EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels probably is going to see a different version of the New York Giants on Sunday when the second overall draft pick and the surprising Commanders visit MetLife Stadium.
The Giants will be his first repeat opponent in a turnaround year that has seen the NFL offensive rookie of the year front-runner lead the Commanders to a 6-2 record and first place in the NFC East.
Roughly 50 days ago, Daniels guided the Commanders to a 21-18 win over the Giants (2-6). It was a game New York felt it should have won but lost because kicker Graham Gano got hurt on the opening kickoff. The Giants scored three touchdowns and missed every extra point, the last being two 2-point conversion attempts.
“It’s going to be a different game,” said Daniels, whose latest highlight to his standout season was a last-second Hail Mary TD toss to Noah Brown to beat the Bears last week. "It’s going to be different from Week 2 to now. Obviously, they’ve grown as a defense and a team. We’ve grown as an offense and the team. It’ll be fun to go out there and play a division foe again.”
While the Commanders are riding a high, the Giants have lost three straight games.
“I’m more frustrated knowing that we can win and we’re not winning,” said Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who leads the league with nine sacks.
The first Commanders game was a perfect example. With the score tied late and New York in range for a go-ahead field goal, coach Brian Daboll went for a first down on fourth-and-4 from the Washington 22. Malik Nabers, a teammate of Daniels' at LSU, dropped the pass around the 10-yard line with 2:09 to play.
Washington took over, and Daniels led the offense 65 yards in eight plays for Austin Seibert's game-winning field goal.
Giants rookie safety Tyler Nubin believes his team has talent.
"We just don’t make enough plays to win the game,” he said.
Washington coach Dan Quinn spent many years as a defensive coordinator and knows the Giants are going to have some new wrinkles to throw at Daniels, adding the bottom line for any defense is preparing and doing the job on the field.
"But usually in a division game, there’s a couple things you keep in your back pocket for the second lap,” Quinn said.
Hail Mary hangover?
Beating Chicago on Daniels’ 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass was one of the most exciting plays in the league this season. Now the Commanders need to move past it.
“It’s going to be a play that’s going to be replayed for the next however many years and however many years after that,” rookie cornerback Mike Sainristil said. “That’s going to be a play that’s in the history of football now. We’re not going to stop seeing it for a while. But we’ve done a great job of being able to shift focus to our next opponent.”
Sack pack
The Giants lead with NFL with 35 sacks. Azeez Ojulari had two sacks last week and five in the last three games since replacing Kayvon Thibodeaux, who has a broken wrist. Fellow outside linebacker Brian Burns has five sacks, including one in each of the last four games. New York sacked Daniels five times in September.
“What they’ve established, they’re just fantastic rushing the passer, and that’s really one of the impacts they’ve made," Quinn said. "But they’ve played strongly on third down, so there’s a lot that I’ve seen them improve upon since our game.”
Red zone woes
Washington failed to score a touchdown at home against the Giants, going 0 for 6 in the red zone and winning thanks to a franchise-record seven field goals from Seibert. Going 0 for 3 in the red zone against the Bears was a reminder of those struggles, which could have cost the Commanders two victories.
“Obviously we want to end those drives in touchdowns," running back Brian Robinson Jr. said. “We’re going to be super critical on that this upcoming game, just making sure that we finish those drives in the end zone instead of having to take three every single time.”
Red zone defense
The Giants' defense is ranked 13th overall, but the unit is even better in the red zone. Coordinator Shane Bowen's defense is ranked fifth in the league in the red zone, giving up touchdowns on 42.1% of red zone trips and 37.5% over the last three games.
In the doghouse
It will be interesting to see how second-year Giants cornerback Deonte Banks reacts this week. He was benched for the second half of New York's 26-18 loss to Pittsburgh on Monday night.
It wasn't one play in that game that got the 2023 first-round draft pick in trouble. It has been a combination of not giving 100% all the time, bad plays and the need to adjust his attitude. Banks will start Sunday, Daboll said.
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AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in Ashburn, Virginia, contributed to this report.
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Tom Canavan, The Associated Press
