New York Giants vs. Washington Football Team

The temptation is there for the Giants, but they must resist.

That's right, despite their 0-5 record, they're still not out of the NFC East race. If ever they were going to get in the win column this season, this weekend's Week 6 game against the Washington Football Team, a club that despite its 1-4 record is in an even bigger state of disarray than the Giants, would be the week.

But the last thing this Giants team can afford to do is look past an NFC opponent--any opponent for that matter--no matter how much they might be struggling.

"Yeah, it’s truly one game at a time, no matter who we’re playing," said head coach Joe Judge.

"Right now, the only game we’re truly worried about is Washington. That’s the team that we’re focused on right now going forward."

As it should be.

Washington on Offense

Remember Dwayne Haskins, the kid from New Jersey that some envisioned in Giants blue? He ended up chosen by Washington to be their franchise quarterback, setting up what some hoped would be a decades-long battle to see whether the Giants screwed up yet another first-round draft pick.

It turns out that the Giants made the better choice in going with Daniel Jones, at least so far. Not only did Washington head coach Ron Rivera bench Haskins, but he also demoted him to third-string in what is by far one of the biggest busts in the NFL since the Arizona Cardinals sent Josh Rosen packing.

“It’s interesting because we went through training camp and gave him every rep with the [first team] in terms of trying to develop him and get him ready to go,” Rivera said on NBC Sports’ “Washington Football Talk” podcast.

“Through the four games we didn’t see what we were looking for. I made the decision to go forward with Kyle [Allen] and Alex [Smith].”

Rivera also confirmed that Allen named the starter ahead of Haskins and Comeback Player of the Year candidate Smith will be the starter if he's healthy enough to play.

Allen was with Rivera in Carolina and is coming off his first game as the WFT starter in which he completed 69.3% of his pass attempts before being forced out of the game against the Rams with an arm injury.

Meanwhile, there is a report out of Washington that they are already looking to move Haskins via a trade.

Moving to the other skill position players, Washington seems to have found a gem in Antonio Gibson, their third-round pick in this year's draft, who saw a more extensive role after the team parted with Derrius Guice in the off-season.

Gibson spent two years at the JUCO level at East Central Community College in Mississippi before transferring to the University of Memphis in 2018.

He currently ranks fourth in rushing yards (213) among rookie running backs. According to LockedOn Washington Football Team podcast host and beat reporter Chris Russell, Gibson has shown traits that remind longtime WFT fans of a young Clinton Portis.

Gibson is a strong runner who isn't easy to bring down and fights his way through the muck to break tackles. He also can be a threat out of the backfield, where he's caught 15 out of 17 pass targets for 122 yards, just two yards shy of J.D. McKissic, the yardage leader among the Washington running backs.

On the receiving end, Washington has receiver Terry McLaurin, their lone threat who leads all team receiving targets by a mile (29 out of 44 pass targets for 413 yards).

Expect the Giants to assign cornerback James Bradberry, who has held opposing receivers to 15 of 28 receptions for 180 yards, and two touchdowns while also recording an interception and his still league-leading eight passes defended to likely draw McLaurin in coverage.

Finally, there is a matter of the Washington offensive line, which has allowed the second-most sacks this season (21), for 142 yards lost just one shy of the league-leading Bengals. The Giants pass rush has surprisingly shown a pulse via the scheme this year, posting at least two sacks in each game played, which puts them in the middle of the pack in that category.

Washington replaced Trent Williams at left tackle with Geron Christian, Sr, but it's probably fair to say that Christian isn't quite in Williams' league just yet.

Another problem for Washington has been the injury-related absence of guard Brandon Scherff, who on IR with an MCL sprain.

Scherff's absence has opened the door for Wes Martin to make a case for more playing time, but his play has been spotty at best. Per PFF, gave up three sacks last week in the loss to the Rams, at times resembling a human turnstile.

Scherff was to begin practicing this week, but it's not believed that he'll be ready for Sunday's game against the Giants.

Washington on Defense

Much like the Giants, Washington's defense's strength is their line, which features edge rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat, and Da'Ron Payne and Jonathan Allen in the middle.

That's four first-round draft picks, by the way. All four have been living up to their respective draft pedigrees, combining for 7.5 of the team's 15 sacks so far this season.

Young's emergence has caused old friend Ryan Kerrigan to take a bit of a back seat, but that doesn't mean Kerrigan won't make some cameo appearances when the situation calls for it.

Young has played on both sides, but most of his snaps have come on the right side, which means he'll face Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas, the No. 4 overall pick in this year's draft, who has struggled with consistency this season.

Logic would dictate that the offensive game plan will incorporate many double teams and/or chip blocking to slow down that defensive front-- at least you'd hope that would be part of the game plan.

Perhaps the weakest spot on the Washington defense has been its back end, specifically the linebackers.

Washington sought to add speed this offseason to the unit, but that speed among Kevin Pierre-Louis, Shaun Dion Hamilton, and Jon Bostic hasn’t translated well into coverage.

Thomas Davis Sr., who has been banged up and has only been targeted twice in coverage, has the best of the NFL ratings among the group (56.3); otherwise, the next best NFL Rating is Bostic’s 97.2 while Pierre-Louis holds the worst rating (134.7) thanks in part to giving up four touchdowns in five games.

The defensive backfield hasn’t been much help either. The Giants haven’t taken many deep shots down the field—ten to be precise, of which they have completed five for 156 yards and one touchdown.

But if the Giants can protect Daniel Jones—a big challenge given that Washington defensive line, perhaps there might be some chances to exploit that defensive secondary.

Final Thoughts

There have been five NFL games, and two XFL games played at MetLife Stadium this year. So how have the home teams done?

Not very well. The now-defunct New York Guardians had some success with their games at MetLife Stadium in which they logged a 2-0 record.

But the Giants and Jets, who have played five home games so far, are a combined 0-5 while the MLS turf-hating 49ers, who faced the Giants and Jets on different weeks, are 2-0 in that building.