Fresh off their bye week, the Giants (2-11) will return to MetLife Stadium this Sunday for a divisional matchup against the Commanders (3-10).

The Giants enter this game having lost seven consecutive games, a stretch that has included multiple changes on the coaching staff. The last time we saw them take the field, the Giants fell to the Patriots 33-15 in Foxborough on Monday Night Football.

Things have not been going any better on the other sideline. The Commanders went on the road and lost to the Vikings 31-0 last week, which marked their eighth consecutive defeat and and 10th of the season. This came after a 3-2 start to the year.

The two NFC East rivals met for the first time all the way back in Week 1, when Washington cruised to a 21-6 victory at Northwest Stadium. While this week's game will be the first of two remaining divisional matchups for the Giants this season, the Commanders close out their campaign with four consecutive outings against the NFC East.

Here are storylines to follow in Week 15.

Finish strong

Fresh off their bye, the Giants head into the final quarter of the season looking to snap their seven-game losing streak. With four games remaining on the schedule, the team will look to stack some wins and gain positive momentum heading into the offseason and the 2026 campaign. It starts this weekend with a divisional matchup against the Commanders.

"Regardless of the record, I mean, our focus and our vision is on Washington and how we can improve as a team, how we improve individually, and then as a group, and then as a team," interim head coach Mike Kafka told reporters Tuesday. "So, again, our coordinators and our coaches have a really clear plan on how we want to do that, how we want to attack it. So now it's about bringing that to life and no better than our players having that opportunity and continuing to find ways for them to get better.

"I think as an NFL football player, you want to be able to maximize yourself, and that's what our challenge is as coaching staff, is to continue to maximize our players. So, putting them in a good position, continuing to have an aggressive mindset, and then attacking this week with great urgency."

Dart 'refreshed, energized'

After missing two games due to a concussion, Jaxson Dart returned to action for the team's Week 13 matchup in Foxborough. The rookie quarterback completed 70.8 percent of his passes, his second-highest completion percentage of the season, for 139 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He added 20 yards on the ground on just four carries, his lowest number of rush attempts since taking over as the starting quarterback.

After some time off during the bye week, the 22-year-old returned to the facility ready to roll in the final four games of the season.

"He seemed refreshed, energized," the interim head coach said on Wednesday. "He looked good, excited and ready to go. I had a couple conversations with him over the bye, and I think everyone's excited. They had some good time to get off their feet, kind of refresh their mind, reload their mind and their bodies. And now we have a good, clean plan on how we want to attack this week. And I think the guys are ready to go. We'll see today. We've got a good day of practice, and we'll get after it."

"Great to be back," Dart added after practice. "Really good energy today. It felt refreshing. Had some time off and everybody was just excited to get back to work. Just took a lot of time to self-scout and just going to improve on things we need to improve on in these next four weeks."

Dart has a good opportunity to continue his strong rookie campaign on Sunday. The Commanders defense has struggled this year, especially in the passing game. Washington heads into this game ranking 30^th in passing yards and 28^th in passing touchdowns allowed on the season. During the team's 31-0 loss to the Vikings last week, rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy broke out of his season-long slump in a big way. McCarthy completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 163 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 129.2 passer rating.

"These games are huge, so really excited to get back to it," Dart said about NFC East matchups. "Obviously, you watch the first game and see how each team has adjusted, us and them, up until this point. So, it's going to be a game of chess, for sure, and it's going to be really good energy."

Daniels out; Mariota to start

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn provided a significant update at the start of his Wednesday press conference with the news that Jayden Daniels will not play this weekend. The star second-year quarterback made his return to the field last weekend after an elbow injury sidelined him for a month. However, Daniels took a hit to the same elbow against the Vikings which forced him to depart early. While out there, he completed just nine of 20 pass attempts for 78 yards and an interception.

Veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota will once again start for the injured Daniels. The 11^th-year signal-caller has played in nine games with six starts for the Commanders this season. He has completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 1,389 yards, nine touchdowns and seven interceptions while taking 13 sacks. He's also added 39 carries for 255 yards (6.5 avg.) and one touchdown.

"I think they both have a similar skill set," Kafka said Tuesday about Daniels and Mariota. "They're both able to run and throw and operate. Marcus is a veteran quarterback. I remember him from my time in Tennessee. We played together there for a hot minute for a couple weeks. But yeah, a lot of respect for both of those guys. And (Commanders offensive coordinator) Kliff (Kingsbury) does a great job with the offense. Yeah, so it's going to be a big challenge for us."

Injury updates; Thibodeaux not practicing

Coming out of the bye, the Giants opened the practice windows for four players. Offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu (calf) was placed on injured reserve at the end of training camp, while cornerback Art Green (hamstring) was hurt during the Week 8 matchup against the Eagles. The following week, linebacker Darius Muasau (ankle) and wide receiver Beaux Collins (neck) got hurt against the 49ers. All four players were full participants at Wednesday's practice.

Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. was back at practice Wednesday after suffering a hip injury against the Patriots in Week 13. Tracy was forced out of the game early and did not return, but was listed as a full participant on the first injury report of the week. Cornerback Korie Black (biceps) and linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee/neck) were also full participants.

It wasn't all positive news on the injury front, though. Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) once again did not participate in practice. The fourth-year linebacker suffered a shoulder injury in Week 10 and has not been at practice since. Fellow outside linebacker Victor Dimukeje (knee) went down as a DNP on Wednesday, as well.

"He's working," Kafka said Wednesday about Thibodeaux. "He's working. He looks good. I saw him in the hallway today. But he's working. Just not ready yet."

The following players also did not participate in Wednesday's practice – defensive lineman D.J. Davidson (illness), cornerback Nic Jones (shoulder), defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches (ankle), wide receiver Gunner Olszewski (concussion), and guard Greg Van Roten (shoulder).

Punter Jamie Gillan did not practice Wednesday, either, as he deals with a left knee injury. The Giants signed veteran punter Cameron Johnston to the practice squad this week in case Gillan is unable to suit up Sunday.

"He's just got a little bit of a knee, like some knee inflammation," Kafka told reporters about Gillan. "So, just working through it."