Big Blue Review – Week 1 at Commanders; L; NYG: 6, WAS: 21
Another season of Giants football, and another Week 1 dud. For the eighth time in nine years, the Giants have started their season with a loss. And just like we’re all too used to seeing, the men in blue couldn’t score a touchdown. They are the first team since 1942 to fail to score a touchdown in three straight season openers.
This is Big Blue Review!
This is supposed to be the start of a new chapter. These Giants are supposed to be better than last year’s Giants, who finished their 100th season with a 3-14 record. The 2025 Giants are supposed to be more talented. They’re supposed to be more prepared. But on Sunday in Landover, the Giants were neither of those things as they lost to the Commanders 21-6.
It was interesting to watch Daniel Jones complete 22 of 29 passes in Indianapolis on Sunday and throw for 272 yards, with one passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns. Jones could barely throw a touchdown for the Giants last season. Just like Saquon Barkley did last year when he began his post-Giants career, Jones is accomplishing things in Indianapolis that seemed impossible when he was a Giant.
That tells me the Giants’ issues are centered around two things: The offensive line and the coaching staff.
Beginning with the offensive line, which lacked Andrew Thomas at left tackle on Sunday, quarterback Russell Wilson was hit eight times, including three sacks, and it was clear he rarely had the time nor the space he needed to execute plays. Wilson specializes in making deep passes, but if his offensive line cannot give him the time he needs to make those throws, then he won’t be able to succeed in a Giants uniform. He is also just 5’11”, which doesn’t help him see over the heads of his linemen when trying to escape the pocket. He only attempted one play of over 20 yards on Sunday, which was an incomplete pass, and he completed 17 of 37 passes for just 168 yards.
“We can do a little more to make sure [Wilson] is comfortable,” said right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor. “He got hit early, and with any quarterback, if they get hit early, it kind of lingers a little bit. We have to make sure he feels clean and safe in the pocket.”
Even if Andrew Thomas plays in Week 2, his contributions won’t be enough to solve the Giants’ offensive line problems. While substitute left tackle James Hudson III allowed the most pressures among Giants offensive linemen on Sunday, Eluemunor, Greg Van Roten, John Michael Schmitz, and Jon Runyan allowed two pressures each.
“I don’t think we were holding up as good as we hoped in protection early on,” said Runyan. “That’s on us, and that affects the quarterback, that affects the receivers, that affects the team.”
Meanwhile, the Giants went 4-for-16 on third downs and netted just 74 yards on the ground. Wilson was responsible for 44 of those rushing yards, while Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary could barely run past Washington’s defensive line. Despite only getting two carries, rookie Cam Skattebo was the best part of the Giants’ run game, as he ran down tackles head-first to gain yardage.
“We’ve got to do a better job of executing,” Eluemunor said. “It’s been like that since last year, which sucks to say. I think [Washington] just had more energy than us. They were more physical.”
The Giants’ first field goal came at the end of an 18-play drive that lasted eight minutes. The Giants moved the chains with some short passing and rushing plays before Wilson made a spot-on 25-yard pass to Malik Nabers to advance to Washington’s side of the field. A few plays later, Wan’Dale Robinson escaped a tackle to gain eight yards, and a penalty on Washington moved the Giants from the 25-yard line to the eight-yard line, but things got messy quickly. On third down, Wilson ran the ball for eight yards, but he fumbled it. Yet, he recovered it at Washington’s two-yard line, and the Giants were set up to score.
One penalty later, they had a first down at the one-yard line, and for some reason, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka dug deep into the playbook and designated rookie guard Marcus Mbow as eligible. Mbow couldn’t run quickly enough, though, and Wilson’s pass to him was incomplete. And just like that, three plays later, Graham Gano was preparing to kick a field goal.
“When the ball is on the one-two-yard line, we have to score,” Wilson said. “They stopped us. That changes the entire complexion of this game.”
But what really stopped the Giants there was their play-calling. With a struggling offensive line set up at the one-yard line, the Giants had no business giving an offensive lineman – especially a rookie – any job other than “offensive lineman.” Additionally, if the Giants were struggling to complete passes or rush the ball, then introducing a more complicated play probably wouldn’t be the best strategy. The Giants couldn’t even thread the ball up the middle from the one-yard line. They should have been squishing their biggest bodies together to push the ball forward, like they do in Philadelphia.
Maybe it’s a product of the plays being called, or perhaps the players on this team aren’t capable of producing much offense. It’s hard to tell, though, especially when so many former Giants have found immense success with other teams.
Team Stats:
Player Stats:
Scoring Breakdown:
Scoring Drives:
On Sunday, the Giants will visit the Dallas Cowboys for another division matchup. Dallas is coming off a loss in Philadelphia, and while trading Micah Parsons has affected their defense, they are still a strong offensive team. With Dak Prescott healthy, Dallas can win games, even if CeeDee Lamb drops balls (he dropped four in Week 1).
“We have to get ready to play Dallas and beat them,” said Dexter Lawrence. “Don’t make it two [losses]. No need for rah rah.”
Big Blue Injury Report (Thursday 9/11):
ILB Micah McFadden (foot) will miss significant time after sustaining an injury in Week 1.
DL Dexter Lawrence (C) did not practice on Wednesday for personal reasons.
WR Wan’Dale Robinson (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday.
LT Andrew Thomas (foot) practiced in a limited capacity today.
LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf) did not practice today.
WR Malik Nabers (back) was limited in practice on Wednesday but was a full participant today.
DL Rakeem Nuñez-Roches (foot) practiced in a limited capacity today.
WR Darius Slayton (groin) was a limited participant in practice today.
Big Blue Transactions:
9/9: NYG waived CB Tre Hawkins III, no recall from IR.
9/8: NYG sent T Reid Holskey to the Practice Squad.
9/8: NYG terminated G McClendon Curtis from the Practice Squad.
