The New York Giants are at the bottom of the NFC East, but after an aggressive offseason, the franchise is making it clear it wants to get back to the top of the division. Sitting at the top of the division is the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles and a Washington Commanders team that took the league by surprise last season. If the Giants are going to compete with those two squads in 2025, New York will need to significantly improve, but Washington and Philly will also need to regress some.
The Eagles are built so well that hoping for a regression is a pointless exercise. The Commanders, on the other hand, have some clear weaknesses that could result in a step back this season. In a reason Bleacher Report piece, looking at one flaw that could derail 10 Super Bowl contenders, Moe Moton looked at Washington’s biggest weakness.
Moton pointed out the Commanders’ lackluster pass-rushing defensive front as the thing that could ultimately throw their season off course.
Commanders could regress in 2025 due to concerning defensive line
Explaining that Washington’s biggest current issue, Terry McLaurin being frustrated with his contract, can be fixed with a simple extension, Moton went on to detail how there isn’t a quick easy fix for the concerning defensive line. Entering the season, the Commanders won’t be expected to consistently pressure the quarterback, because they don’t appear to have the players to do so.
"Washington lost its 2024 sack leader, Dante Fowler Jr., in free agency. It needs defensive tackle Daron Payne to get after the quarterback as he did in 2022 with 11.5 sacks, or Dorance Armstrong must take a significant leap in his second year as a full-time starter on the edge... Without a consistent push up front, though, the Commanders can find themselves in several scoring shootouts because of their lackluster pass rush."Moe Moton (Bleacher Report)
Washington found themselves in quite a few close games in 2024, and they won a lot of them thanks to the offense. However, as Moton pointed out, that’s not a recipe for sustainable success. The key to consistently winning in the league is to have a defense— specifically a defense line —that can close games out. There’s no indication Washington will have that in 2025.
While that could be bad news for Commanders fans hoping to enter an era of dominance, it’s great news for the Giants, who are trying to find their footing in the NFC East. If Washington drops a few games because they can’t close them out, that could be just the window of opportunity needed for New York to get back in the mix. Of course, this all depends on the Giants making strides in the right direction.