The Washington Commanders are traveling to MetLife Stadium for their second division matchup against the New York Giants. Here are three keys to the Burgundy & Gold pulling out a win.
1. Score in the red zone.
In a similar fashion to last week's game against the Chicago Bears, the Commanders hung on to pull out a last second-win over the Giants in Week 2. The two games have something else in common: it didn't need to be that close.
Washington was 0-7 on red zone trips in Week 2, getting inside the Giants' 5-yard line four times and settling for field goals. False starts were the biggest culprit in upsetting the Commanders' momentum, as it turned situations like the second-and-goal at the Giants' 4-yard line into a second-and-9.
"It definitely needs to be better," offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said of the red zone issues. "I thought we moved the ball well at times against Chicago but had a chance to really put it away a couple times. I thought that could put a lot of pressure on them, make them more one dimensional and we just floundered around down there, whether it was bad play calls or not the type of execution that we expect."
As impressive as Washington has been on offense, their red zone scoring hasn't always been as efficient. The team is 24th in red zone touchdowns and 27th over the previous three weeks. Granted, Washington managed to win two of their last three games, one of which was a blowout win over the Carolina Panthers, but the players also know they can't expect to win like that, Kingsbury said.
Washington flirted with disaster against the Giants and Bears -- the only two games where they didn't score on a single red zone trip -- but as they enter the second half of the season and a playoff run becomes more of a reality, they must find a way to fix this rough patch. It won't be easy against the Giants, who rank fifth in red zone touchdowns allowed.
2. Dexter Lawrence vs. Washington's interior offensive line.
Dexter Lawrence is playing like one of the best defensive players in the league right now. He leads the league with nine sacks as an interior defensive tackle and is tied for the third-most pressures at his position. Keeping him away from Jayden Daniels as he tries to dissect the Giants' secondary will be the top priority for the Commanders' offensive line, particularly center Tyler Biadasz as well as guards Sam Cosmi and Nick Allegretti.
The Commanders' front five should be well-equipped to handle the Pro Bowl defensive tackle. The group is sixth in pass-block win rate at 65%. Biadasz, who has not allowed a sack all season, has the second-highest pass block grade for centers from Pro Football Focus, while the duo of Cosmi and Allegretti are both top 15 in the category for guards.
Lawrence had a solid day in Week 2 but did not get one of the Giants' five sacks on Daniels, although he did get four hurries. The game ended up being his third worst this season by PFF's standards, as he was given a 65.2 pass rush grade.
One way the Commanders could slow Lawrence down is by leaning heavily on their ground game, just as they did with their 215 rushing yards on 35 carries in Week 2. The Commanders are first in run-block win rate this season, and Biadasz is ninth among interior players in the category.
And if there's one glaring weakness to the Giants' defense, it's on the ground, as they have given up 141.8 yards per game and rank last in yards allowed per attempt.
3. Continue the defensive strides.
The Commanders' defense has performed well in recent weeks, particularly in the passing game. With the pass-rush becoming more effective and the communication improving in the secondary, the Burgundy & Gold have allowed the second fewest passing yards over the last three weeks. That will need to continue against the Giants, whose offense has slipped to the bottom third of the league in several categories.
"I know they might be a little bit frustrated with the numbers or the output, but the scheme is really good," said defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. "They have outstanding players that we're going to have to make sure that we account for."
Wide receiver Malik Nabers is certainly at the top of that list after catching 10 of 18 targets for 127 yards and a touchdown. The Giants have deliberately force fed Nabers in recent weeks, as he ranks second in total targets in the NFL. So, it's safe to assume the Giants are going to try and repeat that, but they will be doing so against a secondary that is playing much better with a defensive coordinator who has a better understanding of how to best utilize his personnel.
"They're covering as a unit, and there's times that we might be in man concepts, but we still have to pass routes if we want to lag it or whatever we want to do from that standpoint," Whitt said of the secondary. "But when we're in our zone concepts, over routes, we've done a really nice job of passing those."
It's also fair to expect the Commanders will do a better job of harassing Daniels Jones in the rematch. The front seven is fifth in sack percentage with 14 of their 22 for the season coming in the past three four weeks. Plus, the Giants have given up the fourth most sacks in the NFL, and they're even more vulnerable with Andrew Thomas out for the year.
