10 things to watch in Giants vs. Commanders

Over the last two seasons, Dexter Lawrence has established himself as not only the Giants’ best defender, but also one of the top defensive linemen in the NFL. The 6-foot-4, 340-pound lineman has been selected to back-to-back Pro Bowls along with two consecutive second-team All-Pro selections, and got his 2024 campaign off to a similar start.

Lawrence was nothing short of dominant against the Vikings in Week 1. The 26-year-old generated a team-high seven quarterback pressures on just 20 pass rush snaps, according to Next Gen Stats, leading to a career-best single-game pressure rate of 35.0 percent. He also had an average get-off of 0.89 seconds, which would have tied him for the fourth-fastest among all defensive tackles with 250+ pass rush snaps last season. Lawrence finished with three tackles (two solo), a sack and a pass defensed.

“Dex is going to be a handful for a lot of guys in this league, whether it’s one or two guys,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen told the media Thursday. “He has a knack for winning versus two, which is extremely rare. If they’re putting four hands on him and he’s still winning, that means we’ve got a lot of one-on-ones on the other side. We’ve got to be able to win those. Hopefully, at times, that will result in maybe them having to get four hands off of him, to free him up. It goes hand-in-hand. It goes both ways. Finding ways to create for him, always, and knowing if we don’t, he can still factor, is exceptional for a coordinator.”

Washington surrendered 16 quarterback pressures and two sacks against the Buccaneers last week, according to NGS. Last year, the Commanders tied the Panthers for the second-most sacks allowed on the season with 65. The interior of Washington’s offensive line consists of Nick Allegretti (left guard), Tyler Biadasz (center), and Sam Cosmi (right guard). The trio combined for six pressures allowed in the opener.

Kayvon Thibodeaux made a big jump from his rookie season to Year 2. The outside linebacker saw his sack total increase from four to 11.5 last season, while also finishing with more quarterback hits (16) and forced fumbles (three). Thibodeaux was unable to make much of an impact in the season opener, finishing with just one quarterback hit, but has a prime opportunity to get going against the Commanders this weekend.

Over his first two seasons, Thibodeaux has performed his best when facing the Commanders. In four games against the division rival, the 23-year-old has registered 5.5 sacks out of his career 15.5. He has also recorded 26 total tackles (15 solo), seven tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits, all of which are easily the most he’s had against any opponent. Thibodeaux also has his only career touchdown against the Commanders on a play in which he stripped the ball out of the quarterback’s hands, recovered it himself and fell into the end zone.

“We see them twice a year, so I’m excited,” Thibodeaux told reporters Wednesday. “Jayden Daniels is a great quarterback. He’s from Cali. Grew up knowing him, grew up with him, so I understand he’s a great player and I’m excited to go against him.”

Washington’s offensive tackles struggled at times against the Buccaneers last week. Right tackle Andrew Wylie was credited with five quarterback pressures allowed, according to NGS, while Cornelius Lucas and Brandon Coleman combined for three pressures surrendered at left tackle.

Washington running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler combined for 14 carries for 50 yards last week, good for an average of 3.6 yards per carry, while adding a touchdown. The two backs really made their presence felt in the passing game as they finished as the Commanders’ top two receivers. Ekeler brought in a team-high four receptions for 52 yards, while Robinson finished right behind him with three catches for 49 yards.

In addition to the two running backs, the Giants defense will also have to keep an eye on rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. The No. 2 overall pick led the Commanders with 16 rush attempts in Week 1 and totaled 88 yards (5.5 avg.) with two touchdowns.

“Explosive,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said about the rookie QB. “He eats up grass. If he gets loose and he gets vertical, he’s eating up grass in a hurry.”

Veteran inside linebacker Bobby Okereke will play a big role in slowing down the Commanders’ rushing attack on Sunday.

Okereke is coming off a career year in his first season with the Giants. The veteran registered 149 total tackles (92 solo) while setting new career-highs in sacks (2.5), tackles for loss (11), quarterback hits (six), forced fumbles (four), and passes defensed (10). Okereke had three tackles (two solo) in the Week 1 game against the Vikings, but is set up to make a larger impact this weekend against the Commanders.

In addition to the passing attack, the Giants will look to get the run game going against the Commanders. Devin Singletary, Tyrone Tracy and Eric Gray combined for 14 rush attempts for 45 yards in Week 1, good for an average of 3.2 yards per carry. The three running backs also had a total of six receptions between the three of them, totaling 29 receiving yards.

While the Commanders did a good job of limiting Rachaad White to just 31 yards on 15 carries (2.1 avg.) last week, rookie back Bucky Irving gained an impressive 62 yards on nine carries (6.9 avg.). The two running backs also combined for eight receptions for a whopping 89 yards.

The Giants will also look to use Daniel Jones in the run game after the quarterback totaled 15 yards on six carries last week. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield ran the ball just three times against the Commanders in Week 1 but was able to gain 21 yards.

One of the first players the Commanders signed during free agency this offseason was veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner, who played under Dan Quinn in Seattle. The veteran linebacker appears to be the anchor of the Commanders’ run defense, totaling 10 tackles (five solo) and three tackles for loss in his Washington debut last week. The Commanders also have a talented pair of defensive tackles in Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, not to mention rookie second-round pick Jer’Zhan Newton, who returned to practice Thursday and could make his NFL debut against the Giants this weekend.