4 reasons the Commanders should be concerned about the Giants

Four reasons the Commanders should be concerned about the Giants in Week 11.

Yes, we actually located four reasons the Commanders should be concerned about the Giants.

The Giants Pass Rush

The Giants came into the first game against Washington with only five sacks in six games. But somehow, some way the Giants defensive pass rush thoroughly embarrassed the Commanders throughout the game, recording six quarterback sacks for -52 yards.

Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale

His game plan of blitzes, zone blitzes and stunts so confused the Commanders in the first matchup, the Giants’ front seven absolutely controlled the line of scrimmage for almost the entire game. It was not until the final two possessions that the Commanders put together successful drives.

Saquon Barkley

Barkley is a physical specimen that continues to give the Washington defense trouble. In the first matchup of the two teams, Barkley carried the ball 21 times for 77 yards. He also caught three passes for 41 yards, including a short pass he turned into a 32-yard touchdown pass. Thus, Barkley gained 112 yards from scrimmage.

It is the NY Giants

In the NFC, it seems Washington matches up well with Philadelphia, and the Eagles then match up well against the Cowboys. The Cowboys crush the Giants, and the Giants get the best of the Commanders. Last year, the Commanders, on paper, were the better team, yet all they could manage was a tie and a loss. In the last ten games these teams have played, the Giants are 7-2-1 against Washington.

Some observations from Commanders/Giants overtime period

An in-depth look at the overtime period in Washington’s 20-20 tie with the New York Giants.

Once Sunday’s Commanders-Giants game went into overtime, Fox informed us, the viewers, that the Commanders were the only team without an overtime victory since 2015.

Well, the Commanders remain the only NFL team without an overtime victory since 2015, tying the Giants 20-20 Sunday in MetLife Stadium.

The Giants won the toss and quickly achieved a first down. But on 3rd & 5 from their own 43, Daron Payne sacked Daniel Jones ending the Giants possession. At this point, the Giants had gained only two first downs in their last six offensive possessions.

The Commanders certainly had their opportunity to win in the overtime. Following the Giants’ punt, Washington faced 2nd & 8 from their 35, when Curtis Samuel ran right for 21 yards to the Giants 44. Brian Robinson then ran for three yards to the 41, and on second down, Robinson went the same way toward Charles Leno but was tackled for a three-yard loss at the 44.

On 3rd & 10, Heinicke threw wide to his right to Curtis Samuel, who gained a mere yard. Heinicke doesn’t have the arm to get the ball there quickly enough, so when Samuel made the catch, his doom was sure. So Tress Way punted the ball 29 yards to the Giants 14, and the Commanders would once again need to hope their defense could somehow win the game for them.

After yielding two first downs, the Commanders defense did make a 3rd & 3 stop when Jonathan Allen got to Daniel Jones, for no gain, forcing a Giants punt.

It was here the offense nearly gave away the game. On 1st & 10 from their own 10, the Commanders inexplicably did not block Giants first-round pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux who hit Heinicke from the backside and fortunately did not cause Heinicke to fumble away the game.

The Commanders gave the Giants one more opportunity from the Giants 43-yard line. Following a first down, Graham Gano was surprisingly short from 58 yards. Admit it, we all thought he would make it, didn’t we?

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=none image=https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

When they last met: Washington and NY Giants

These two teams last met in Week 18 in January. A lot has changed for both teams since that time.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Washington 22, NY Giants 7 – Week 18, Jan. 9, 2022

Antonio Gibson accumulated 146 yards in his 21 carries as Washington won their last game of the 2021 season, 22-7 over the Giants at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Gibson enjoyed an 18-yard touchdown in the final quarter putting away the game, and also a 27-yard run in the second quarter, his longest of the day. Jonathan Williams also had a 23-yard run in the third quarter.

Joey Slye was perfect on the day, making his only extra point attempt and all three of his field goal attempts from 23, 43 and 23 yards.

After a low-scoring first half which ended 6-0 on two Slye field goals, safety Bobby McCain picked off a Jake Fromm pass in the third quarter. McCain returned his interception 30 yards for a touchdown, pushing Washington’s lead to 12-0.

Taylor Heinicke and Terry McLaurin connected on a 40-yard pass reception. But other than that, Heinicke only completed 8 of his other 18 attempts for only 120 yards.

McCain actually intercepted a second pass on the day, returning this one nine yards. While Jonathan Allen, James Smith-Williams, William Bradley King and Shaka Toney all contributed .5 of a quarterback sack.

The game being the 2021 season finale for both teams, Washington finished 2021 with a 7-10 record, while the Giants loss sunk them to 4-13. Washington swept the Giants having also won at FedEx Field 30-29 in Week 2.

When they last met: Washington and Philadelphia

The last meeting between these two teams is remembered more for what happened after the game.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Philadelphia 20, Washington 16 – Week 17, January 02, 2022

Leading by halftime by 9 points, the Washington Football Team could not score in the second half, falling to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-16 at Fed Ex Field in Landover.

Washington moved the ball quite well in the first half with drives of 67, 63, 54 and 57 yards resulting in a 11-yard touchdown by Jaret Patterson and three Joey Slye field goals for a Washington 16-7 halftime lead.

However, four second-half offensive possessions resulted in Washington moving the ball -5, 9, 30 and 55 yards. The final WFT drive began on the Washington 25 with the Eagles having taken a 20-16 lead with 2:21 remaining in the game.

Taylor Heinicke completed five consecutive passes moving the ball to the Philadelphia 35. On second down, Heinicke connected with Patterson to the Eagles’ 30. Then Heinicke again found Patterson for 10 yards to the Eagles’ 20 with 30 seconds remaining.

However, on first down, Heinicke attempted to connect with John Bates in the end zone but was intercepted by Rodney McLeod, sealing the come-from-behind win for the Eagles. Washington had built first-half leads of 10-0 and 16-7, yet the Eagles responded, outscoring Washington 13-0 in the second half.

Immediately following the game, as both teams were leaving the field, a security railing being leaned on by several Eagles’ fans collapsed, leaving the fans on the ground and Jalen Hurts whom the Eagles fans were attempting to reach.

 

Washington has enjoyed little success season in finales

Washington has an ugly recent history in season finales. However, as Washington’s coach, Ron Rivera is 1-0 in season finales.

Season finales the past decade have not produced many Washington Football highlight packages.

At least last season (2020) Washington broke the trend, earning a 20-14 win at Philadelphia, clinching the NFC East title.

But 2010-2019 wasn’t pretty for Washington in season finales as they compiled a 2-8 record in those contests. Perhaps strange enough was the fact that Washington in the last 11 seasons has only managed to win a season finale in the three seasons when they qualified for the playoffs.

In 2020, Washington defeated Philadelphia 20-14 to give Ron Rivera the NFC East crown in his first season at the helm. In 2015. Washington marched into Dallas and beat the Cowboys 34-23 before losing to the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the playoffs. The 2012 team won their final seven games including a 28-18 season finale home win over Dallas to finish the season 10-6 atop the NFC East.

On the other hand, the other season finales were forgettable, and that is putting it mildly for more than a few of those games. Some of us recall how Washington seemed to not conclude those seasons soon enough. Washington has been blown out too often in these last games of the year, suggesting the culture of the team was one where they were thinking about hitting the golf courses as soon as possible.

2019 Dallas (16-47)

2018 Philadelphia (0-24)

20017 NY Giants (10-18)

2016 NY Giants (10-19)

2014 Dallas (17-44)

2013 NY Giants 6-20

2011 Philadelphia (10-34)

2010 NY Giants (14-17)

We are all hoping for a Washington Football Team culture change under Ron Rivera. A change that results in the team (despite not making the playoffs) showing up to play the season’s final game with intensity and effort throughout.

How about Washington being a team full of players that want to provide a professional effort in week 18, desiring most of all to go out this season as winners?

Good grief, after the things NY Giants coach Joe Judge said this week (and then attempted to walk back) one would think Washington should certainly be motivated to go out on the field and take it to the Giants, Sunday.

Washington at New York Giants meaningless?

Is Washington’s game against the Giants a meaningless one?

This Week 18 match of Washington at the New York Giants could very easily be the lowest-rated game this weekend. Both teams have disappointed this season, and both teams have turned up the disappointment in this last month.

The Giants look like they began mailing it in a few weeks ago, don’t they? Their last five games the Giants have lost by double digits each time (Miami 20-9, LA Chargers 37-21, Dallas 21-6, Philadelphia 34-10, Chicago 29-3).

Washington was 6-6, riding a four-game winning streak, and actually in the No. 6 NFC playoff spot with five divisional games to play. Washington now has lost the first four of those games (Dallas 27-20, Philadelphia 27-17, Dallas 56-14, Philadelphia 20-16).

I asked a couple of Washington Sports Personalities and friends (Chris Russell and Rick Snider) what they thought of the game, and they were both kind enough to respond, providing their predictions.

Chris Russell currently hosts “Russell and Medhurst” (Pete Medhurst) Monday through Friday at 3-7 PM on The Team 980 AM. Chris invited me to join his team of writers at Sports Illustrated when he was the publisher of the Washington Football Team page. I caused him a lot of grief with my penchant for being long-winded and wanting to talk Washington football history. But he remains a friend today.

Chris: “Both teams’ offenses are wretched but Washington’s is a touch better and healthier. The faster this is over the better.” Washington 13-10.

Writing regularly about Washington NFL football since 1993, Rick Snider is a columnist for 106.7 The Fan and Warpath. He provides informative 2-minute videos on his Youtube channel, and was our senior writer for the  Sports Illustrated Washington Football page managed by Chris Russell.

Rick: “Whomever gets the early lead wins meaningless season finales and Washington has seldom led early all season.” NY Giants 20-17.