5 Storylines to Watch Ahead of NY Giants-Washington Commanders Week 1 Meeting

Head coach Brian Daboll has done a fairly good job of protecting the team’s health status all spring and summer, but probably to his chagrin, that will end on Wednesday when the league will require him to file an injury report.

The biggest question mark for the Giants is the status of left tackle Andrew Thomas (foot). Whereas most injured players tend to downplay their health status, Thomas has been quite open and honest with his status, expressing hope that has also been mixed with a little bit of doubt as to whether he’ll be ready to play Sunday.

Other injuries of note include cornerback Deonte Banks, tight end Theo Johnson, and receiver Malik Nabers. 

If Banks can go, Cor’Dale Flott will likely get the starting nod. Ultimately, the Giants figure to rotate the two cornerbacks once both are at full strength, but the team can take some solace in knowing that Flott, when he was able to play, looked good. 

Meanwhile, regarding Johnson, the Giants reportedly tried to keep Greg Dulcich on the practice squad but lost him to Miami.  The Giants signed Qadir Ismail to the practice squad as insurance, but Johnson’s situation is still worth monitoring this week.

Nabers should be good to go for Sunday, but it would be a shock if his practice reps aren’t managed all season long in an effort to reduce any excess wear and tear on his toe or his back, both issues that cost him practice time in the spring and summer.

Can Giants get off to a fast start?

Since 2017, the Giants haven’t exactly been known for getting off to fast starts when it comes to their seasons. 

Over that period, the Giants have started 0-2 six times (2017-21, 2024). When the Giants have started a season 2-0 (2016 and 2022) in that same time frame, they’ve made it to the postseason.

The Giants, at least for the last two seasons, have come out of the gate looking as though they were still in the early stages of training camp. And there is a good reason for that: they were, thanks to Daboll’s reluctance to play the starters much in the preseason.

Record aside, the Giants also need to get off to a fast start game-wise. They have been blown out in their first two regular-season openers 68-6, and have scored just three of those six points in the first quarter of the games. If this team aspires to win some games this year, that trend cannot continue.

This summer, he changed his ways, playing his starters in the first and second preseason games to allow all the new faces to get used to the game’s cadence.

While there were still key players held out of games (Nabers, Thomas, Dexter Lawrence), and while we would have liked for the players to take part in the third preseason game, even if it had just been for a series or two, this change in thinking is a big step forward for Daboll.

While the past is the past and it’s a new team, it still goes without saying that the Giants, whose first two games are against division opponents, need a fast start if they’re eyeing something good at the end of the season.

That starts with putting points on the board.

Will the defensive pass rush live up to its billing?

All spring and summer, the Giants' defense, which has vastly improved on paper, has been among the frequent storylines.

In particular, there is great excitement over the team’s pass rush, which will see the return of Lawrence from injury as well as the addition of rookie Abdul Carter, the third overall pick in the draft.

Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has been careful this summer not to tip his hand as to the different ways he intends to mix and match his defensive personnel, which is fine. 

However, it won’t be fine if the defense doesn’t consistently perform as a top-10 unit, given the abundance of talent that general manager Joe Schoen obtained for the unit.

That said, the Giants' pass rush should be able to get off to a good start. 

Washington is going to be without starting right guard Sam Cosmi, who is currently on IR as he recovers from a knee injury suffered in the postseason. 

Of those offensive linemen returning for Washington, Cosmi was the team’s best pass blocker last season, per Pro Football Focus. One of Andrew Wylie or Nic Allegretti, both free agents who came over from the Chiefs, is projected to replace Cosmi.

How much magic does Russell Wilson have left?

The Giants have a completely new quarterback room this year, led by Russell Wilson, who is now on his third team in as many years. Wilson certainly has an impressive resume that includes 10 Pro Bowl berths and a Super Bowl championship, but that doesn’t necessarily answer a burning question on offense. 

Can Wilson finally allow this Giants offense to become more vertical? That’s the hope, but a concern regarding Wilson’s game is his tendency to hold the ball a little too long at times.

Since 2022, Wilson has averaged nearly three seconds to throw the ball (based on data gathered from Pro Football Focus). That’s well above the 2.5-second mark that most coaches like for their quarterbacks to be under when passing the ball.

The tradeoff for Wilson has been fewer interceptions–just 26 among his 1,367 dropbacks in that time frame versus 58 touchdowns. 

The Giants, remember, have speed at receiver, but haven’t really been able to tap into that speed due to the quarterback play. And while this isn’t to suggest that the Giants throw the deep ball every time–no team does that–it would be nice to see the Giants attempt and succeed at a few more deep passes per game than they have in the past.

Will we see Jaxson Dart?

Giants fans are about to let their imaginations run wild now that the team’s unofficial depth chart is out and it lists Dart as QB2. 

This has raised curiosity as to whether the Giants are planning to put some packages into the weekly gamelan for Dart or if the coaching staff might be quicker to pull Wilson if the train falls off the rails.

While all of this remains a possibility, the keyword in this equation is that the depth chart is “unofficial.” The Giants’ public relations staff draws it up every week, and it’s based on what is observed and known about the snap distribution. It does not mean that Dart’s official NFL regular-season debut is set in stone for this week.

Although it’s hard to deny that this development certainly raises the intrigue.

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