Week 2 of the NFL season is here, and the NFC East division has to answer more questions about their ability to win games against some of the NFL’s other divisions. The Washington Football Team and the New York Giants are considered two upstart teams with the talent to win the division and host a playoff game for many seasons. However, things have changed in the blink of an eye as the two long-standing franchises have an early-season crossroad about who they want to be in 2021.
For Washington, an unsettling 20-16 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday has many around the beltway holding their collective breaths.
Is Washington the ascending team most thought they would be or are they an overhyped unit that’s still far from being mentioned alongside the game’s best?
Under coach Ron Rivera’s tutelage, Washington has surpassed many expectations when he took the job a season ago. In Rivera’s first year at the helm, Washington accomplished what his previous predecessors of Jay Gruden and Mike Shanahan did just once in both of their five seasons as coach, and that was to make the playoffs.
Washington has a chance to do what only the 2001-04 Philadelphia Eagles did almost 16 seasons ago: win consecutive NFC East crowns. The Burgundy and Gold will have to recapture their late-season form from a year ago if they are to get back to winning. Now, they will have to do so without starting signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick, who suffered a subluxated hip injury that will keep him out of action indefinitely.
Washington has turned to last season’s playoff sensation Taylor Heinicke. Heinicke was effective in his relief of Fitzpatrick by completing 11 of 15 passes for 122 and a touchdown. He also rushed for 17 yards on three attempts.
Like Washington, the Giants are coming off a flat 27-13 defeat to the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium.
While speaking to team media via his Monday press conference, Rivera talked about the sudden quarterback change in only Week 2.
“Well, it’s the nature of the game, though. First of all, it’s the most important position on your team. Secondly, the nature of the game is it’s a physical game and it’s going to happen. Unfortunately, it’s happened to us more than we need to have it in the last season and a game. You just hope that we can get a streak where we can keep guys on the field for a long time and benefit from their abilities. We’ve been fortunate. We’ve had some really good quarterbacks in the year and a game that we’ve had that have been really good at moving us. We’ve had some real strong-armed guys, but you just gotta be able to keep guys healthy and keep them on the field.”
In the team’s last contest on November 8, 2020, at FedEx Field, Washington was defeated by the Giants 23-20.
Sunday’s game marks the 179th time in franchise history the two teams will play each other. New York leads the all-time series 105-69-4, dating back to September 16, 1937. The Giants are Washington’s most frequent opponent.
What would a win over the Giants do for the Washington Football Team from a statistical and historical standpoint?
- A win would snap Washington’s five-game losing streak to the Giants that dates back to December 9, 2018.
- A win secures Washington’s 70th all-time win against the Giants, their third-most against any opponent in franchise history.
- A victory would improve Washington’s primetime record against the Giants to 8-11-1. It’s the first primetime meeting between the two teams since Washington defeated the Giants, 20-10 on Thanksgiving in 2017.
- Finally, a victory gets Washington back to .500 to start the 2021 season.
