3 matchups that should worry Commanders against the NY Giants

The Washington Commanders play the first of back-to-back games (separated by the bye week) against the New York Giants this Sunday, and the stakes could hardly be higher. The two teams currently occupy the final two Wild Card spots and the results of their two-game series will go a long way toward determining who is in and who is out of the playoffs.

On paper, the Commanders would seem to have the momentum. Washington is riding a 6-1 wave, with the lone close defeat coming at the hands of the division-leading Minnesota Vikings. The Giants, after a spectacular start, are wallowing in a 1-3 slump, with all the defeats by more than seven points. Washington also swept the Giants last season.

However, it is worth remembering that prior to 2021, the Giants had won five straight against Washington, including a sweep during the Commanders’ 2020 run to the division title. Division games rarely follow an expected script, and they are almost never easy.

With that in mind, here are three matchups which could favor the Giants in this Sunday’s game.

3 matchup advantages NY Giants have over the Commanders

1. Two receiving matchups – Two injuries

I’m lumping these two together even though they are on opposite sides of the ball. They involve an injury from each team which could prove crucial.

Cornerback Benjamin St-Juste missed the Falcons game with a bad ankle and though rookie Christian Holmes was perfectly adequate as a fill-in, it could pose problems against the Giants if St-Juste is still hobbled. Even though the Giants have suffered major injuries to their receiving corps this year, those injuries have allowed Darius Slayton to flash some of the form he showed in 2019 and 2020 when he was a legit deep threat.

Over the last five games, Slayton has averaged about 4 catches and 75 yards per game while scoring two touchdowns. If he finds himself matched up against Holmes on Sunday, look for the Giants to go deep.

On the opposite side of the ball, one of the most devastating blows the Giants suffered this year was a freak eye injury to breakout tight end Daniel Bellinger. The loss of Bellinger has coincided with the Giants losing streak. It was initially feared that the tight end would be lost for the season, but he has returned to practice and there have been some rumblings that he might be able to play against Washington.

If he does, this poses a huge potential problem for a Commanders team that is now without Cole Holcomb. That  means that there will be times on Sunday when the likes of David Mayo, Jon Bostic, or Milo Eifler will be tasked with guarding Bellinger. MyCole Pruitt beat Mayo last week for a score, and a healthy Bellinger is significantly more dangerous than Pruitt.

2. Interior of the line

Many have been touting Washington defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne as the best interior line tandem in the league. (Count me as one such touter.) If you are not putting the Commanders duo first, then you are almost certainly putting the Giants’ Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence ahead of them. Both are stout against the run, and are capable of collapsing the pocket in the same way Allen and Payne have been doing.

The Commanders offensive line has struggled this season, and most of that struggle has come on the inside. Now that Tyler Larsen, Andrew Norwell, and a hopefully healthy Trai Turner have been able to play together for several games in a row, things have certainly improved. But this is still a potential weakness, especially when facing good interior linemen.

They struggled some against Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett, and this week they have two premier interior linemen to handle. (For the record, Jarrett lines up in various positions and causes problems in all of them.) I doubt the run game will be significantly affected because Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson have been productive without massive holes to exploit. But I worry a lot about Taylor Heinicke being forced into bad decisions and bad throws when pressure comes up the middle.

3. The running quarterback

Daniel Jones has had some big runs against the Washington defense. The Washington defense struggled earlier this year against running quarterbacks like Justin Fields (12 carries for 88 yards) and Marcus Mariota (6/49). On the other hand, they contained Jalen Hurts pretty well in both games against Philly.

Keeping Jones in the pocket will be crucial, and perhaps using Darrick Forrest or Bobby McCain as a spy would be a smart idea. If Bellinger is unable to play, it seriously reduces the pressure that will be applied to the Washington safeties, and correspondingly increases the likelihood that Jones will take off running on plays where he has no receiver open. Keeping him in the pocket will be essential.

Of course, there are a number of matchups which would seem to favor Washington in this game. But if Washington is to win, they will not only need to take advantage of those matchups. They will need to minimize any potential damage from the ones in which the Giants may have the upper hand.