The Commanders offense has had spurts of greatness, followed by spurts of ineptitude. Can Washington’s offense get things together against a reeling Giants team?
When facing off against the New York Giants, things are never easy for Washington. Head Coach Ron Rivera is 2-3-1 against the Giants. While it is unsure if quarterback Daniel Jones will play against Washington this week, Jones boasts a 5-1-1 record against the Commanders, his best record by far against any team he has played at least three times in his career. Furthermore, to be specific, Jones’s record against the Commander is the only team he has a winning record against whom he’s played at least three times.
The Giants, who are coming off of a hard-fought 14-9 road loss against the Buffalo Bills, are 1-5 to start their season. The Commanders, who have been consistently inconsistent, still have an opportunity to change the narrative. This year, the good thing for Washington is that they are 3-3 and in the mix early regarding playoff positioning.
Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy understands that the Giants’ defense is no slouch despite their early season track record playing against some of the NFL’s best offensive teams. “I saw a pretty good aggressive defense last week fly around and pretty much shut Buffalo down,” Bieniemy said in his weekly presser. The Giants, under defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, are a heavy blitz team, sending a high percentage of five and six-man blitzes. While Howell experienced that last season observing Martindale from the sidelines, Bieniemy will need to prepare Howell for handling Martindale’s scheme and pressure disguises up front.
One of the more important keys to the game for Washington will be how they can handle the Giants pressure, but also can the Commanders stay ahead of the sticks on early downs. On their first offensive drive alone against the Atlanta Falcons, Washington faced three third downs of third and nine or longer. The Commanders had nine third downs of seven yards or more. As efficient as the Commanders offense could be at times, that unit must eliminate their issues quickly.
Can we see a much more efficient offense against the New York Giants? Let us know in the comments about your confidence level in the Commanders offense going into the matchup.
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