QUARTERBACK
-Daniel Jones: 20/26 – 174 yards / 2 TD – 0 INT / 119.7 RAT
Jones added 54 yards on the ground with a third touchdown of the day. If I told you before the game that Jones would have that stat line, what would have been your first response? All 174 of those passing yards came in the second half. Yes, Jones was 4/6 with 0 yards and a touchdown in the first two quarters. They were having enormous success on the ground and Jones took a 6-yard loss on a failed screen pass to Wan’Dale Robinson. So, to be clear, Jones’ second half was 16/20 for 174 yards with a touchdown and then another score on the ground.
Very few have been as critical as I have been with Jones over the years. With that in mind, I thought Jones played well in this game. Well enough to win, for certain. He made multiple key throws into tight windows. The lost fumble was not completely on him, as left tackle Chris Hubbard failed to achieve the absolute minimum on a screen. Four of his six incompletions were drops. Both of his touchdown passes were on the money. His rushing touchdown was a hard-nosed, classic blue-collar play that we’ve seen him do over and over. He had five passes and a run that went for 15+ yards. He did not throw any interceptions. When watching this film, it is clear why NYG wants to keep him in as the starter this year because their goal, more so than fans who want high draft picks, is to win. This is the kind of tape that will make someone want to take a chance on him once NYG releases him next March.
RUNNING BACKS
-Tyrone Tracy: 16 att – 66 yards / 1 rec – 3 yards
-Devin Singletary: 7 att – 33 yards
These two were hitting singles and doubles the entire first half. Over and over. Before Washington went up by two scores right before the end of the second quarter, these two combined for 81 yards on just 15 carries. They were breaking tackles with a combination of agility and power. Their vision and anticipation were outstanding. Their rushing attempt tapes were just fun and when this line gets solid movement off the point-of-attack, they are very effective playmakers.
WIDE RECEIVERS
-Malik Nabers: 9 rec – 59 yards
Nabers went into the locker room at halftime without a catch. That was partially a result of the low volume of the NYG passing game, but WAS Head Coach Dan Quinn put a ton of attention on him as well. He got going in the third quarter, finishing with all of that production in the second half alone. He dropped another pass, his fifth in seven games, and failed to make anything happen post-catch for the second straight game. Nabers tripped over his own feet a couple times and there still seems something off with his releases off the line. That, combined with the visible frustration he shows on the field and during post-game interviews, is still worth monitoring. Daboll got a “dog” – one who has and can help this offense in a big way – but one he may have to help guide as he goes through the rigors of a bad offense. I am looking forward to seeing how he responds to this team’s adversity.
-Darius Slayton added 49 yards on three catches in addition to an 11-yard gain on a rushing attempt. His status with the team is very much up in the air. I believe teams like TB, PIT, and HOU have offenses that could use a reliable number three threat like him. But circling back to this coaching staff trying to win games, do they really want to ship out a guy who is consistent and reliable? Especially when the likes of Jalin Hyatt can’t seem to get out of the basement.
-Wan’Dale Robinson added three catches as well for just ten yards. The lack of consistent creativity this offense shows has diminished his value in a big way. Robinson has more talent than what we are seeing, but the limitations to his game are transparent.
TIGHT END
-What a roller coaster game for Theo Johnson, a fourth-round rookie at a position that many coaches say is one of the toughest to transition to from college to pro. He ended up with three catches, accruing 51 yards including a 35-yard touchdown in the midst of the NYG comeback effort. The erratic body control and coordination I’ve been discussing for months remains the number one issue. “Baby Deer” is a description I use in scouting when I see this kind of thing. Johnson is in a rare tier of athletic ability at the position, but it is almost too much for his own good. He dropped two passes and now leads NFL tight ends in drop percentage (23%). Among the 140 receivers/tight ends who have over 18 targets, his rate is the second highest. Quick hands, late hands, coordination…all of it needs improvement. But if they all advance to just an above average level, he’s got something. His blocking has mightily improved as well.
-Chris Manhertz caught his first pass of the season, a two-yard touchdown where he had to go up and get it away from his body near the back of the end zone. That was not an easy grab. This was his first catch since Week 10 of last year, his first touchdown since Week One of 2021 (which was actually the first touchdown pass of Trevor Lawrence’s career).
OFFENSIVE LINE
-All five starters played all 65 snaps yet again. Chris Hubbard saw a massive jump in overall quality, however, his biggest gaffe of the day led to the Jones fumble. It was a screen play where left guard Jon Runyan and center John Michael Schmitz faded left to get out in space to lead block for Devin Singletary. It was going to be a huge play with a ton of green in front and an extra blocker. Hubbard had to simply slow down his man, Dexter Fowler. A simple jab would have sufficed. But he missed, Fowler got to Jones in under two seconds, and after Jones sold the play fake and looked to the middle of the field (the design of the play), Fowler was on top of him and it jarred the ball loose as he was about to throw. He allowed just one other pressure and was a positive in the run game; yet that black eye puts a shadow over an improved performance from last week.
-Runyan and Schmitz were solid in the run game, notably in the first half. Runyan led the team with two pressures, and I felt he missed his mark in space a couple times. Runyan is a good, not great athlete. Because he lacks real manpower on contact, his footwork needs to be clean in order for him to be most effective. When it’s not there, he simply isn’t effective.
-Greg Van Roten got the best overall grade among the five for the first time this season. He pitched a shutout in pass protection and was the one guy who was consistently displacing guys in the run game. He got a ton of movement, and he was latching on. Jermaine Eluemunor allowed one QB hit.
EDGE
-There are a lot of rumors circulating around Azeez Ojulari, who is playing his best football since his record-setting rookie season. With all the eyes on him, he regressed from the level of play he’s shown in recent weeks. He did get his hands on Jayden Daniels once, but he missed three tackles and lost the edge on two Washington runs that led to first downs. His run defense has been sub-par and there are too many mistakes on tape in addition to the injury history that will likely dampen his value in the trade marker. My gut says he isn’t going anywhere.
-Brian Burns was stout in the run game. He made multiple stops away from the point-of-attack, chasing down backs and Daniels laterally. He added a pressure and broke up a pass as well. The two missed tackles were the main negatives on him, however.
-Tomon Fox was flagged for an illegal block on special teams and added a couple of assists during his limited snaps on defense. Not much to report on him.
DEFENSIVE LINE
-This is always the area I look at first when NYG gets torched on the ground. They entered this game last in the league in yards-per-attempt allowed. While they did not get completely torched, they did struggle to come up with big stops. WAS was without starting running back Brian Robinson. Austin Ekeler and Chris Rodriguez ran for a combined 94 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown. It felt worse than that.
-Dexter Lawrence was doubled and tripled for most of the game. He was still making an impact, and he got close a few times, but he was a hair late often. He had five tackles and just one pressure as he was lined up across one of the best guards in football, Sam Cosmi.
-Armon Watts was the only NYG defender with multiple pressures (2) and he played just 8 pass rush snaps. He seems to have passed Elijah Chatman on the depth chart, who failed to pressure the quarterback just once for the fifth time this season.
-Rakeem Nunez-Roches and DJ Davidson had active games, partially because WAS ran the ball 38 times. Davidson added a pressure against the pass. I keep holding onto my opinion that I think there is an upside to Davidson that I assume most do not see. His simple bull rush is a consistent threat and if he can develop a few secondary rush moves, he can be a bigger factor than he is. NYG will have interior defensive line on the team need’s list next offseason. Davidson can be an affordable part of that solution.
LINEBACKER
-Bobby Okereke had a high-impact game. He did miss a tackle on a Washington touchdown run, but other than that he was very clean. He finished with 9 tackles, 2 of which went for a loss, in addition to a stop in coverage. Micah McFadden led the team with 11 tackles, but got crushed in coverage for a 31-yard gain and allowed the other target to be completed as well. McFadden mis-read a couple runs inside and got caught out of position. He is quick and explosive in short areas, but the instant he needs to open up that stride and play fast in space, he gets exposed badly. He also missed a tackle. Overall, I thought his game graded below average.
-Isaiah Simmons played just six snaps and made a tackle down the field on a play where NYG defensive backs couldn’t make a tackle. Impressive speed play by him, but still a guy who can’t buy consistent snaps in this defense.
CORNERBACK
-The confidence of Deonte Banks is just shot. It’s been a very rough patch for the second-year first rounder. First, it was getting torched by true number one receivers. Then, it was a lack of hustle. Then, he got benched. Life as a young corner in this league is harder than most understand, but the good ones find a way to bounce back. Banks took another hit. He allowed 3 of 4 targets to be completed including two touchdowns, one of which was a basic-level mistake that just cannot happen. More on him below.
-Another young corner who has hit a struggle point is rookie Andru Phillips. He allowed all 5 targets to be completed and had an egregious missed tackle. His basement is higher than someone like Banks, however, because of how hard he plays the run. He finished with 5 tackles including one for a loss. He also added a pressure, giving him three on the year on just six blitzes.
-Cor’Dale Flott committed a pass interference penalty that resulted in a net of 22 yards, putting WAS just 4 yards away from the goal line. They scored a touchdown two plays later. Adoree’ Jackson did not play much, but he had a nice pass break up early on.
SAFETY
-The reliable rookie Tyler Nubin had his first really poor game. He made 3 tackles and missed 3. The misses resulted in big plays for the Commanders. He was on the hook for the longest play of the day, a 42-yard pass in the fourth quarter that pretty much deflated the NYG comeback. What’s interesting about Nubin is the lack of ball production. General Manager Joe Schoen mentioned after they drafted him in the second round how the analytics staff noted the trend of production for safeties translating to the NFL. Nubin has been in coverage for 315 snaps so far this season. He has not gotten his hand on one pass yet. Only one other safety league wide can say that.
-Jason Pinnock had 5 tackles and a couple of really physical hits. He continues to be the aggressive tone setter for the defense and if you are searching for a positive somewhere, it can be him. That dude plays hard all the time.
SPECIAL TEAMS
-K Jude McAtamney: 1/1 (Made 31)
-P Matt Haack: 2 punts / 46.0 avg – 42.0 net
3 STUDS
-OG Greg Van Roten, QB Daniel Jones, LB Bobby Okereke
3 DUDS
-CB Deonte Banks, ED Azeez Ojulari, S Tyler Nubin
3 THOUGHTS ON WAS
(1) From 4-13 to 7-2. Since 2017, Washington has won more than 7 games just one time (they were 8-8-1 in 2022). For the Giants, is there anything to take away from this turn-around, which may end up being the best in the NFL this year? You can pick the lowest hanging fruit and say it was the quarterback. You can go to the next level and talk about the coaching staff. Or, you can look at something nobody is mentioning. New ownership.
(2) Pretty much everybody including myself did not see this coming at all. Personally, I thought this roster was really poor when I looked at it before the start of the regular season. Are they winning with smoke and mirrors? Has their schedule been poor? Or is Jayden Daniels (my QB1) actually this special? Their schedule is pretty much middle of the pack, but they only have one win against a team with a winning record (Arizona who is 5-4). Their two losses? Tampa Bay and Baltimore. Their number one trait is ball protection, the clearest correlation to wins and losses league wide. Nobody has turned it over less. And yes, I think Daniels is heading towards the “special” tier, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t be nervous about his ability to physically hold up.
(3) Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is engineering the fourth-highest scoring and second-highest total yards offense in the league. His run game designs are elite. He is creating a lot from marginal talent and a shaky offensive line. They did make a couple of upgrades, but this is a group that allowed the second most sacks in the league in 2023. Kingsbury had early success as a head coach for the Cardinals. He improved that offense each of his first three seasons there and they made the playoffs after an 11-win season in 2021. He got exposed when he couldn’t adjust and he never got over the hump with red-zone struggles. His offense looks great right now, but the question is still very much relevant when it comes to his ability to adjust. Washington is also the 26th-ranked red zone offense in the NFL this year.
3 CLOSING THOUGHTS
(1) I’ve kept an open mind to analytics and how certain teams use them to make decisions. I really have. I dive in headfirst every offseason to learn more about information, data, and its purpose. I lean on them in several ways. With that said, I’m over this go-for-two stuff when you’re down 14 points. I do understand other components like going for it on fourth-down more often and not always leaning on long field goal attempts when you’re just a few yards away from a first down. But this team is starving for points. A sure-thing (like an extra point) cannot be overlooked. This truly is one of the worst offenses in the NFL and there is no denying it. In what world does going for two in these scenarios make any sense? The data and models do not know how to properly weigh match-ups and subjective feel for situations. Losing out on two points could have had a huge impact on this game. Leaning on analytics rather than looking at the LOWEST scoring and the WORST red-zone offense in the league truly is mind-boggling .
(2) Keeping it on the coaching train of thought. Much is made about Jones’ weird 0-yard first half. I get it, especially those with an agenda. But look at these gains in the run game on their second offensive drive. 4, 10, 24, 15, 10. Five straight plays that got NYG from their own 8-yard line to the WAS 29. The last three resulted in first downs. Why not stick with what is obviously and easily working? Why not minimize risk? Those five runs were by three different players. Nobody needed a breather. Washington has a bottom-five run defense. Dropping back to pass with Chris Hubbard at left tackle is a liability. So, on 1st and 10, after 63 yards on just five runs, Daboll calls a long-developing, play-fake screen pass with Hubbard left alone on an island against the Commanders’ top pass rusher? Are we serious? The next drive, NYG opens with NINE straight runs. The first pass play resulted in a 6-yard LOSS. They end up scoring a touchdown to make it 7-7. The next drive? Two passes on three plays, both of which end up incomplete, Giants punt. All of the sudden it is 21-7 Washington. The solution to this problem was right in front of Daboll’s face and he still looked elsewhere.
(3) Coming into the 2024 season, many assumed NYG had at least one answer at cornerback. Banks had a solid rookie year, and he was a first round pick with elite physical tools. The one issue? Well, I brought it up in my scouting report. “There are not a lot of plays made on his tape and I’m not sold he completely understands what he is doing yet”…“Banks is a wildcard”… “but there are question marks in a few of the mental areas of the grade sheet”… “He simply did not play a lot in college, and he was not challenged often enough”…” “Of the first six outside corners taken, Banks played the lowest number of snaps and was targeted the least (by a lot).” I bring this up because this was the expectation of drafting such an unknown when it comes to actually playing football. Going after guys with such a lack of experience because of really good workouts can sometimes work – but it usually doesn’t especially if the intangibles are anything less than a 10 out of 10. What Banks does the rest of the year could potentially swing the perception of Schoen and his ability to draft well.
