The Giants.com crew members react to the 21-6 loss to the Commanders in Week 1.

John Schmeelk: This game wasn't a tough one to figure out. The Giants scored only six points. They scored no touchdowns. They were 0-for-2 scoring touchdowns in the red zone (kicking just one field goal) and 4-for-16 on third down. No team is going to win many games doing that. The slightly tougher question is why.

The Giants put together one impressive drive in the first half, going 76 yards on 16 plays leading to a field goal. They did it by getting the ball out of the hand of Russell Wilson quickly, protecting well on other plays to give him a chance to deliver the ball accurately, and having two Tyrone Tracy Jr. rushes for six yards a piece early in the drive to set up manageable conversions. That formula did not hold up well the rest of the game for a myriad of reasons.

There was far too much penetration on the interior of the offensive line in both the run and pass games. Poor runs on early downs put the team into poor down-and-distance situations. The left side of the line struggled handling some games and Wilson took a number of hits in the pocket.

As attrition set in over the course of the second half, Wilson fled from some clean pockets early and was forced to throw on the move or off his back foot. Giants receivers, running backs and tight ends did not help the cause either, failing to come up with a number of catchable balls and make the most of their opportunities throughout the game. No one made enough plays to get the ball in the end zone.

When a team tallies only 231 yards, there is never just one thing or person to point to. Everyone on the offense has to take some of the blame for how this game turned out. It is only Week 1, and things often get better quickly in a team's second game. The Giants will have that chance against the division rival Cowboys next week.

Dan Salomone: While everyone was concerned about NFL RedZone in Week 1, the Giants had their issues with the area inside the 20. And it had nothing to do with commercials.

"I think the game was simple in the sense that we didn't convert in the red zone," Russell Wilson said at the top of his first postgame press conference of the regular season as a New York Giant.

The Giants were unable to find the end zone in two trips inside the 20, or from anywhere for that matter. Furthermore, they had eight plays inside the 10 that amounted to a net loss of three yards. But it's not just about how the drives ended.

The Giants were especially displeased with their production on first down, where they completed five of 13 passes for 56 yards and ran 11 times for 47 yards. It led to just four conversions on 16 third downs.

"We just we never got into a rhythm in the early part of the downs, which affected it," Daboll said. "The line of scrimmage, there was a play here, a play there, a block here, a read there, that we just kept getting behind the sticks and could never get into a good enough rhythm. And then down in the red zone we had plenty of plays down there, it's a close game. It's a 14-6 game with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Had two opportunities down there in the red zone, really low red zone and just didn't punch the ball in. So, have to do a better job in those areas. I'd say early down production, and that's everybody, and then red zone."

Matt Citak: Similar to the offense, the Giants' defense struggled to get things going against the Commanders. Let's start with the run game, the area that has really hurt the unit over the last few seasons. It was only one game, and the dual-threat ability of Jayden Daniels certainly makes it more difficult to defend the run, but Washington was able to run the ball on Sunday. The Commanders finished the game with 32 rush attempts for 220 yards, good for an average of 6.9 yards per carry, which would have been even higher had it not been for three quarterback kneel-downs at the end of the game. They found the end zone twice on the ground, one by Jacory Croskey-Merritt and one by Deebo Samuel, while all five Commanders to register a carry averaged no fewer than 4.3 yards per carry. The Commanders had one of the top rushing attacks in the NFL last season and appear to be on their way to a repeat performance on the ground in 2025. But it was a tough start for the Giants' defense, as the unit allowed 220 or more rushing yards in a game only once all of last season.

Several members of the pass rush have spoken about the importance of winning on early downs. Having a great rush doesn't mean much if you can't get your opponent into passing situations. The Commanders faced second-and-long (seven or more yards) 12 times in Week 1 (not counting Daniels' kneel at the end of the game), which sounds promising on paper. But on those 12 plays, Washington averaged 12.8 yards per play. Six of the 12 resulted in a first down, while another two led to third-and-short. The defense was only able to get Washington into a third-and-long four times, three of which resulted in stops. But it's difficult to unleash the talented pass rush, the strength of this defense, if you can't get your opponent into passing situations.

It's important to note that there were a few positive takeaways on the defensive side of the ball Sunday. For starters, Abdul Carter looks like the real deal. The rookie outside linebacker picked up three quarterback pressures on 25 pass rush snaps, according to Next Gen Stats, including two quick pressures (under 2.5 seconds). He got his hand on a Tress Way punt and nearly blocked two others. Brian Burns also had a strong game with two sacks, while Kayvon Thibodeaux picked up three pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Dexter Lawrence was held without a pressure, but he was double-teamed on 69.2 percent of his pass rushes, which led to more one-on-one situations for the edge rushers. If Carter, Burns and Thibodeaux can continue to get after the quarterback, opposing teams won't be able to put two guys on Lawrence as often. Additionally, Paulson Adebo had a strong Giants debut. The veteran corner had 33 snaps in coverage, most of which were spent on Terry McLaurin, and finished with just two receptions allowed for 27 yards. PFF had Adebo down for a passer rating against of just 50.4. If the defense can rely on Adebo to lock down the opposing team's top wideout on a weekly basis, it would provide the rest of the secondary with a significant boost.