Chase Young Playing in Commanders vs. Giants? 'Slim' Chance in NFC East Showdown
The Washington Commanders travel to face NFC East Division foe New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in a matchup with playoff implications. In the final stretch of the NFL season, both teams are fighting for playoff positioning and will play each other twice in the next three weeks.
Currently, the Giants and Commanders hold the final two Wild Card spots in the NFC and the outcomes of the two upcoming division battles will play a major part in the playoff race.
The Commanders have a chance at their fourth-straight win after a 19-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in which rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr had a career day. Against the Falcons, Robinson Jr. had 18 rushes for a career-high 105 yards and 5.8 yards per carry, plus his first career receiving touchdown.
Sunday, Robinson and the Commanders hope to take advantage of a Giants' run defense hasn’t exactly been stellar; Ranking 26th in the league and allowing an average of 138.9 yards per game to opponents.
Additionally, Antonio Gibson is expected to be available despite not practicing for most of the week due to a foot injury.
The Commanders will have to find a way to contain Giants running back Saquon Barkley. Washington is allowing the eighth-fewest rushing yards per game (108.4) this season and could receive a boost with the impending return of defensive end Chase Young. ... though Young (knee) is now considered a game-time decision as he works to make his season debut.
UPDATE: John Keim is now reporting that Washington wants to "wait until Young is 100 percent right - mentally and physically. Chance of him going today is slim.''
Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, is the Giants best weapon and has been tearing up defenses this season: ranking fourth in the league with 992 rushing yards this season.
IMPORTANT INJURY NOTE: Young - the 2020 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and arguably the team's best player - could make his season debut this Sunday vs. the Giants. The No. 2 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft tore his right ACL last season in a Nov. 14 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
RECORDS: Washington Commanders (7-5) at New York Giants (7-4)
ODDS: The Commanders are 1.5-point favorites vs. the Giants.
GAME TIME: Sunday, December 4th, 2022, at 1 p.m. ET
LOCATION: MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ)
TV: FOX
THE FINAL WORD: Coach Ron Rivera on Barkley, who will almost certainly eclipse the 1,000-yard total Sunday:
"Saquon is really a special football player... He is back 100 percent. I know last year he was getting back to form and you could see it this year he's back. We have to account for him as well. So we've just gotta make sure that if we're paying attention to the quarterback on one aspect, the other side of it has to pay attention to their responsibilities.”
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