Commanders tumble down NFC East power rankings after Week 3 loss
By Jerry Trotta
3. New York Giants
The Giants clawed their way to victories over two bad teams — the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers — to start the year. Their luck ran out Monday night as they allowed the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys to walk out of MetLife Stadium with a win. As such, the Giants, No. 2 in last week’s rankings, drop to the No. 3 spot.
I like to think Washington is better than New York, but records don’t lie and the Commanders’ 1-2 record lags behind the G-Men’s 2-1 mark.
In a vacuum, there isn’t much separating these teams. Both offensive lines are struggling, but the Giants’ defense, though less talented on paper, is playing markedly better than Washington’s. We’ll see if that holds up when they play an elite offense (the Titans, Panthers and Cowboys certainly don’t qualify), but Wink Martindale has his defense swarming to the football.
Until the Commanders see an improvement on that side of the ball, they will continue to lag behind the Giants. Their wins haven’t been pretty, but they have more and that’s enough to separate the longtime rivals.