10 things to watch in Giants vs. Commanders

Bobby Okereke is coming off his most dominant overall performance of the 2024 campaign, as the sixth-year linebacker registered a season-high 14 total tackles (seven solo) against the Steelers. The team captain also made his best play of the season on Monday, as he and fellow inside linebacker Micah McFadden combined for a sack of Russell Wilson late in the fourth quarter. Okereke was able to punch the ball out of Wilson’s hands before recovering the fumble himself, setting the Giants up on the Steelers’ side of the field with a chance to tie the game.

Surprisingly, this was Okereke’s first game with double-digit tackles this season after he had seven such outings last year. However, the inside linebacker already has two sacks through eight games and is now just a half-sack shy of matching his previous career-high set last season. Okereke has recorded 55 total tackles (28 solo) with two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two passes defensed on the year while playing 100 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in seven of eight games.

Okereke picked up his first sack of the season in the first game against the Commanders and finished the game with two tackles for loss. McFadden also registered a sack in that game, as the two inside linebackers combined for four total pressures. In last week’s win, the Commanders allowed Bears inside linebacker T.J. Edwards to pick up his first sack of the season.

The Giants’ defense is faced with a tough challenge this weekend as they attempt to slow down one of the NFL’s biggest rising stars in Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. The Giants were able to keep Daniels and the rest of the Commanders offense out of the end zone in the Week 2 meeting between the two teams, as Washington was forced to settle for seven field goals. Daniels finished the game with 226 passing yards and a 99.1 passer rating to go with an additional 44 yards on the ground.

The rookie quarterback has seemingly taken a big step in his development since this first matchup between the NFC East foes. Daniels has seven passing touchdowns since Week 3 along with two rushing touchdowns. Through his first eight games, the No. 2 overall pick is completing over 71 percent of his passes while averaging 217.0 passing yards per game in addition to 53.0 rushing yards per outing and 5.7 yards per attempt.

“He’s having a heck of a year,” Bowen told reporters Thursday. “The shots down the field, they’re on target, they’re catchable balls. I think the run game is always a factor, the scrambles, everything with him. I mean even with the ribs last week; I think he had eight carries for 52 or something like that. So that’s always part of it, but you see the growth, especially in the passing game, you see the growth from him getting more comfortable back there. He can make every throw. He’s able to make every throw going into the first game too. So, elite quarterback as a rookie who can really do a lot of things that can hurt you.”

One of the biggest changes since the Week 2 matchup is the increase in usage of wide receiver Terry McLaurin. The talented wideout caught a total of eight passes for 39 yards across the first two games of the season, but has three games with over 100 receiving yards in the six weeks since. Over the last six games, McLaurin has caught 32 passes for 540 yards and four touchdowns as the veteran receiver and rookie quarterback’s developing chemistry has been on full display.

“I think early on, I don’t know how much 17 was utilized going into that game for us,” said Bowen. “Obviously that connection has skyrocketed over the past few weeks here.”

Daniels’ performance this season has helped open things up for the Commanders’ run game, starting with running back Brian Robinson Jr. The 25-year-old is off to the best start of his young NFL career with 461 rushing yards and an average of 4.6 yards per carry through seven games. His career-highs in those categories are 797 rushing yards and 4.1 yards per carry. Robinson has also already set a new career-best mark with six rushing touchdowns. 311 of his yards and five of his touchdowns this year have come on inside rushes, according to Next Gen Stats, which is an area the Giants’ run defense has struggled with to start the season.

“I’d say tackling in the open field is something that you talk about and work on,” Daboll said when asked how the run defense can improve. “You work on it in drills. You have to be able to finish it in the game. They hit a couple long ones, which usually leads to higher yards per attempt. Gap integrity… All the things that it takes to be a good run defense.”

Daniels’ second favorite target after McLaurin has easily been Zach Ertz. The veteran tight end ranks second on the team in targets (45), receptions (32), and receiving yards (345) while scoring one touchdown. Similar to McLaurin, Ertz is also coming off his best game of the season against the Bears, a game in which he was targeted 11 times and caught seven of them for 77 yards, all of which set new season-highs.

Moving over to the other side of the ball, the Commanders’ defense has performed significantly better in recent weeks compared to the start of the season. From Weeks 4-8, the Commanders are second in the NFL in EPA (expected points added) per play allowed and fourth in points per game allowed. The schedule factored into their recent success as the Commanders played the Cardinals, Browns, Ravens, Panthers, and Bears during that stretch, with only the Ravens having a highly-ranked offense.

Linebacker Dante Fowler has led the way in the pass rush with 4.5 sacks this season, while linebacker Frankie Luvu and defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. are right behind him with 4.0 sacks apiece. The unit suffered a tough blow a few weeks ago when veteran defensive lineman Jonathan Allen was lost for the season due to a torn pectoral muscle.

When it comes to the Commanders’ defense, it’s clear and obvious who serves as the anchor of the unit – linebacker Bobby Wagner. The nine-time Pro Bowler has racked up a team-high 69 total tackles, 20 more than anyone else on the defense, including six tackles for loss, which is also tied for the most on the team. Wagner has added two sacks on the year along with a forced fumble and five quarterback hits. Heading into last week’s game, Wagner had just two missed tackles on the season, resulting in a 96.9 percent tackle efficiency rate. This ranked as the highest in the NFL through the first seven weeks of the season.

*According to NFL Research, each of the last four teams to win on a “Hail Mary” or a “Miracle” pass touchdown has lost the ensuing game (includes Vikings’ loss in 2017 NFC Championship Game). Threshold used to identify Hail Mary/Miracle: Game-winning pass TD of 40+ yards on a play that began with less than 15 seconds left in fourth quarter. The Commanders defeated the Bears, 18-15, in Week 8 on a game-winning, 52-yard “Hail Mary” pass from Daniels to Noah Brown.

*Giants lead the NFL with 35 sacks, the most by team in their first eight games of the season since the 2017 Jaguars. The team’s 35 sacks are one more than they had in the entire 2023 season. They are on pace for 74 sacks, which would break the NFL record of 72 set by the 1984 Chicago Bears. The Giants can become the fifth team in the past 20 seasons with 4+ sacks in five straight games.

*Malik Nabers has 46 receptions in six career games. With four more on Sunday, he can join Puka Nacua (58 receptions) as the only players in NFL history with at least 50 receptions in their first seven career games. Nabers has 498 receiving yards in six career games and can become the fifth player in the Super Bowl era with at least 600 receiving yards in their first seven career games, joining Ja’Marr Chase (754 receiving yards), Puka Nacua (752), Anquan Boldin (621), and Odell Beckham Jr. (609).

*Daboll is 3-1-1 against Washington as a head coach. Dan Quinn is 3-0 against the Giants.

*With his second 100-yard game of the season on Monday night, Darius Slayton now has 3,744 career receiving yards. He moved ahead of Plaxico Burress (3,681) and Mark Bavaro (3,722) into 19th place in team history.

*The Giants’ single-game rushing and receiving records were both accomplished in games against Washington. Tiki Barber still holds the rushing record with 234 on December 30, 2006. Del Shofner has the receiving record with 269 on October 28, 1962. It was the same game Y.A. Tittle threw seven touchdowns.