Behind Enemy Lines: Insider Analysis on the Washington Commanders

Commanders Country reporter David Harrison gives us an update on all things Washington Commanders.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Dec 16, 2022 10:00 AM EST

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The New York Giants Week 15 game at the Washington Commanders is still a part of the regular season.

Not that one can tell, given the implications of the outcome. Whoever wins this game will gain the head-to-head tiebreaker, which is vital to gain, what with the bottom of the NFC playoff race being so tight.

If it's the Giants, they're going to be in great shape moving forward to where if they can win at least another game or two, they can punch their ticket to the postseason.

But if the Giants lose, well, it's not the end of the world, but it's sure to make the path to the postseason a lot trickier.

Let's check in with Commanders Country reporter David Harrison to see what's new since the Giants last faced the Commanders.

What are some things Washington has focused on regarding corrections from the last game?

I don’t know that we’ll see a lot of differences between how Washington played the Giants in Week 13 and this weekend.

For the Commanders, the overall feel of things was coming away from the tie, having done things to hurt themselves, leading to that result.

If quarterback Taylor Heinicke doesn’t miss tight end Logan Thomas on what could have been an early touchdown, and if kicker Joey Slye doesn’t miss a field goal, then Washington possibly gets a win in MetLife Stadium.

Granted, a close win, but as coach Ron Rivera stated, that’s just a part of who they are this year. So the fact it was close isn’t going to stand out as out of the ordinary.

How do you see them tweaking the game plan on each side of the ball, given how things unfolded last time?

The overall game plan will be the same as it has been since Heinicke took over. Be good on third downs as a defense, keep the score low, and control the ball on the ground while taking smart shots when available.

If there’s a big difference between what we saw the first time to this one, it’ll be in how much Heinicke uses his legs.

He said the week before the first matchup that he saw times on tape he should have taken off but didn’t, and he wanted to fix that.

He'll see the same by watching his tape from the first Giants game. This time, he might make the real-time adjustment.

Chase Young is expected back for this one. Will he be in a pitch count? And how does his return change what Washington might look to do on defense?

Young is expected to be on a pitch count regardless of his first week of action. And while this is the date most have circled - and primetime at home won’t hurt those chances - this situation appears to be about more than just the player’s health.

That being said, whether his snaps are limited because of recovery, conditioning, or because the Commanders have fielded one of the better units this season without him, if you see No. 99, it won’t be for as many snaps as you have in previous contests between these two rivals.

When you look at the last game, what are the biggest takeaways/lessons as to why the commanders couldn’t hold the lead?

Self-inflicted wounds.

This Commanders team has a very small margin of error. But by the graces of the defense, two turnovers resulted in a tie when it would have led to a loss in years past.

Perhaps that’s a good thing; we’ll have to see how the half win-half loss plays out in the playoff race at the end of the year.

But if most NFL Playoffs contenders can withstand half a dozen or so mistakes and still win, this team can afford about 80 percent of that.

Who wins and why?

Washington came away feeling they should have won that first game. And I’m sure New York did as well.

With this one at home, and with rest and the opportunity to focus on this opponent without another in the way, I have to give the edge to the Commanders.