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10 Things To Watch For

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10 things to watch in Giants vs. Commanders

DABOLL-QUINN-10-THINGS

HIT THE GROUND RUNNING

It's been eight months since the Giants last took the field for a regular-season game. Following a long offseason and summer, the Giants are ready to finally get the 2025 campaign started.

There has been a lot of talk over the last few months about a different energy around the team. We saw that lead to positive results during the preseason with coach Brian Daboll's squad going 3-0, totaling 107 points and finishing with a point differential of +60. While those games won't end up counting towards the team's final record, it shouldn't be overlooked.

"I think that we've been evolving, I wouldn't say changing, but I think definitely evolving is just our mindset," quarterback Russell Wilson told reporters Wednesday. "I think mindset is everything. I think belief is everything. I think belief in one another, faith in one another, faith in the process and belief in the process and the system and what we do really well. Then working at those things at a relentless rate. I think Coach Daboll has done a tremendous job of leading us, communicating with us as players, challenging us accountability-wise.

"I think too, we've been having a lot of fun together. We get to do the best thing in the world, play football, do what we love to do with a lot of guys that we love. That's what makes it great. Especially when you get to do it with a great organization. They do it the right way here. I think that makes it fun, too. You come to work, you're excited to ball. But at the end of the day, we've got to go do it. That's the great part about it. We get to try to control that as much as possible. I think we've been controlling the controllables, if that makes any sense. I think the controllables are hard work, time and really spending a lot of time on the details of the work. I think we've been doing that really well."

ALL-TIME SERIES

The New York Giants will travel to Washington to play the Commanders to open the regular season at Northwest Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 7. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET on FOX.

Sunday's game marks the 187th all-time meeting between the teams. In regular season play, they've faced off 184 times, with the Giants leading the series 107-72-5.

Nine of the past 11 games between the two teams have been decided by one possession, including both of last year's matchups, which the Commanders won.

See the best photos from Wednesday's practice at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

INJURY REPORT

Giants

Doubtful: OT Andrew Thomas (foot)

Commanders

No players listed on final injury report

HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN, & STREAM

TV

Channel: Fox

Analyst: Kevin Burkhardt (Play-By-Play), Tom Brady, (Analyst), Erin Andrews (Sideline), Tom Rinaldi (Sideline)

Stream

This week's game can be streamed on NFL+

Radio

Channel: WFAN 101.9FM

Announcers: Bob Papa (Play-by-Play), Carl Banks (Analyst), Howard Cross (Sideline)

Pre- and Postgame: John Schmeelk, Tiki Barber

Pregame: Giants Gameday begins at 11:00 a.m., presented by Hackensack Meridian Health.

Postgame: Giants Extra Point

RUSS' GIANTS DEBUT

Speaking of Russell Wilson, the long-time NFL veteran is set to make his 200th career regular-season start on Sunday, but his first as a member of the Giants. Wilson played in the first two preseason games and finished 10 of 14 for 136 yards, including one moon ball completion to Beaux Collins for an 80-yard gain. While that was the only one he threw in the preseason, Wilson's famous deep pass made appearances during training camp on a near daily basis.

"I think a big part of it for me is, with the moon ball or whatever, it's giving guys a chance," Wilson told reporters. "I've got tremendous receivers, guys who can make a lot of plays. It all starts with the offensive line, giving me enough time to make those throws and the versatility of do-it-all. It's definitely been a fun part of my game. I think that the guys, the receivers make it."

"He has a good feel for arc and pace on the football relative to guys running down the field, where he needs to put it, where to throw it away from defenders, where to put it on the sideline," coach Brian Daboll added. "Again, he's done it for quite some time. Obviously, that's part of his game, but there's a lot of other areas of his game that he does well, too."

Wilson played in 11 games for the Steelers last season and led Pittsburgh to a 6-5 record. The veteran completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions, which earned him a passer rating of 95.6. He also added 43 carries for 155 yards and two additional touchdowns.

PLAN AT LEFT TACKLE

The Giants enter the season relatively healthy, with only left tackle Andrew Thomas listed on the injury report. Thomas has been working his way back from last season's foot injury. After starting training camp on the physically unable to perform list, the left tackle passed his physical on Aug. 19 and returned to practice. Since then, the Giants have been smart with their top lineman, whom Daboll said is "improving" each day. Thomas was limited in practice on Wednesday before having a scheduled off day on Thursday. He returned to practice as a limited participant on Friday and is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game.

If Thomas is unable to suit up this weekend, veteran James Hudson III will likely get the start at left tackle. Hudson played in the first two preseason games with the rest of the starting offensive line and allowed just one pressure on 19 pass blocking snaps. If it is Hudson lining up at left tackle for the Giants on Sunday, Daboll is confident the veteran, along with the rest of the line, can get the job done.

"He's a guy I'm glad we signed," the head coach said Monday about Hudson. "He's done everything we've asked him to do, just like all the other guys have. Offensive line is five collective guys seeing it through the same set of eyes, or two tight ends, one tight end, whatever it may be. So those guys are doing everything they can do each day to be as productive as they can."

PASS RUSH UNLEASHED

It seems to have been forgotten that the Giants had one of the NFL's top pass rushes for a portion of the 2024 campaign. For several weeks, the defense was on pace to break the NFL's single-season sack record. Unfortunately, the unit then dealt with numerous injuries, including ones to Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari, which derailed their sack numbers. Nonetheless, the Giants' 45 sacks were tied for the eighth-most in the league at the end of the season.

The big three of Lawrence, Thibodeaux and Brian Burns have all returned and are entering Week 1 healthy and ready to roll. The biggest change to the pass rush is of course the addition of Abdul Carter. The No. 3 overall pick was college football's top defensive player last season with his 24 tackles for loss, which led the nation, to go with 12 sacks. In his first preseason game, Carter recorded three pressures on three pass rush snaps, including two against four-time Pro Bowl tackle Dion Dawkins.

"You see the explosiveness obviously rushing the passer," defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said earlier this week. "He's a really good athlete, too. He can bend, the flexibility, everything that comes with it, which we've all seen from Penn State. I think there's a violence to him. Like the explosiveness comes out in that form too, which is probably a little bit more than what I was expecting, to be honest. He's done everything we've asked of him, continues to try to improve, continues to practice hard. So excited about him. Excited to see him out there Sunday."

PLAYER TO WATCH

RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. - In his one start against the Commanders last season, Tracy carried the ball 16 times for 66 yards (4.1 avg.). But Washington's struggles against the run last year went a lot deeper than that. The Commanders ranked 30th in the NFL in both rushing yards allowed per game (137.5) and per carry (4.8), while their 18 rushing touchdowns surrendered were tied for 18th. They did make some changes up front, however, bringing in Javon Kinlaw and Von Miller while parting ways with veteran lineman Jonathan Allen.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

WR Malik Nabers vs. CB Marshon Lattimore - Fresh off his historic rookie campaign that saw him break the franchise reception record, Malik Nabers will face a tough matchup in the season opener. The second-year receiver will likely see a lot of cornerback Marshon Lattimore in coverage. This will be the first matchup between the two, as the veteran was traded to Washington after the two meetings between the division rivals last year. Lattimore played in just nine games last year and allowed 13 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown for an 87.3 passer rating against, according to Pro Football Focus. Nabers caught a total of 19 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown in his two outings against the Commanders as a rookie, but Lattimore represents a more difficult matchup than what the young wideout faced last year.

COMMANDER TO WATCH

QB Jayden Daniels – Nabers' former college quarterback put together an impressive rookie campaign himself, one that ended with the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game. Daniels completed 69.0 percent of his passes for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions for a 100.1 passer rating across 17 regular season games. He made an even bigger impact in the run game, where the dual-threat quarterback logged 148 rush attempts for 891 yards, good for an average of 6.0 yards per carry, while adding an additional six touchdowns. Across his two games against the Giants last season, Daniels had a 74.5 completion percentage with a total of 435 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Giants did a relatively good job of limiting him on the ground, as the young QB had 79 yards on 18 carries (4.4 avg.). Washington's offensive line should improve this season following the additions of tackles Laremy Tunsil and Josh Conerly Jr. With veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel also added to the fold, Daniels could be in for a big Year 2.

View photos from the all-time series between the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders.

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Tickets available for the Giants Women's Tailgate

Join us Sunday, Sept 28 -10am to 12:30 pm at the Ultimate New York Giants Women's Tailgate, an event designed to celebrate and unite the team's loyal fan base.

Enjoy a curated custom merchandise shop, exclusive Kendra Scott activation, tailgate games, giveaways, photo opportunities, live DJ entertainment, and more!

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