Game Preview, Week 11: New York Giants at Washington
November 17, 2023
by Steve Thomas
Washington suffered a tough, heartbreaking loss to the Seattle Seahawks last week, on the final play of the game. The Seahawks, of course, are a moderately good team that was playing at home in a stadium that historically is one of the biggest home field advantages in the NFL. This week’s opponent, however, has none of those advantages. The New York Giants come into Raljon, Maryland this coming Sunday with a three game losing streak in tow, including a blowout last week against the division rival Dallas Cowboys, and are led by a third string quarterback brought in after injuries. All of that means that Washington should probably be in decent shape this week; that having been said, Washington lost to the Giants in week 7, and this contest is usually a tough one, even when Washington wins. We’ll all find out what happens on Sunday. Our game preview is below.
Game time & location: Sunday, November 19, 2023, 1:00 p.m. ET, Fed Ex Field, Raljon, Maryland; Gates open 11:00 a.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 8:00 a.m.; all other parking lots 9:00 a.m.
Television: FOX
Television announcers: Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Shannon Spake
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 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831
Washington roster: click here
Washington depth chart: click here
Giants roster: click here
Giants depth chart: click here
Records: Washington 4 – 6 (home 1 – 3); Giants 2 – 8 (away 1 – 5)
All-time head-to-head record vs Giants: 70 – 106 – 5 (last 10: 2 – 7 – 1; streak: 0 – 2)
Last meeting: L, October 22, 2023, 7 – 14
Early odds: Washington, -9.5
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Stop the Giants run game
The Giants aren’t necessarily a great running team, or even an above-average one, but they are starting a practice squad-level quarterback. In that situation, most offensive coordinators whose names don’t start with “Eric” and end with “Bieniemy” will try to make this situation a little easier by establishing a running game. Washington needs to focus on taking this option away. Make an effort to prevent any sort of consistent ground game this week.
Relentless pressure on Tommy DeVito
Similarly, job number two needs to be to relentlessly blitz Tommy DeVito on obvious passing downs. It isn’t exactly a secret that Washington’s pass rush hasn’t been as effect over the last two weeks as it was prior to the trades of Montez Sweat and Chase Young. Now is the time for folks to step up and fill the void. Washington needs to make DeVito extremely uncomfortable and second and third and long.
Take advantage of the Giants’ poor run defense
The Giants defense is exceptionally bad against the run, allowing an average of 4.7 yards per carry this year, which is 30th in the NFL. If there was ever a week for Eric Bieniemy to come around and actually run the ball more than a handful of carries per game, it’s this week, on the road against a division rival. It is absolutely critical this week for Washington to run the ball at a significantly greater rate than they’ve been doing so far this season. Will Bieniemy do that? Of course not. But he should.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Andrew Wylie and Charles Leno vs. Kayvon Thibodeaux
Thibodeaux leads the Giants in sacks, with 8.5 over 10 games, and it isn’t close – the next most on the roster is Dexter Lawrence with 3. It’s therefore on Wylie and Leno to keep him in check. He had 1.5 sacks against Washington in week 7. Keep an eye out for how early and often Thibodeaux can get into Washington’s backfield.
Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen vs Saquon Barkley
I said above that one key to this game is to keep New York’s run game in check. At this point, Barkley is a shell of his former self, but he’s the best the Giants have. Both Allen and Payne have been fairly quiet in the past couple of games, so it’s time for them to return to glory and focus on stopping Barkley. Watch for how effective Payne and Allen are in the middle of the line at keeping Barkley from getting into the second level on a regular basis. If they can do that, Washington stands a good chance at winning.
Tyler Larsen vs. Dexter Lawrence II
Lawrence is an accomplished pro who has 3 sacks and 37 sacks so far this season. Larsen, as the mid-season replacement for Washington’s offseason, big money bust, has the job of slowing him down. This should be an interesting battle and a pretty good indicator of whether Larsen has a future as Washington’s starter at the center position. Watch this battle and the middle and see whether Lawrence is able to get pressure on Sam Howell through the middle.
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 NL – not listed
| Washington | Giants |
| FB A. Armah, hamstring; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | DB A. Jackson, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| RB A. Gibson, toe; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: D | OL E. Neal, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| C T. Larsen, NIR – vet rest; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: NL | DB D. Banks, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| DE J. Smith-Williams, hamstring; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | RB S. Barkley, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| WR C. Samuel, toe; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | DB C. Flott, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| CB B. St-Juste, illness; Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | WR J. Hyattt, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| LB A. Ojulari, ankle; Wed: NL; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | |
| LB B. Okereke, hip; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | |
| WR W. Robinson, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | |
| LB K. Thibodeaux, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| OL A. Thomas, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | |
| QB T. DeVito, left shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| RB D. Jackson, concussion; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| DB X. McKinney, rib; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| DB J. Pinnock, thumb/ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
Steve’s Prediction
These games are usually tough affairs, and Washington has a history of making the Giants seem better than they are. However, in this instance, the Giants are truly a mess right now, so Washington wins this game 24 – 10.