Following the Giants embarrassing loss to the Eagles last game, they enter Week 15 facing off against the Washington Commanders in the biggest game of the season. If the Giants pull off the win, they are setting themselves up for the postseason. With a loss – we don’t even want to think about it.
While the Giants tied in their last matchup against Washington, this should not have been the case, but Mike Kafka decided to play a slow, conservative form of offense and gave the Commanders all the time in the world to score and potentially win.
Hopefully the Giants learned their lesson from the previous matchup and come into this game hungry to get a much-needed win. Here are four ways the Giants can take down the Commanders on Sunday Night Football.
4. Dexter Lawrence will dominate against Washington’s backup center
Despite somehow not being in the top 10 at his position in Pro Bowl votes, everyone knows just how dominant Dexter Lawrence has been all season. Entering the Giants matchup against the Commanders, Lawrence will be lined up against Wes Schweitzer, Washington’s backup center who has allowed two sacks in three games played.
Through 14 games this season, Lawrence has racked up 49 combined tackles, seven sacks, 48 total pressures, 28 stops, and one forced fumble. Considering how dominant Lawrence was in the Giants previous matchup, this should be a piece of cake for the future All-Pro member. Against Tyler Larsen, the Commanders original starting center, Lawrence put up nine combined tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and two QB hits.
This is the biggest game of Lawrence’s career and we just know the big man is hungry for a win and a postseason appearance. There is almost no way Schweitzer stands a chance against Lawrence, meaning that the Commanders could throw some double teams at him and open up gaps for other players up front.
Lawrence has dominated the competition game in and game out all season long. If he can continue this level of play and carry the Giants defense this week, the Giants have a very good chance of shutting down the Commanders.
3. Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux will give Taylor Heinicke nightmares
Since returning from injury, Azeez Ojulari has looked nothing but spectacular, racking up three sacks, two forced fumbles, and 10 total pressures in just two games. Ojulari has been the playmaker the Giants have desperately needed on defense all season.
The Giants previous matchup against the Commanders is where Ojulari made his return and it looked like he barely missed a step, racking up a sack, a forced fumble, and seven total pressures. As for Kayvon Thibodeaux, he has been borderline unstoppable in recent weeks, posting one sack, 13 total pressures, and three stops in his last three games. Thibodeaux has put on display a variety of pass-rush moves that we have not really seen before.
These two edge-rushers have been absolutely deadly in recent weeks, and considering their young age, both Ojulari and Thibodeaux are going to be destroying opposing offenses for a very long time.
As for this week’s matchup against the Commanders, we expect more of what we saw in the previous Week 13 game where these two were incredibly dominant against a very solid Commanders offensive line.
2. Mike Kafka will learn from his mistakes and finally coach an aggressive game
Considering how horrid Mike Kafka’s play calling was in the Giants Week 13 matchup against Washington, we are very hopeful he can learn from his mistakes and cook up an offense that will make things difficult for the Commanders.
In Week 13, the Giants started off with their usual slow-paced offense of running the ball and almost never passing. However, after Kafka discovered that Daniel Jones can in fact throw the football, the Giants scored 20 unanswered points.
However, this is where everything went wrong, as after going up 20-13, Kafka shut down the offense, resulting in seven possessions in a row in which the Giants punted the football away. This gross form of offense, if you can even call it that, cost the Giants the game.
There are absolutely zero reasons for any team to take their foot off the gas once they go up against an opponent, especially when said team is only up by one touchdown. However, Kafka did exactly that and the team suffered the consequences.
This week, there are absolutely zero excuses for Kafka not to turn things around and come out slinging against the Commanders. Washington’s defense had almost no answers when Jones threw the ball, so despite the lack of NFL caliber receivers, Kafka must let Jones be aggressive early on.
1. A Daniel Jones masterclass in the biggest game of his career
In the most important season of his young career, Jones enters Week 15 playing in what is undoubtedly the biggest matchup he has seen in the NFL. Considering how strong Jones was when Kafka let him throw the ball in Week 13, we have no doubts Jones is ready to put the Giants on his back and lead them to victory.
In the aforementioned Week 13 matchup, Jones completed 25 of his 31 pass attempts for 200 yards and one TD in addition to running the ball 12 times for 71 yards. Jones gave it his all this game, but it’s just unfortunate that Kafka stopped letting him throw once the Giants took the lead.
Despite having almost nothing around him all season, Jones has proven time and time again that he can get the job done. With how poor the Giants offensive line has performed in recent weeks, Kafka and Jones must both find a way to dominate through the air. Whether it’s taking more deep shots to Darius Slayton, or running a more controlled, slow-paced drive in which the team makes its way down the field and chews the clock, something must change from what we’ve seen in recent weeks.
Regardless of how the Giants decide to go about this game offensively, we know Jones will be ready to cook the Commanders like he usually does. The only thing holding him back is that nasty 0-9 record in primetime games. Let’s hope he gets that first primetime win this Sunday.
4 bold predictions for the NY Giants vs. Commanders on Sunday Night Football
On Sunday night, Daniel Jones and the New York Giants will travel to take on Taylor Heinicke and the Washington Commanders.