Giants, Commanders headed in opposite directions as NFC East foes prepare for rematch

Jayden Daniels’ game-winning Hail Mary to Washington Commanders receiver Noah Brown last Sunday was the highlight of the NFL season for the NFC East’s first-place darling.

Daniel Jones’ primetime Pittsburgh loss was again filled with team-wide lowlights that undercut any positives the last-place Giants might have put on the field.

The fortunes of these two division rivals who seemingly have battled perennially for third place are splintering in opposite directions.

One has a new owner, GM, coach and quarterback, and a new stadium on the way in years to come. The other is stuck in neutral and regressing, with a 2-6 record through eight games for the second straight year.

“It’s not fun,” Giants head coach Brian Daboll said after Monday night’s 26-18 loss in Pittsburgh. “We work as hard as we can work each week. I believe we do things right. Unfortunately, the results aren’t what we want them to be. So we’ve got to have mental toughness. But [you’d] like to get better results.”

The Commanders (6-2) sit in first place coming off Sunday’s heroics. The Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) are nipping at their heels after a third straight win and their best offensive performance of the season, 37-17, over the Cincinnati Bengals.

And the Dallas Cowboys (3-4) are teetering after losing two straight to the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers. But they’re still in better shape than the last-place Giants.

Joe Schoen’s and Daboll’s Giants are 0-3 already in the NFC East, compared to a 1-0 division record for the Commanders, Eagles and Cowboys.

The other three teams have the rest of their division schedule in front of them, which gives them a better chance to shake up the order with head-to-head victories.

But Sunday marks the Giants’ fourth of six NFC East games already. They’ve run out of time, barring a miracle turnaround.

Their failures in the NFC East in many ways are a reflection on the disappointing tenure of Schoen and Daboll as a whole.

They have a 4-11-1 record in division overall since they took over in 2022, including a 1-10 mark in 11 games against the Eagles and Cowboys.

Washington is the only NFC East team that Schoen and Daboll have had any success against, with a 3-1-1 record in five games. But that includes a 21-18 road loss in Landover, Md., already.

And the Giants’ league-worst run defense, which is allowing 5.4 yards per carry to opponents, is the wrong weakness to have against Washington’s Daniels and running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler.

The Commanders rushed for 215 yards on the Giants in Week 2, including Robinson’s 133 yards at 7.8 yards per carry.

Dexter Lawrence screamed at the Giants’ defensive backs on the sideline during Monday night’s second quarter. And when the defense next came on the field, corner Deonte Banks was benched for the rest of the game.

Lawrence, Brian Burns and the Giants’ players vented frustration in the postgame locker room after the Steelers put up 426 yards of offense, the Giants committed 11 penalties as a team and Jones committed turnovers on consecutive drives to end the defeat.

“We’re a good team, and we keep beating ourselves every week,” Lawrence said. “That’s where my frustration comes from.”

Burns didn’t mince words.

“This team needs to grow up,” he said of a need to be more detailed. “The coaches can say so much. It’s the players.”

The last time the Giants played at MetLife Stadium, however, Daboll benched Jones early in the fourth quarter for Drew Lock.

The Giants are 0-4 at home this season.

They have scored 10 total points in their last two home games and only three points in the first halves of those losses combined to the Eagles and the Bengals.

Jones has not thrown a touchdown pass in MetLife Stadium this season. He has zero touchdowns, four interceptions and one benching.

And if he falters again Sunday, it’s not out of the question that this game could be his last on this field.

His $23 million injury guarantee for 2025 will prompt a benching eventually, and a fourth division loss with one game remaining before the bye probably will seal his fate as a Giant — if not the GM’s and head coach’s, too.

TRACY STILL IN PROTOCOL

Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. did not practice and is still in the concussion protocol. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (rest), tackle Josh Ezeudu (knee), punter Jamie Gillan (left hamstring), special teams linebacker Matt Adams (knee) and special teams receivers Bryce Ford-Wheaton (Achilles) and Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) also didn’t practice.

A ton of players were limited, too: edge rusher Brian Burns (Achilles/biceps), tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (hip), center John Michael Schmitz (calf), special teams linebacker Ty Summers (ankle), guard Jake Kubas (abdomen) and corners Cor’Dale Flott (groin), Tre Hawkins (ankle) and Adoree’ Jackson (neck).