New York Giants Week 9: How the Commanders Offense Might Be Different This Time

Can a New York Giants defense slow down the Washington Commanders offense led by Jayden Daniels?

Oct 27, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at Commanders Field. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

The New York Giants will face an opponent for the second time when they host the NFC East-leading Washington Commanders, whom they lost to thanks to a lack of a healthy kicker back in Week 2.

What, if anything has changed with the Commanders’ offense?

Personnel

Commanders rookie starting quarterback Jayden Daniels has to be the early favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year at this point.

Daniels has 1,736 passing yards with seven passing touchdowns to just two interceptions while also registering 424 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

The running back duo of Brian Robinson, Jr. and Austin Ekeler are having some of the most productive seasons of their careers so far.

Part of that is due to Daniels's dual-threat ability, which requires defenses to hesitate to attack the run game as they need to make sure he doesn’t get to the edge.

Robinson and Ekeler have put together a combined 701 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns on 140 carries (5.01 yards per carry), with 286 receiving yards on 28 catches as well.

After a slow start to the season, Terry McLaurin has emerged as his usual dominant self. He finally has a quarterback who can connect with him on deep passes.

There’s a clear lack of secondary options that can be both explosive and reliable in the passing game. Zach Ertz is reliable but lacks consistent big-play ability.

While McLaurin is the only truly consistent threat on this offense, I don’t think the Giants have a cornerback who can consistently match him.

The Commanders' offensive line has been wildly inconsistent lately, allowing a pressure percentage of 35% or higher in three of the past four games.

For reference, the Giants got pressure on 31.6% of their pass-rush opportunities against the Commanders in week two.

Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury against the Arizona Cardinals in the second half at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Scheme

Credit to Kliff Kingsbury for his changes to the offense and allowing players to go out and make plays.

The run game has been versatile between gap and zone schemes, finding more success in the running gap scheme but keeping zone runs involved in the offense.

Daniels’ legs haven’t been used much lately as a designed part of the offense, but he’s had the green light to take off scrambling whenever he wants and he thrives in an environment like that.

Last time I wrote this, my issue with Kingsbury was that throughout his career and in the Commanders’ first game of the season, he didn’t put players in a position to succeed.

He still fails in some areas but has grown as a play-caller there, despite still using McLaurin almost exclusively as a left outside receiver.

The play-action passing game has unsurprisingly been incredibly effective with Daniels this year, and they’ve leaned more into it recently after not doing so in the first few weeks.

The Commanders won’t use motion frequently because they still run an air raid style that is more about reading what the defense is giving you and taking it.

Expect to see the Commanders go up-tempo if they see something they like from the defense, something they’ve done frequently this year after a solid gain.

Overview

The Commanders' offense has opened up significantly since the first time these two teams played.

That week two matchup remains the only game in which Daniels was sacked more than three times, as defensive coordinator Shane Bowen did a masterful job consistently generating pressure.

I expect the Commanders to try to create more deep shot opportunities this time around, as the Giants' secondary has struggled to make a play on the ball in recent weeks.

The Giants should take either a very aggressive or very conservative approach - blitz their lights out or sit in quarters coverage and take away the over-the-top passes while having zone defenders watching Daniels’ legs.

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