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Players to watch in Week 2 NFC East matchup

PLAYERS-TO-WATCH-WEEK2

The Giants will look to pick up their first victory of the season this weekend when they face the Washington Commanders on the road.

It was tough opening weekend for each of these NFC East teams. The Giants fell at home to the Minnesota Vikings, 28-6, while the Commanders went on the road and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 37-20.

This will be the first of two consecutive road games for the Giants, who travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns in Week 3 before welcoming the Dallas Cowboys to MetLife Stadium for a Thursday night matchup in Week 4. The Commanders will head to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals on Monday night of Week 3. The Giants and Commanders will also meet in Week 9 at MetLife Stadium.

Here are five players to watch in the Week 2 divisional matchup.

QB Daniel Jones

The sixth-year quarterback completed just 22 of 42 passes for 186 yards and two interceptions against the Vikings in Week 1, while adding 15 yards on six carries. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Jones said he missed some opportunities and will look to correct his mistakes in Week 2.

"I think overall just playing quicker, being cleaner with my feet. Definitely some things to clean up and I'll look to do that," Jones said. "I think certain decisions here and there could have done a better job. Each play you try to take something from and learn something and then apply that to this week of practice and improve it."

The good news for Jones is that the Giants now face a Commanders team that the 27-year-old has had a lot of success against throughout his career. In seven starts against Washington, Jones is 5-1-1 with a nearly 70 percent completion rate, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions, good for a 98.0 passer rating. Jones has also rushed for 324 yards and a touchdown against the Commanders with a 6.2 average yards per carry.

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 80 percent of his passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns last week against Washington, along with another 21 yards on the ground. This comes after Washington ranked last in the league in both passing yards and touchdowns allowed in 2023. The Commanders defense also allowed the most touchdowns (19) and fourth-most yards per attempt (8.1) while in zone coverage last season, which Mayfield took advantage of in Week 1 (19 of 22 passing for 229 yards and two touchdowns).

View photos of the Giants on the practice field preparing for their Week 2 matchup against the Commanders.

WR Wan'Dale Robinson

While Nabers led the team in receiving yards in the opener, Robinson finished with the most receptions and targets. The shifty slot receiver brought in six of 12 targets for 44 yards, as 10 of those targets came on either short routes (0-9 air yards) or behind the line of scrimmage. Robinson also continued to play a small role in the run game, adding one carry for 14 yards.

Robinson serves as the team's primary slot receiver, evidenced by his 28 routes (80 percent) out of the slot in Week 1. The Commanders used a second-round pick (No. 50) on nickel cornerback Mike Sainristil this year, but the rookie got his NFL career off to a rocky start. According to Next Gen Stats, the former Michigan corner allowed four receptions for 50 yards and two touchdowns against the Buccaneers. In fact, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and rookie Jalen McMillan each caught one touchdown while lined up in the slot last week.

DL Dexter Lawrence

Over the last two seasons, Lawrence has established himself as not only the Giants' best defender, but also one of the top defensive linemen in the NFL. The 6-foot-4, 340-pound lineman has been selected to back-to-back Pro Bowls along with two consecutive second-team All-Pro selections, and got his 2024 campaign off to a similar start.

Lawrence was nothing short of dominant against the Vikings in Week 1. The 26-year-old generated a team-high seven quarterback pressures on just 20 pass rush snaps, according to Next Gen Stats, leading to a career-best single-game pressure rate of 35.0 percent. He also had an average get-off of 0.89 seconds, which would have tied him for the fourth-fastest among all defensive tackles with 250+ pass rush snaps last season. Lawrence finished with three tackles (two solo), a sack and a pass defensed.

Washington surrendered 16 quarterback pressures and two sacks against the Buccaneers last week, according to NGS. Last year, the Commanders tied the Panthers for the second-most sacks allowed on the season with 65. The interior of Washington's offensive line consists of Nick Allegretti (left guard), Tyler Biadasz (center), and Sam Cosmi (right guard). The trio combined for six pressures allowed in the opener.

OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux

Thibodeaux made a big jump from his rookie season to Year 2. The outside linebacker saw his sack total increase from four to 11.5 last season, while also finishing with more quarterback hits (16) and forced fumbles (three). Thibodeaux was unable to make much of an impact in the season opener, finishing with just one quarterback hit, but has a prime opportunity to get going against the Commanders this weekend.

Over his first two seasons, Thibodeaux has performed his best when facing the Commanders. In four games against the division rival, the 23-year-old has registered 5.5 sacks out of his career 15.5. He has also recorded 26 total tackles (15 solo), seven tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits, all of which are easily the most he's had against any opponent. Thibodeaux also has his only career touchdown against the Commanders on a play in which he stripped the ball out of the quarterback's hands, recovered it himself and fell into the end zone.

"We see them twice a year, so I'm excited," Thibodeaux told reporters Wednesday. "Jayden Daniels is a great quarterback. He's from Cali. Grew up knowing him, grew up with him, so I understand he's a great player and I'm excited to go against him."

Washington's offensive tackles struggled at times against the Buccaneers last week. Right tackle Andrew Wylie was credited with five quarterback pressures allowed, according to NGS, while Cornelius Lucas and Brandon Coleman combined for three pressures surrendered at left tackle.

ILB Bobby Okereke

Okereke is coming off a career year in his first season with the Giants. The veteran linebacker registered 149 total tackles (92 solo) while setting new career-highs in sacks (2.5), tackles for loss (11), quarterback hits (six), forced fumbles (four), and passes defensed (10). Okereke had three tackles (two solo) in the Week 1 game against the Vikings, but is set up to make a larger impact this weekend against the Commanders.

Washington running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler combined for 14 carries for 50 yards last week, good for an average of 3.6 yards per carry, while adding a touchdown. The two backs really made their presence felt in the passing game as they finished as the Commanders' top two receivers. Ekeler brought in a team-high four receptions for 52 yards, while Robinson finished right behind him with three catches for 49 yards.

Okereke will play a big role in limiting Washington's two backs, but the inside linebacker will also have to keep an eye on rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. The No. 2 overall pick led the Commanders with 16 rush attempts in Week 1 and totaled 88 yards (5.5 avg.) with two touchdowns.

"Explosive," defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said about the rookie QB. "He eats up grass. If he gets loose and he gets vertical, he's eating up grass in a hurry."

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

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