The Washington Commanders swept the New York Giants for the first time since the 2021 with a 27-22 win over their NFC East rival at MetLife Stadium. Here are five takeaways from the afternoon.

1. No Brian Robinson, no problem.

The Commanders know that Brian Robinson Jr. is an important piece to their offensive success. Aside from being their leading rusher, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said as much during one of his press conferences earlier in the season. Robinson was listed as questionable with a hamstring injury and ultimately ruled out hours before kickoff, leaving the Commanders to look to other players for success on the ground.

It was a group effort, but Washington still managed to put up 150 rushing yards on 38 carries. They were led by practice squall call-up Chris Rodriguez, who paced the team with 53 yards on 11 attempts. Rodriguez had a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter, but his biggest contribution was helping to milk the clock on Washington's final drive with five carries.

Austin Ekeler came in second with 42 yards on 11 attempts and scored one of the team's three first-half touchdowns, which was set up by Jayden Daniels converting a fourth-and-1 with his legs. Daniels only had 35 rushing yards but had impactful carries that kept the offense moving, like he did on his 16-yard run in the third quarter.

The hope is that Robinson will be back in time for the Pittsburgh Steelers game next week, but the Commanders showed they can put together an effective ground attack without him.

2. The defense got the day started off right.

Even though the Commanders' defense has started to turn over the ball at a more consistent clip, defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. and his staff have continued to press the issue. They preach that "the ball is life," and the Giants' second drive is an example of why they're so persistent with that philosophy.

It was kind of a whacky play that upset the Giants' momentum. They had marched down to the Commanders' 29-yard line when Dante Fowler Jr. ripped past Chris Hubbard and took down Daniels Jones for a strip-sack. That's not what the play was originally called, though, as the ball rolled back to the Giants' 31 before Bobby Wagner picked it up. The refs ruled it as an incomplete pass, but Quinn tossed the challenge flag believing it was a fumble. Quinn ended up being correct, and it gave Washington the ball deep in Giants territory.

Washington scored three plays later, and it provided them with enough juice to put get three consecutive touchdowns to go up 21-7 at halftime.

3. Daniels was kept clean.

The Giants are now 2-7 but do have talented players on their roster. This is particularly true on their defensive front, as they entered Sunday's game leading the league with 35 sacks. Dexter Lawrence is the focal point of that attack, as he paces all defenders with nine quarterback takedowns.

Lawrence and the Giants' pass-rush were quiet against the Commanders, though, marking the first time all season that they did not record a sack. That allowed Daniels to work against the Giants' secondary with a clean pocket, and Washington fans should know how effective the No. 2 overall pick can be when that happens.

Daniels ended the day 15-of-22 for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Those are exactly eye-popping numbers like he's put up in other games, but the time in the pocket allowed him to deliver some superb throws. One of his best came at the end of the first half, when he slipped a pass just out of a Giants defender's reach to Noah Brown for 31 yards. That play put Washington on the Giants' side of the 50 and helped Washington build a two-score lead before halftime.

By the time Daniels took a knee to run out the clock, he had built a 128.8 passer rating for the day -- his second highest of the season.

4. The defense continued its first half success.

There were spurts of action from the Giants' offense in the first half. Following Jones' fumble, the unit went on a 16-play, 73-yard drive that ended with Jones finding Chris Manhertz open for a two-yard touchdown.

That moment was significant for the Commanders over the past three weeks; it was the first time since Week 6 that they had allowed any points scored against them in the first half.

Washington last two victories were wins but not as flashy as some they had earlier in the year. Both were decided in the fourth quarter, and the defense's ability to be stingy in the first half has provided the team with a chance to stay ahead with slimmer leads. They kept the Giants to a three-and-out on their opening drive and repeated the feat later in the second quarter. The Giants picked up just 10 combined yards on those drives.

Over the last three games, the Commanders are tied with the Green Bay Packers with an average of just one point allowed in the first quarter and ninth with a 4.7 average. Meanwhile, the Commanders rank among the top 10 in first-quarter points. That kind of combination will carry more weight as the playoffs inch closer.

5. Not done.

Not many knew what to make of the Commanders as they entered the first season under Dan Quinn. Sure, there were pieces of what could have been a good foundation, but it was optimistic to expect a dramatic turnaround. Many projected them to win around six games with the possibility of one or two more under the right circumstances.

Flash forward to November, and people are still wondering what the Commanders could be this season, although the details of that conversation are different. They're now one game away from doubling their win total from 2023, in sole possession of first place in the NFC East and have the second-best record in the conference. The playoffs are no longer a hope but an expectation, and who knows what could come after that?

The schedule gets more difficult from here, though, starting with the Pittsburgh Steelers at Northwest Stadium. The Steelers are coming off their bye week with a 6-2 record, undoubtedly the best for a Commanders opponent all season, and seem to be in a groove with Russell Wilson now at quarterback. They'll be rested and ready for what the Commanders can muster up with a top 10 defense as well as an offense that is efficient and doing enough to win games.

The Commanders' next matchup might not carry as much weight in terms of playoff seeding as some of the other conference opponents on the schedule, but in a similar situation to what they saw against the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers have been one of the most consistent franchises of the last three decades with zero losing records under head coach Mike Tomlin. Quinn rightly believes that all games are important, but a win over the Steelers would be a big statement.