GREG JOHNSON: Giants’ defense playing more cohesively entering division game with Commanders – troyrecord

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Was the Giants’ defensive performance in Buffalo merely a one-off, or a sign of things to come?

We’re about to find out Sunday afternoon when New York hosts Washington at MetLife Stadium, and the answer will shed light on the trajectory of this season.

Win or lose, the Giants (1-5) are probably not going to the playoffs this season. But they are truly dead if they lose another division game this weekend. That would force the front office to strongly consider being sellers before the Oct. 31 trade deadline.

On the other hand, only one of the Giants’ next seven games is against a team with a winning record (at Dallas on Nov. 12). So if they go on a hot streak right now, there remains some hope — although again, the math from four games under .500 is a steep climb.

That hope seemed to be ignited last Sunday as the Giants held the Bills to a season-low 14 points including a shutout through three quarters — the first time a Josh Allen-led offense had even gone scoreless in the first half at home since his rookie season in 2018.

It was by far the best that this defense has played, yet it makes you wonder how much of it was because of head coach Brian Daboll’s intel on Allen — Daboll was Allen’s offensive coordinator from 2018-21 — and how much of it was genuine progress for this unit.

“I think that it was the execution itself, the communication, the one play at a time mentality was there all night, and when you have that in this league, you’ve got a shot,” defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. “We had a different plan, we hit them with a different counter punch. This is the fourth time we have gone against Josh (since Martindale was Baltimore’s defensive coordinator) and we had a different style of plan, and he’s a tremendous quarterback with some great players out there, and it was a great challenge that I think that our guys took that challenge and went with it.”

It was also a favorable matchup because the Bills played 46 of their 59 snaps in 11 (one running back and one tight end) personnel without injured tight end Dalton Kincaid, which allowed the Giants to play 47 snaps in nickel and dime packages, according to TruMedia. The Giants typically play a five-man front with their base defense when offenses deploy multiple tight ends.

The Giants have mostly struggled to tackle in space at the second level when offenses feature athletic 12 and 13 personnel packages with quick passing concepts. And that has been the case most of the season, with the Giants still averaging the sixth-most yards allowed per game (364.5).

Still, the optimistic outlook is that this young team is simply beginning to gel and communicate better with each other now, too.

Bobby Okereke has quite literally become the Giants’ best inside linebacker since Antonio Pierce in 2009. He’s had a hand in four of the defense’s five takeaways this season and was all over the field in Buffalo with excellent quarterback spying, reads on run-pass options, a forced fumble, a deflected pass for an interception, two tackles-for-loss and 11 tackles overall.

The fifth-year linebacker is simply reading and reacting a tick faster than he was earlier in the season, and that’s a huge development for the Giants after signing Okereke to a four-year contract in March.

“I think I’m just getting more comfortable in the scheme,” Okereke told reporters in Buffalo. “I’m getting more comfortable with my teammates and then trusting myself and my ability.”

Safety Xavier McKinney has also been all over the field lately, and Cor’Dale Flott is making smart hustle plays since reemerging in the lineup as a slot cornerback in Week 4.

These are all important factors going into another favorable matchup with the Commanders and second-year quarterback Sam Howell, who has six interceptions and has been sacked 34 times (second-highest sack percentage in the NFL).

“I think that you just got to keep building and you just got to have the mindset, which we’ve had all year, of getting better every day,” Martindale said. “You just take it one day at a time.”

The Giants’ offense also needs to be better, of course. That unit still has not scored a touchdown in 205 minutes of game action dating back to the third quarter of the Week 3 game in San Francisco, but it did seem to find more explosiveness in Buffalo with five plays of at least 20 yards and five drives into the red zone.

Tyrod Taylor looks poised to make another start at quarterback with Daniel Jones still nursing a neck injury, and that’s no excuse for the Giants to not find the end zone at least a couple times against the NFL’s fourth-worst total defense (377.2 yards per game).

And if the defense can continue the progress it made in Buffalo, the formula is there for a big division win.

“Our mindset is just to go kick somebody’s butt, for real,” defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said. “Just go out there and play faster, harder, longer than the other team plays, and the results will handle themselves, and just keep believing.”

Giants Gameday

The Game: Commanders (3-3) at Giants (1-5), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Line: Washington by 3

History: The Giants lead the all-time series, 106-71-5. They tied in the first meeting last season, and then New York won at Washington in December, 20-12.

Key Matchups:

Giants WR Jalin Hyatt vs. Commanders secondary: Hyatt would’ve had an impressive 43-yard catch in Buffalo if not for a questionable illegal man downfield penalty on right tackle Evan Neal. The rookie earned more playing time in this receiving corps and seems poised for a breakout game. Washington is allowing the sixth-most passing yards per game (248.2).

Giants LT Justin Pugh vs. Commanders DE Montez Sweat: Sweat leads the Commanders with 4.5 sacks and nine QB hits, but the Giants mostly kept him in check last season with only three tackles and two QB hits in two meetings. Pugh will likely draw another start at left tackle with Andrew Thomas still out. He was solid in Buffalo after shifting from left guard on the Giants’ ravaged offensive line.

Giants CB Cor’Dale Flott vs. Commanders WR Jahan Dotson: After starting the season on the bench, Flott has earned back a role as the slot corner and was an unsung hero last week in Buffalo. Dotson, a shifty slot weapon, has 140 yards and a touchdown.

Giants DT Dexter Lawrence vs. Commanders C Nick Gates: Gates has started all six games for Washington after spending his first four seasons with the Giants. That should make for an emotional matchup on the interior with Lawrence, who hasn’t posted gaudy numbers but has still played like an All-Pro by drawing double-teams.

Injury Report:

Giants: OUT: OT Andrew Thomas (hamstring), C John Michael Schmitz (shoulder), OT Matt Peart (shoulder); QUESTIONABLE: QB Daniel Jones (neck), CB Adoree’ Jackson (neck), OT Evan Neal (ankle).

Commanders: None.

Giant Facts: The Giants have only six touchdowns (three rushing, two passing, one defense) this season, the least in the NFL and one behind the Steelers. … The Giants rank 26th in third-down defense (43.7 percent). … Giants WR Parris Campbell was college teammates with three Commanders: WR Terry McLaurin, WR Curtis Samuel and DE Chase Young.

The Prediction: Commanders 24, Giants 17.