New York Giants fans will be hoping that there is no other direction to go but up after their team was drubbed 28-6 by the Minnesota Vikings in their season-opening loss.
This Sunday, however, brings a trip to Landover, MD, and a date with a Washington Commanders team that the Giants have fared well against despite their seemingly never-ending struggles. New York has won three straight over the Commanders and eight of the last 11.
A win would do Brian Daboll’s squad a world of good, but after Week 1, that is anything but a given.
Giants (0-1) vs. Commanders (0-1) Week 2 viewing information, odds
- Date: Sunday, Sept. 15
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Venue: FedExField, Landover, MD
- TV: FOX
- Spread: Commanders -1.5 (via DraftKings)
- Over/Under: 44
- Giants Moneyline: +102
- Commanders Moneyline: -122
3 Giants storylines to watch in Week 2 vs. Commanders
It can’t get worse for Daniel Jones, can it?: No, we’re seriously asking because it would be more difficult to dig a deeper hole than the one he put himself in last weekend.
Jones looked lost under center against the Vikings, completing just 22 of 42 passes with two really bad interceptions. He missed several simple throws, appeared slow to make reads, and seemed more comfortable getting out of the pocket than in it, forcing himself to hold onto the ball for too long, which helped result in five sacks.
He was so bad that the Vikings were even taking pity on him.
“We kind of started to feel a little bit bad for him as we’re still just completely taking away everything he wants to do,” Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard told Minnesota radio station KFAN. “Hey, it’s good to be on the other side of it, and it’s our job to not be on that side of it.”
Perhaps the Commanders provide the kind of matchup Jones needs to rebuild his confidence. He has won five of his seven career starts against them with a 10:3 touchdown to interception ratio.
Washington’s defense looks ripe for being picked apart, too. It allowed 37 points in its Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns.
Should Jones struggle, calls for his job will only strengthen.
A front-row seat for what they might have missed: Based on the footage supplied by HBO’s Hard Knocks, it looked like Giants head coach Brian Daboll was enamored with LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Both he and general manager Joe Schoen were clearly in the market for a new quarterback and spent the pre-draft process shopping in hopes of trading up from No. 6 to get a new cornerstone passer. That, however, did not happen, forcing the Giants to pivot to Daniels’ teammate, wide receiver Malik Nabers.
Daniels went No. 2 to the Commanders, where he put together a promising NFL debut in the loss to Tampa Bay last week. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards and showed off his dual-threat capabilities, rushing for 88 yards with two touchdowns.
For a Giants defense that failed to get any pressure on Sam Darnold in Week 1, this could be quite a difficult matchup — a painful one for Daboll and Schoen to watch.
Run game must be established: Playing from behind from the jump did little to help out the Giants’ shoddy run game, which was a complete non-factor against Minnesota.
Just a few days after Saquon Barkley lit up Brazil with 132 yards and three touchdowns in his Philadelphia Eagles debut, his replacement, Devin Singletary, rushed the ball just 10 times for 37 yards. It was one of the things (along with six dropped passes) that made Jones’ day all the more difficult.
New York’s re-worked offensive line did little to open things up for Singletary, whom Daboll teased as an every-down, every-situation back that will see the bulk of the carries this season. After putting up 898 yards last season with the Houston Texans, he should set a new career high in New York. But there has to be some commitment to the ground game for that to happen.
