Trying to reset his team after losing six of eight games, Ron Rivera’s message this week has been about the opportunity in front of the Washington Commanders with the New York Giants coming to town.
“It’s a chance to get ourselves on track and keep going,” Rivera said.
Somewhat incredibly, the Commanders (4-6) are still in the playoff hunt given the underwhelming field of teams competing for the three wild-card spots in the NFC. They’re favored to beat the struggling Giants (2-8), who are on a three-game skid and again are starting undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito at quarterback. But Washington has already lost to New York this season and isn’t taking for granted facing a third-stringer Sunday.
“He’s an NFL, professional quarterback,” Commanders cornerback Kendall Fuller said. “Anybody out there can win a football game. That’s the mentality that we’re going with, and we’re going to need all 11 guys on the field to be able to stop their offense.”
Washington is a 9 1/2-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook — the biggest spread in the team’s favor since 2017. That’s more reflective of the Giants coming off blowout losses of 49-17 at Dallas last week and 30-6 at Las Vegas on Nov. 5 than anything the Commanders have done.
And it’s certainly overlooking the Giants’ 14-7 home win against Washington last month.
“It’s not like Washington’s going to roll over just because we beat them the first time,” Giants right guard Ben Bredeson said. “Obviously, there were some things that worked, and there was definitely things that we need to improve on before going into the second matchup with them.”
The Commanders’ offense is much improved since then, averaging 420 yards and just under 26 points in the past three games. Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has leaned into a pass-heavy approach that showcases Sam Howell, who has thrown more than any QB in the NFL and, as a result, leads the league with 264 completions and 2,783 yards.