Nabers needs the ball
In his second game back since suffering a concussion against the Cowboys in Week 4, Malik Nabers recorded 7 receptions for 71 yards in the Giants' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was targeted 13 times by Daniel Jones, the most among all wide receivers on the team. The emphasis is there to keep feeding him the ball, and with that, will come increased efficiency, resulting in more scoring opportunities that the Giants desperately need.
As many remember way back in Week 2, Nabers had himself a coming out party against this same Commanders team. While his good friend Jayden Daniels threw for 226 yards and ran for 44 more, Nabers etched his initials into Giants lore - and in the Northwest Stadium grass - by securing 10 receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown. He was targeted 18 times in that game, and if the Giants want to try and pull off a big upset win against a surging Commanders team, the ball needs to be in Nabers' hands as much as possible. Per NFL Next Gen stats, Nabers tallied 85 yards after the catch and 12.7 yards per reception all while securing the second most receptions of his young career in that Week 2 matchup.
The Giants are 2-6 and the talk of the 2025 draft heading into week 9. For many fans, Nabers is one of the lone bright spots to tune in and watch for every Sunday. Wouldn’t it be nice to see him replicate that Week 2 performance and get Daniel Jones his first touchdown pass in MetLife since 2022? Maybe this is the moment it happens, the Commanders have surrendered 12 passing touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks, per Pro Football Reference, ranking eighth worst in the league. They are also allowing opposing teams into the red zone close to 70% of the time, good for third worst in the league. The writing is on the wall; can Daniel Jones deliver to his star wide receiver?
Sacks Galore
The Giants are first in one category: sacks. They have racked up 35 sacks and wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks through nine weeks. Dexter Lawrence (9), Azeez Ojulari (6) and Brian Burns (5) account for 20 of those sacks. Ojulari has stepped up big time since Kayvon Thibodeaux went down with an injury, picking up five of those sacks in the last three games. This pass rush is giving me shades of those nasty defensive lines that included the likes of Strahan, Tuck and Umenyiora. They have four guys that can rush the passer with physicality and aggressiveness, the two latter words important to Shane Bowen’s vocabulary.
The pass rush shouldn’t miss a beat heading into Week 9. Funny enough, the Giants 5 sacks in Week 2 came from the linebacking corps and defensive backs but not from the big boys upfront. That is also a season high mark in sacks allowed on Jayden Daniels by the Commanders offensive line, who have been very good at keeping their quarterback on his feet. Daniels is also an elusive runner, who I believe will be much harder to take down in this matchup given he is beginning to process his reads faster and recognizes when the pocket is collapsing. For the Giants to have success against him this week, they will need Bobby Okereke to spy him and make sure they put an emphasis on rushing him off of the edge to keep him from using outside runs to his advantage.
Dexter Lawrence may get triple teamed on every play, but the likes of Brian Burns, Azeez Ojulari, Bobby Okereke, Jason Pinnock and Tyler Nubin will need to put pressure on the Commanders backfield. Shane Bowen should continue to dial up blitz packages for this defense and take some risks to put the Giants in a position to make big plays. The corners need all the help they can get in managing the likes of Terry McLaurin in this matchup. Having the pass rush and blitz do their job in stopping the Commanders from getting the ball down the field is an absolute must.
The sacks will come, but time will tell if the Giants continue to rack them up in one of their biggest tests of the season.
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Head Coach: Dan Quinn (1st season, 6-2 record in Washington)
Record: 6-2 (1-0, 1st in NFC East)
Last Time Out: Won vs. Chicago 18-15 on 10/27/24
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Jayden Daniels
Zach’s two things to watch for on Sunday
Red Zone Offense
In their Week 2 meeting with the Giants, Washington struggled in the red zone like never before, or since. The Commanders offense moved the ball inside the Giants 20 yard line five times, settling for field goals on all five trips.
It was Kicker Austin Seibert’s first game with the team, and he was asked to kick seven field goals that day, converting all seven to give Washington a 21-18 victory. If you ask the Giants, they’d likely say that the reason they lost the game was their lack of a healthy kicker, forcing them to go for it on fourth down on multiple occasions where they otherwise would have kicked a field goal.
Looking back for Washington, it was Jayden Daniels’ second ever NFL game and his first career win, coming off a tough Week 1 loss in Tampa Bay.
On the year, Washington ranks 24th in the NFL in red zone offense, largely because of that performance in Week 2. However, the Commanders boast a whopping 85.7% touchdown rate in the red zone away from home, which is 1st in the league. Something will have to give on Sunday in East Rutherford - either the Giants will continue to find success in stopping the Commanders offense in the red zone, or the Commanders top road red zone offense will continue to thrive and Washington will increase their lead atop the NFC East.
Jayden Daniels
Jayden Daniels against the Bears in week 8 // USA Today
I struggled to decide if my second thing to watch for would be the defense or Washington’s rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Head Coach Dan Quinn has kicked his defense into gear throughout the year, particularly over the past two weeks, allowing just 22 total points in the last eight quarters of play against Carolina and Chicago.
I expect the defense to find success in stopping New York on Sunday, but the bigger question is if Jayden Daniels can get out of this mini-funk he’s been in the past few weeks. After a great performance in a loss to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens a few weeks back, Daniels threw just two passes before suffering an injury against Carolina and then was shut down for most of the game last week against Chicago. The 2024 #2 overall pick threw for 326 yards and a touchdown in the win, but 52 of those yards and the lone touchdown pass came on the last second Hail Mary to win the game. Along with that, he completed a season-low 55% of his passes.
In fact, in the last three games he has started and finished, his once league-leading completion percentage has suffered as he’s completed just under 60% of his passes in those contests. In the Week 2 win over New York, Daniels threw for 226 yards on 23/29 passing and led Washington to its first victory of the season.
Now, Daniels and the Commanders have a golden opportunity to increase the lead in the NFC East and move to 7-2 on the year, a record that I don’t think anyone saw coming before the start of the season.
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