3 glaring problems the Commanders must fix in Week 2 vs. the NY Giants
By Jonathan Eig
The New York Giants were dreadful in their Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The G-Men were playing at home. They were wearing fancy old-fashioned pajamas. Some people call them throw-back uniforms, but they looked like pajamas to me.
They were also taking on quarterback Sam Darnold, run out of the same stadium by New York Jets fans a few years before. And the Giants still managed to lose 28-6.
But here’s the thing about the Giants, the team that the Washington Commanders host in their home opener on Sunday. Even when they are dreadful, they manage to get the better of this NFC East rivalry fairly often.
They did it last year when the Giants swept the season series. They did it in 2022 when Washington had a shot at the playoffs before losing one and tying one against New York over three weeks. The Commanders did get them twice in 2021. But in 2020, when Washington won the division, they still managed to lose twice to their old foe.
Sunday’s game at the newly named Northwest Stadium may be even more important than the first home opener under general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn. It may be the equivalent of two division games in one.
Recent history suggests that whoever wins on Sunday will probably win the rematch in early November. That’s just been the nature of the recent Washington/New York series. Quinn can ill afford to start the campaign with two defeats. This will put his squad firmly on the back foot.
If the Commanders are going to send fans home happy in Week 2, they have to correct several key issues that cost them dearly against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We’ve already discussed culprit No. 1 - the abysmal third-down defense. This largely falls on subpar play in the secondary, but there is more blame to go around.
I will not repeat the need for better play from the entire secondary. I’ll suggest a different issue that may be even bigger this week.
Here are three major problems the Commanders need to fix if they are to beat the Giants.