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Giants (0-5) Washington (1-4)
For the first time this season Washington had
allowed fans at the stadium. They unfortunately saw their starting quarterback
leave the game early on due to an injury, and the Los Angeles Rams won 30-10.
Later
on Sunday, the Giants held a three point lead late in the fourth quarter at AT&T
Stadium. The Cowboys came back and scored two field goals to keep their fans happy
with a 34-31 win. Washington
Football Team
They
have a new name this year, a new head coach - Ron Rivera, a new offensive coordinator
- Scott Turner, a new defensive coordinator - Jack Del Rio, and the list goes
on. Rivera is in his 10th season as a head coach with an overall 79-67-1 record,
and is 3-4 postseason. The Washington fans have seen the quarterback situation
undergo many changes over the past years. After sitting behind Robert Griffin
III for three years, Kirk Cousins took over in 2015 and led the team to a division
title. In 2016 Cousins was franchised, and then franchised once again in 2017.
In 2018 Washington made a trade with Kansas City, giving up cornerback Kendall
Fuller and a third-round draft pick for Alex Smith.
Smith had led the Chiefs
to the playoffs in all five years he was with them, and had a 52-29 record as
a starter for them. Meanwhile the Chiefs had Patrick Mahomes sitting all through
his rookie season, and we all know what they saw in him then. The quarterback
issue was settled for Washington, and they were 6-3 on top of the NFC East Division,
when Smith went down with a fractured fibula. Backup quarterback Colt McCoy suffered
a serious right leg injury in his second game. Mark Sanchez took his place, and
was pulled during his second start. He was replaced by newly signed Josh Johnson,
Washington's fourth quarterback of the season.
In 2019 Washington drafted
Dwayne Haskins in the first round, number 15 overall. Haskins was more of an ownership
favorite selection than that of the coaching staff. Washington also traded with
the Denver Broncos to get Case Keenum for additional support. Keenum beat out
McCoy and was the opening starter. Over the course of the season, with injuries
/ coaching decisions, it was Keenum - 8 starts, Haskins 7, McCoy 1, and Washington
finished up with 3 wins. This year Kyle Allen was brought in by the new coaching
staff because of his knowledge of Turner's offense, having played in it for two
years with Carolina. Washington
Offense
Dwayne
Haskins was the starter for the first four games, but was suddenly demoted to
third string. Alex Smith, after 17 surgeries, dressed for a game for the first
time since November 2018 as the backup quarterback to Kyle Allen. No one was expecting
to see Smith out on the field, but that's what happened when Allen took a helmet-to-helmet
hit near the end of the second quarter. Allen, also sustaining an arm injury,
stayed on the sidelines. Smith took over, and the drive ended with a field goal.
Smith ended up the day completing 9 of his 17 passes for 37 yards.
Head coach
Ron Rivera said that the plan was to go with Kyle Allen again this week as the
starter. Smith was sacked 6 times last week, and though Allen was sacked twice,
he is more mobile, even running the ball for their only touchdown from the 7-yard
line. Allen was 9 of 13 for 74 yards before leaving the game. Washington has yet
to score more than 20 points in any of their games, and their passing and rushing
totals last week were way below their average when Haskins was playing.
Washington
Defense
In 2019 this defense finished 26th
in total defense, and 31st in the league in rushing yards allowed -146.2. This
year they've improved to 129.6 rushing yards per game, but that's still more than
they'd like. The Giants will have to take advantage of that if they can, as this
defense is much better against the pass. Head coach Ron Rivera and defensive coordinator
Jack Del Rio, have switched the teams defense from a 3-4 to a 4-3. Washington
brings solid pressure with their front four, and the defense has been sacking
the quarterback an average 3 times per game. That keeps them on pace for where
they were last season, ranking 10th in the league.
Washington's front line
includes five number one picks. Their newest, 2020 first round pick Chase Young,
has 2.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble. Montez Sweat leads the team with 3 sacks and
1 forced fumble. Ryan Kerrigan has 2 sacks. The others are starting defensive
tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. In the secondary, they have been giving
up big plays. Cornerback Kendall Fuller is back with the team after being traded
for Alex Smith in 2018. Fuller has 3 interceptions on the year, and safety Landon
Collins, a former Giant has 1. Last week the defense had problems with Los Angeles,
allowing them to score touchdowns on their first three possessions, but the Giants
offense is not quite as strong as the Rams. Giants
Offense
The offensive line got some good
blocking in for running back Devonta Freeman. He led the Giants with 60 rushing
yards on 17 carries, which included a 4-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The line didn't do as well for Daniel Jones. Poor blocking by rookie left tackle
Andrew Thomas, their first round draft pick and 4th overall, led to Jones being
sacked, and his fumble was returned to the endzone for a touchdown, when the Giants
were up 17-10 near the end of the first half. Thomas has talent, and he has been
up against some tough competition, making some good plays in the games they've
played so far, but teams have film on him now, and are out to exploit his rookie
mistakes.
Jones threw 33 passes last week, and one third of them went to Darius
Slayton. He was the leading receiver catching 8 of 11 for 129 yards. Overall,
Slayton leads the Giants with 23 catches for 365 yards. Jones has thrown only
two touchdown passes, and both have gone to Slayton. That's why you don't want
to hear that Slayton was limited in practice this week hampered by a foot injury.
Golden Tate caught 4 of 5 for 42 yards against the Cowboys Sunday, and he was
the second leading receiver in the game. Giants
Defense
The Giants came up with two sacks
against the Cowboys, and kept pressure on the two quarterbacks they faced for
most of the game. Washington is not set with their quarterback position, and they
are giving up 3 sacks per game. Washington's starting quarterback will be Kyle
Allen, who didn't commit any turnovers last week, after throwing 16 interceptions,
and losing 7 fumbles in his 12 starts for the Carolina Panthers last season. The
Giants defense will test Allen, especially with outside linebacker Markus Golden
now more in the mix. Golden was the Giants sack leader last season with 10, but
missed some virtual meetings with the new coaching staff while being under the
Giants restrictive tender.
Golden saw more playing time last week when Lorenzo
Carter left the game early on (IR-achilles tendon). Golden led the team with 2
quarterback hits, and was credited with half a sack. Even with his limited playing
time to date, he leads the Giants with 10 quarterback pressures. Kyler Fackrell
has been solid, and Oshane Ximines is still on injured reserve with a shoulder
injury. Linemen Dalvin Tomlinson, Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence should
see some opportunities with Washington working out their quarterback situation.
In the secondary, cornerback James Bradberry has been doing an excellent job,
and he'll have to keep tabs on Washington receiver Terry McLaurin. Overall
The Giants started off strong against the Cowboys
last week on both offense and defense, jumping out to a 17-3 lead. The thing is
though, you also have to finish strong to get the win. Washington is still trying
to figure out who their quarterback should be going into their sixth game of the
season. Whichever team wins this game will face tougher competition from here
on out, with the exception that they play each other again in three weeks. You
have to think that the Giants are a bit more organized at this point, and that
should give them the edge. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Washington
(1-4) at Giants (0-5).
Sunday at 1:00pm Ravens (4-1) at Eagles (1-3-1).
Monday
at 8:15pm Cardinals (3-2) at Cowboys (2-3).
The Giants are the only NFC East
team favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Notes.
Giants
are next to last in the NFL, scoring a total 81 points over five games. Washington
ranks just above the Giants, scoring 89 points over five games. Washington
is last in the NFL averaging 4.2-yards per play. Daniel
Jones has just 3 total wins in his career, and 2 have been against the Redskins.
Next Games
Oct 22 Giants at Philadelphia
Nov 2 Tampa Bay at Giants |
