EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Washington Commanders spent last week preparing for Sunday’s rematch with the New York Giants. Before game day, the head coach made sure everyone understood they would face two opponents.
Dan Quinn finds beauty in gridiron simplicity. The form tackle that rocks a ball carrier or a well-executed chip block, the kind his tight ends delivered against New York’s pass rushers in Washington’s 27-22 road win at MetLife Stadium.
Yes, he covets explosive plays on both sides of the ball like every other win-obsessed coach. Those moments don’t always arrive in bunches, if at all, and certainly not as loudly as last week’s Hail Mary finish. Good teams lean on a baseline of consistency to grow and survive. To avoid stagnation or regression. To win even when their best is unavailable.
For the first time this season, the Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels would face an opponent for the second time. Washington rallied for a three-point win over New York in Week 2, at a time when external expectations remained low and internal thoughts focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
From there, the pace increased. The Commanders lost only once in between battling the Giants while chatter increased about where this surging team might be headed. Quinn revealed the other opponent — their Week 2 selves — and shared his expectations for his players this weekend: All that improvement, show, don’t tell.
“We need to demonstrate the improvement that we’ve made,” Quinn said. “I thought, I hoped the team from Week 9 would knock the hell out of the team from Week 2. Showing that (would) demonstrate improvement.”
GO DEEPER
The Commanders get contributions from all over their roster to keep the party going
Sunday’s victory wasn’t the cleanest performance, but the traits the head coach sought were peppered throughout the Commanders’ seventh win in eight games.
They say throw out the records when division rivals meet. History shows weirdness happens in NFC East games. Washington certainly had its share of nightmares on New York’s turf. Not this time. The 7-2 record, the franchise’s best through nine games since 1996, reflects this surprising turnaround. Quinn’s squad moving from last week’s celebrated victory to beating the reeling Giants (2-7) is the latest example of a team that grasps the formula for winning.
“Divisional games have a little more significance,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “But you want to go out there and win every game, especially the games you’re supposed to win. It’s (against) a team that was struggling, so you want to make sure that the game that happened last week doesn’t bleed into this game. I feel like it didn’t, so that’s a positive.”
The offense was more workmanlike than in previous outings, though Daniels continued making wow throws. No prayers were required on two touchdown passes to Terry McLaurin or a pinpoint 31-yarder in traffic to Noah Brown, last week’s pass-catching hero.
2 catches = 2 touchdowns for @TheTerry_25
📺 #WASvsNYG FOX pic.twitter.com/j2PWcq6WQG
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) November 3, 2024
Having sacked Daniels five times in Week 2, the Giants rarely put a hand on the mobile threat this time, even with rookie left tackle Brandon Coleman protecting Daniels’ blindside with Cornelius Lucas (ankle) unavailable.
Despite the absence of leading rusher Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring) — he appeared limited in his pregame workout — Washington rushed for 149 yards on 38 carries. Five rushes by practice squad running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. on the final drive helped run out the clock on any of New York’s comeback dreams after closing the gap to five points with 2:48 remaining.
The poised 23-year-old Daniels feeding wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus for a 42-yard reception before the two-minute warning helped cement the two-game season sweep. Daniels finished 15-of-22 for 209 yards and two touchdowns, plus 35 yards on the ground, all without a turnover.
“Everybody just respects the brotherhood. Nobody’s bigger than the team,” Daniels said. “No matter what you’re doing out there on the field, you still get treated the same way. Everybody expects you to approach work the same way. And when you’re not, then that’s when we hold people accountable, too.”
The defensive concerns against the run remain. Washington has allowed at least 95 yards on the ground each game this season. New York gashed the Commanders for 164 yards and a 5.3 yards-per-carry average. Quarterback Daniel Jones’ mobility running outside created problems. He accounted for two touchdowns in the second half, including a 2-yard run after getting hit by two defenders.
Yet Washington withstood the attempted rally because of the focus demonstrated in the first half. It held Jones to zero passing yards through two quarters — oddly with a 2-yard passing touchdown to tight end Chris Manhertz. And recovering the quarterback’s fumble forced by edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr. in the first quarter led to McLaurin’s first touchdown, a 1-yard catch.
Touchdown No. 2 found McLaurin with a perfect back-shoulder 18-yard throw from Daniels in the closing seconds of the second quarter with zero timeouts remaining. Washington led 21-7 at halftime.
“We had no timeouts and 11 seconds left,” Daniels explained. “It was either Terry’s going to catch the ball or it’s going to be an incomplete pass, and we kick a field goal.”
Some leaking existed in the fourth quarter as Jones found a rhythm, and wide receiver Malik Nabers frequently. In the second half, the rookie who torched Washington in the first meeting had all nine of his receptions for 59 yards. Jones’ late-game 35-yard touchdown pass to tight end Theo Johnson would have scared everyone rooting for Washington in years past.
Former tight end Logan Paulsen witnessed many of those moments as a player and analyst. Shortly after the game, the sideline reporter for the team’s radio broadcast shared his changed view.
“They don’t blink,” Paulsen said postgame.
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The Commanders’ record suggests that the NFC East leaders are conference contenders in Year 1 of this new era under Quinn, general manager Adam Peters and managing partner Josh Harris. They are certainly ahead of schedule without acting like they have arrived.
“Massive win last week,” linebacker Frankie Luvu said, “but this week is like any other Sunday.”
Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline presents a transactional opportunity to add help at cornerback, along the defensive line or overall depth. Sunday’s win shows that this developing bunch is capable of helping itself. The heroes included safety Jeremy Chinn (13 tackles) and Fowler, who increased his team lead to 6 1/2 sacks with two more.
“That improvement doesn’t stop here,” Quinn said. “I’m hopeful two months from now, we’ll look back and say, ‘The team two months from now can really line up against this team and go after them.’”
Washington’s schedule now becomes trickier. AFC North-leading Pittsburgh (6-2) visits Northwest Stadium next week. Then comes a Thursday night road tilt against Philadelphia (6-2), the other NFC East team with a winning record.
“I try not to think too far down the line,” Quinn continued, “but to stay in this pocket of getting better and finding the things to work on. The connection to the team is a really big deal. The best part of our team is this group. They battle hard for one another, and that’s a big deal.”
(Photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
