Game Preview, Week 9: Washington at New York Giants
November 1, 2024
by Steve Thomas
I’m not sure what Washington would have to do in order to exceed the heroics exhibited in last week’s victory over the Chicago Bears. Hopefully, that level of drama won’t be necessary considering that this week’s opponent for Washington are the division rival New York Giants, who have a 2 – 5 record this season. This is yet another game that Washington really should have a good chance of winning if they just keep doing what they’ve been doing. However, we’re all aware of the drama that has accompanied some of these Washington – Giants games over the years, regardless of which team is better than the other. I’m always a bit leery of Washington facing the Giants for that reason. The goal for Washington needs to be to be not suffer a letdown after the incredible highs of last week’s win. It’s a new week, and the Washington players need to figure out how to put that behind them and focus on the task at hand, which is beating the Giants. Our game preview begins below.
Game time & location: Sunday, November 3, 2024, 1:00 p.m. ET, Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ; Gates open 11:00 a.m. ET; parking lots open 8:00 a.m.
Television: FOX
Television announcers: Chris Myers, Mark Sanchez, Kristina Pink
TV broadcast map: Click here
DC-area radio: BIG-100 (WBIG FM)
Washington radio network: Click here
Giants radio network: Click here
Satellite radio: SiriusXM: 232 (Giants broad.); SiriusXM: 387 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831
Washington roster: Click here
Washington depth chart: Click here
Giants roster: Click here
Giants depth chart: Click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Giants: 71 – 107 – 5 (last 10: 3 – 6 – 1)
Last meeting: W, September 15, 2024, 21 – 18
Giants record: 2 – 5 overall / 0 – 4 at home / 1 – 4 in NFC / 0 – 3 in NFC East
Early odds: Washington, -3.5
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Calm down and don’t suffer a letdown
Washington’s single-biggest challenge in this game is to forget about last week and focus on the task at hand. We’ve all seen teams – particularly young teams – in a variety of sports suffer letdowns after big, emotional games. This could easily happen here, particularly since this is a division battle. I don’t have a great answer for this problem; this is a coaching and player leadership. Regardless, this is probably the biggest factor in Washington’s chances of getting their 7th win of the season.
Focus on stopping the Giants’ run game
New York’s coaches understand that Washington has scored a ton of points this season. As a result, their game plan is likely going to be to use their run game to slow the game down and keep Washington’s offense off the field. The truth is that, at least from a statistical perspective, the Giants don’t do anything particularly well, but they’ll need to figure it out to have a chance against Washington here. Washington will therefore need to make a consistent effort to make New York’s run game ineffective, which, if we’re being honest, is something that Washington hasn’t done very well most of the season.
Get Brian Robinson more carries
I don’t know whether or not quarterback Jayden Daniels still is at 100% health at this point, but it’s time for Washington to expand Brian Robinson’s role in the offense. He’s only had 20 or more carries once this season, and it’s time to get his workload back up to that level. A strong running game, especially early, is a good way for Washington to overcome the excitement of taking the field again after last week’s heroics.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Tyler Biadasz vs. Dexter Lawrence
Lawrence is the Giants’ best and most productive defensive lineman, by far. He already has 9 sacks this season, which is a pretty stunning amount by a nose tackle. Biadasz has mostly lived up to his billing as a sought-after free agent center for Washington this year. Biadasz will probably need help with Lawrence this week, but he’ll certainly be the primary player responsible for controlling Lawrence and keeping him out of the backfield as much as possible. If Lawrence is running wild chasing Jayden Daniels around the backfield, it’s probably going to mostly be on Biadasz. This is a pretty important matchup in this game.
Terry McLaurin vs. Deonte Banks
As was the case in the last meeting between these two teams, this is a case of #1 receiver on the #1 corner. The difference is that, the first time, McLaurin was coming off of a modest start to the season by his standards, in part as a result of him still getting used to the new quarterback. He actually ended up having another poor game against Banks and the Giants in week two, with 6 catches for just 22 yards. Now, though, he’s in full swing and his been performing at a very high level, so it will likely be a different story. It will be on Banks more often than not to control McLaurin. Keep an eye out on how well McLaurin is performing this week against Banks.
Mike Sainristil vs. Wan’Dale Robinson
Sainristil got the best of Robinson in week 2, as Robinson had just 2 receptions for 18 yards, although that did include a touchdown. Sainristil has continued to make progress and now is one of Washington’s best defensive backs. He’s only 5’8”, so from a size perspective, he’s a good matchup for Robinson, who leads the Giants with 48 receptions. Washington needs Sainristil to keep Robinson in check since he’s such an important part of New York’s passing game. Keep an eye out on how well Sainristil matches up against an opponent who is probably an above-average slot receiver.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful
| Washington | Giants |
| DE C. Ferrell, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP | WR B. Ford-Wheaton, achilles; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP; game: D |
| T C. Lucas, ankle; Wed: DNP Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | P J. Gillan, left hamstring; ; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| LB F. Luvu, shin; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP | OL J. Ezeudu, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| C T. Biadasz, thumb; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | DB C. Flott, groin; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| QB J. Daniels, rib; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | DB T. Hawkins, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| RB B. Robinson Jr., hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | DB A. Jackson, neck; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| WR O. Zaccheaus, hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | OL J. Kubas, abdomen; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| T B. Coleman, concussion; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | OL J. Runyan, foot; Wed: NL; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| WR T. McLaurin, ankle; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | OL J. Michael Schmitz, calf; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| WR I. Smith-Marsette, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | |
| LB T. Summers, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | |
| RB T. Tracy, concussion protocol; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| LB M. Adams, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| LB B. Burns, achilles/biceps; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| OL J. Eluemunor, hip; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| K G. Joseph, abdomen; Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: DNP; game: O |
Steve’s Prediction
Washington should win this one comfortably, but I don’t think this is going to be a massive blowout, since (1) NFC East games usually aren’t, and (2) Washington will probably suffer a bit of a letdown in performance. Washington wins 27 – 17.