3 reasons the Washington Commanders will beat the NY Giants in Week 2

Terry McLaurin sparks Commanders' passing game

If Jayden Daniels hadn't overthrown Terry McLaurin when he went streaking down the left sideline at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the entire game could have gone differently.

It was the first play of the third quarter and the Washington Commanders were only down nine points. If the pass were dropped in with McLaurin in stride, he would have walked into the end zone, given Daniels tons of confidence, and changed the entire momentum of the game, all while making it a two-point contest.

That's not what happened.

What happened was McLaurin ended the season opener with two catches for 17 receiving yards. He was a non-factor. That won't happen again as Kliff Kingsbury won't wait until the third quarter to allow Daniels and his most prolific wide receiver to test the New York Giants' deep coverage unit.

When he gets going, look to the rest - such as Dyami Brown and Luke McCaffrey - to reap the benefits.

This offense, given time, could become very dangerous. But its best player right now is McLaurin. When he gets going and defenses have to make changes to further key on him, it will open everything up.

It could be as big as one successful deep shot to McLaurin for this offense to develop the positive momentum that is going to eventually make it so dangerous. Until that happens, the unit may continue to struggle.

That is why a concerted effort needs to be made to make McLaurin the No. 1 focus of the offense. With the Giants having not only a weak secondary but also an inexperienced one, the Commanders simply can't let this week go by without focusing on getting the former Ohio State standout plenty of targets.

All the Commanders need to do for that to happen is to hold off the Giants pass rush. Other than Dexter Lawrence II, they did not have a good Week 1 showing. if the Commanders can protect Daniels for long enough, his passing skills should be on display on his regular-season home debut.

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