Hogs Haven
Spotlight on the offensive line’s standout performance
Some were calling this a trap game. But the Giants always seem to play Washington tough, no matter how their season is going or what clouds are hanging over their QB.
The Giants were one of six two-win teams heading into the Week 9 matchup. Their offense ranked 26th in the NFL at -0.084 EPA/play, while the Commanders ranked 1st at +0.216 EPA/play. However, that didn’t necessarily mean it would be a cake walk. The Giants pass defense ranks 9th in the league in both yards and TDs allowed.
One of the keys to the Giants strength on defense is a pass rush featuring Brian Burns and Azeez Ojulari on the edge and Dexter Lawrence, with 9 sacks on the season, in the middle. Prior to Sunday’s game, the Giants were sacking opposing QBs on 13.3% of dropbacks, which ranks up there with some of the greatest defenses of all time. With rookie Brandon Coleman playing his first full game at LT, due to an injury to Cornelius Lucas, there was reason to be anxious.
Those concerns proved to be unfounded. The Commanders’ OL did an exceptional job of containing the Giants pass rushers, allowing only 4 pressures all game and no sacks. The Commanders led from start to finish. The Giants offense came to life in the second half and started to mount a comeback.
But when it really mattered, the offense put together a 9 play, 67 yard drive, featuring a back breaking 42 yard completion to Olamide Zaccheaus, followed by some good old fashioned ground and pound chain moving runs by Chris Rodriguez. That allowed the Commanders to run out the clock and protect their lead. The game ended with three kneel downs inside the Giants’ 2 yard line. The score could easily have been more lopsided than it was.
Good teams dominate weak opponents. The Commanders are without a doubt one of the better teams in the league. Next Sunday they will have another opportunity to demonstrate just how good they are against the 6-2 Pittsburgh Steelers. But before we move on to that game, let’s review the key contributions to Washington’s commanding performance in their second victory over the New York Giants.
In his rematch with the Giants, Jayden Daniels completed 15/22 passes (68.2% completion rate) for 209 yds and 2 TDs with no interceptions.
In the Week 2 outing against the league’s top pass rush unit, Daniels was sacked 5 times and faced 13 total defensive pressures. Seven weeks later in Sunday’s rematch Daniels faced just 6 pressures and became the first opposing QB this season to avoid being sacked by the Giants. Instead, Daniels scrambled 3 times for 29 yards. He finished the afternoon with 8 rushing attempts for 35 yds (4.4 YPA) and 3 first downs, with 1 broken tackle.
Daniels’ super efficient performance earned a near perfect QBR of 96.0. That could well be the highest QBR ever achieved by a...
