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Fact or Fiction: Previewing the divisional matchup

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The Giants.com crew is presented with four statements and must decide whether they are Fact or Fiction.

The Giants will force multiple turnovers for the fourth consecutive game.

John Schmeelk: Fact - With a hurricane potentially traveling up the East Coast, there's a chance the Giants will once again be playing in terrible conditions in Landover, Maryland on Sunday. The ball will be difficult to handle, which is likely to lead to the ball hitting the ground and not going where quarterbacks are trying to throw it. With the Giants secondary showing they can be ballhawks, and Jayden Daniels potentially having issues with his left arm, the chances the Giants can take the ball away are high.

Matt Citak: Fact – The Commanders head into Week 5 with only two turnovers on the season, tied for the third-fewest in the NFL. But as John mentioned, Sunday's game is expected to be played in hurricane-like conditions, which is going to make the ball difficult to hold on to. Jayden Daniels and Jacory Croskey-Merritt each have one fumble on the season. I expect the Giants defense to be aggressive in trying to punch the ball out.

The key to Sunday's game will be containing Jayden Daniels on the ground.

John Schmeelk: Fiction - How much are the Commanders going to want Daniels to run? I'm not sure we see any designed runs and if he scrambles, I would be shocked if he doesn't have a directive to slide at the first sign of the defense closing in. If the Giants do blitz and play man-to-man defense as much as they did last week against the Cardinals, there could be a lot of opportunities to scramble, but I'm not sure that will be Daniels' mindset.

Matt Citak: Fact – With the expected weather, it's going to be difficult for both teams to do a lot through the air. The ground game will likely be leaned on heavily, and Daniels is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the NFL. He racked up 69 yards in the first half of the Week 2 game against the Cowboys before leaving with his elbow injury that forced him to miss the last two games. Now how much the Commanders will be willing to let him run because of said injury remains to be seen. But given the weather conditions, force the third-year quarterback to air it out rather than pick up yards with his legs.

View photos of the Giants on the practice field as they prepare for their Week 5 matchup against the Commanders.

The Giants will have more than two sacks in Week 5.

John Schmeelk: Fiction - I'm not sure how much the Commanders are going to throw the ball because of the weather, and I don't know how much the Giants will blitz because of Daniels' mobility. They might also get a lot of pressure but fail to get Daniels to the ground because he is such a good athlete. I do sense the sack numbers are going to start to jump higher in short order, but it might not start until next week's matchup against the Saints.

Matt Citak: Fiction – I expect the rushing attempts for both teams to greatly outnumber the passing attempts in this one, which would limit the sack opportunities. Daniels was only sacked once in the six quarters he's played in, and given his recent injury, I wouldn't be surprised if the Commanders put an emphasis on him getting rid of the ball quickly when he does drop back on Sunday.

A rookie will lead the Giants in points scored against the Commanders.

John Schmeelk: Fact - Give me Dominic Zvada! In a game with bad weather where not a ton of touchdowns may be scored, I could see the Giants relying on the leg of Zvada to put points up on the board. If one player does not score multiple touchdowns, all Zvada will need is two field goals and one extra point to be the scoring leader this week. It seems more likely than not.

Matt Citak: Fiction – As Dan pointed out in his weekly Inside the Numbers article, the Giants are 5-0 when Cam Skattebo has 18 or more rushing attempts compared to an 0-7 record when he has 17 carries or fewer. I expect the second-year running back to exceed that carry total on Sunday, which will include a couple of goal line carries. It wouldn't surprise me if he finds the end zone against the Commanders, maybe even twice, despite Dan Quinn's defense only allowing three rushing scores thus far this season.

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