The Washington Commanders are facing off against the New York Giants in a pivotal NFC East battle on Thursday Night Football. Here are three keys to securing a victory.
1. Keep pressure off Jayden Daniels.
Here is one thing we know about the Giants' plans to beat the Commanders: they are going to put pressure on Daniels.
The Giants' defense has continued to improve from the last time the two teams squared off in Week 5. They are now fifth in yards allowed and third against the pass, allowing just 178 yards through the air. Part of that is a credit to how much pressure they put on opposing quarterbacks; they rank third in blitz percentage, according to Pro Football Reference, and considering that they pressured Daniels on nearly 30% of his dropbacks in Week 5, you can expect something similar in Week 10.
Here's the silver lining for the Commanders, though: while the Giants do blitz more than almost any team, it has not led to pressures. They rank last in pressure rate (18.9%) and only have 16 sacks for the season. In fact, rookie Arvell Reese is the only Giants defender with more than two sacks on the year.
Although it might not feel like it after allowing four sacks against the Los Angeles Rams, the Commanders are around league average in sacks allowed and rank sixth in pass block win rate, per ESPN. That isn't going to stop the Giants from trying, though, so it will be important for Washington's offensive line to give Daniels time to work. If the blitzes keep coming, there will be areas for him to exploit downfield.
2. Get after the quarterback.
Conversely, the Commanders need to have a night similar to the one they had against the Philadelphia Eagles, when they took Tanner McKee down five times in a 27-10 win.
It looks like JJ McCarthy is on track to be the starter on Thursday after getting another full designation on the Giants' injury report. But regardless of whether it is him or Jameis Winston under center, New York's quarterbacks have shown a tendency to be reckless with the football. McCarthy only has two turnovers this season, but he did throw 12 interceptions last season. Winston's sporadic play is well-documented by now, and he coughed up the ball during the Giants' previous matchup with the Commanders.
The Commanders must find ways to force those poor decisions from McCarthy, which has admittedly been difficult for the Giants' opponents to do in his previous two starts. He has completed 63.2% of his passes this season, although he only has one passing touchdown.
The Giants are among the bottom five teams in terms of sacks allowed this season, so there will be opportunities for the Commanders to get McCarthy on the ground. The Giants have proven they can move the ball against competent defenses, but that will not matter if the Commanders can snuff out plays before they begin.
3. Stick to the run game.
The Commanders have one of the better rushing offenses in the league, based on their average yards per game. However, they have only run the ball 210 times -- good enough for 25th this season.
The Commanders want to change that, and there will be chances to do it against the Giants. The key for them, head coach Dan Quinn said, is sticking with it for four quarters.
"There's going to be some plays that are the ones and zeros, and that's part of going, but I also want us to make sure we stay with it and keep going," Quinn added.
The Commanders are currently thin at running back with Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Jeremy McNichols on Injured Reserve, the latter likely being out of the season. They do have Rachaad White and Austin Ekeler, though, both of whom flashed against the Rams. There might also be more opportunities for Daniels, who currently leads NFC quarterbacks in rushing yards, on designed runs or scrambles. That was the case in the last matchup with the Giants, when he had two rushing touchdowns of 30-plus yards.
The Giants will likely be determined to prevent that from happening again, meaning they could put a spy on Daniels to limit the chance for explosive runs. But that should not deter the Commanders from running the ball. It's one of the few areas where the Giants are below average with 123 yards given up per game.
Once again, it goes back to how the Commanders can handle the Giants' attempts to blitz them. If they can cover up defenders to get past it, there will be open grass for their ball carriers.
