Pass-heavy Commanders host the Giants with DeVito set for his second NFL start

Updated Nov. 17, 2023 4:47 p.m. ET

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NEW YORK GIANTS (2-8) at WASHINGTON (4-6)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox

BETTING LINE: Washington by 9 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Giants 2-7-1; Commanders 5-4-1

SERIES RECORD: Giants lead 107-71-5.

LAST MEETING: Giants beat Commanders 14-7 on Oct. 22 at the Meadowlands.

LAST WEEK: Giants lost to Cowboys 49-17; Commanders lost to Seahawks 29-26.

GIANTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (32), RUSH (14), PASS (32), SCORING (32)

GIANTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (27), RUSH (24), PASS (21), SCORING (29)

COMMANDERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (16), RUSH (28), PASS (11), SCORING (17)

COMMANDERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (29), RUSH (21), PASS (29), SCORING (31)

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Giants minus-3; Commanders minus-2

GIANTS PLAYER TO WATCH: LB Bobby Okereke. He needs nine tackles for his third consecutive 100-tackle season. His first two were with Indianapolis. Okereke had 11 tackles last week and has had at least five in 18 games in a row. The Stanford product had 11 tackles and a pass defended in the Giants’ first game against Washington this season.

COMMANDERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Sam Howell. The Commanders have gone all-in on a pass-heavy approach under new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy in the name of featuring Howell and seeing if the 2022 fifth-round pick is the organization’s future at the position. He’ll almost certainly drop back to pass 30-plus times, and it’s on him to avoid turnovers.

KEY MATCHUP: Giants RB Saquon Barkley vs. the Commanders defense. One of Washington’s biggest problems has been allowing plays of 20 yards or more, and Barkley is capable of continuing that trend. Commanders defenders say the problem has been individual mistakes, not defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio’s scheme, and hope they can limit the big plays this weekend.

KEY INJURIES: Giants OT Evan Neal (ankle) and CB Adoree Jackson (concussion) are out for the second straight week. OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux and WR Jalin Hyatt cleared the concussion protocol Friday and practiced fully along with CBs Deonte Banks (ankle) and Cor’Dale Flott (shoulder). All left the Cowboys game early. ... Washington’s DE James Smith-Williams and RB Alex Armah are out with hamstring injuries. … RB Antonio Gibson is doubtful with a toe injury.

SERIES NOTES: The Giants are 49-40-2 at Washington all time. … New York has won the past two meetings. … The Giants are looking to snap a three-game skid. This is their third consecutive game on the road. … The Commanders have lost six of eight since starting 2-0.

STATS AND STUFF: New York’s offense hasn’t scored a first-quarter touchdown all season, and its 118 points are the fewest in the league. ... Undrafted free agent QB Tommy DeVito threw two touchdowns and an interception in his first NFL start last week. ... Barkley has rushed for at least 50 yards in 10 consecutive games, the longest active streak in NFL. ... He caught a TD against the Commanders last month. ... WR Darius Slayton leads New York with 26 catches for 337 yards. ... Sterling Shepard caught his first TD of the season Sunday … DT Dexter Lawrence sacked Howell twice last month. ... S Xavier McKinney has at least 10 tackles in back-to-back games. ... CBs Cor’Dale Flott and Darnay Holmes each intercepted Dak Prescott last week. … Howell leads the league with 2,783 yards passing and 264 completions. Over the past four games, he has thrown 183 passes with the Commanders running the ball just 78 times. … RB Brian Robinson Jr. had a career-high six catches and 157 scrimmage yards at Seattle, including a 51-yard catch-and-run TD. … WR Terry McLaurin needs one TD catch to tie for 10th in franchise history with 24. … McLaurin has averaged 92.5 yards a game in his career against the Giants. … DT Jonathan Allen and DE Casey Toohill now have a team-high four sacks after the trades of Chase Young to San Francisco and Montez Sweat to Chicago. … LB Jamin Davis led the team with 11 tackles last week. … S Kam Curl leads all defensive backs with four games of 10-plus tackles. His 81 this season are the second among DBs. … CB Benjamin St-Juste took two penalties on a late Seahawks TD drive last week. … His 15 passes defensed are tied for the most in the league.

FANTASY TIP: Robinson is still an important part of the Commanders offense, even if they slant heavily toward the pass. The 2022 third-round pick out of Alabama has 256 yards receiving this season, which ranks seventh among running backs.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

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