Commanders 'Excited' For Meaningful December Games vs. Giants

The Washington Commanders face divisional rival the New York Giants on Sunday in yet another game that has huge playoff implications, but Taylor Heinicke and his team are ready to put their best foot forward.

It's the first day of December and the Washington Commanders are in the playoff picture.

Having won six out of their last seven games, the Commanders sit at 7-5 with back-to-back division games against the New York Giants coming up.

After what was a poor start to the season, Ron Rivera's team has turned the corner thanks in part to the play of quarterback Taylor Heinicke. As the final stretch of the season begins, Washington is in with a chance to secure a playoff spot.

After defeating the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday 19-13 in a game that had both division and playoff implications, this week's game against the Giants has a similar feel.

"Yeah, the guys are excited," Heinicke said. "Again, when you get to this time of the year, and you're in the playoff hunt, every game's really exciting. It means something. So, the fact that we put ourselves in a position that we kind of dictate our own destiny, it's a lot of fun, and guys are excited for it."

It is a credit to Rivera's team to have turned the season around to where now, they essentially control how their season goes. They could rubber-stamp their postseason credentials in the next two games.

Funnily enough, the schedule gods have thrown something rather unusual at Washington as they play back-to-back games against the Giants.

"Yeah, we went through something weirder last year," Heinicke said. "I think we had Dallas, Philly, Dallas, Philly, and then the Giants, so we had five straight division games. This isn't as crazy as last year. It's cool that we get a Bye Week in the middle. It is weird that we're playing them back-to-back games though."

With Washington sitting at 7-5 and New York at 7-4, a huge chance has presented itself to Rivera's team. Should the team manage to secure wins in both games, then that would put daylight between themselves and Brian Daboll's side in the race for a playoff spot.

The Commanders and Giants kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

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