“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season that recalls the previous game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.
Washington 21, New York Giants 6: Week 1, Sep. 7, 2025
The Commanders ran the ball all day until they amassed a total of 220 yards on their way to pounding the New York Giants 21-6 at Northwest Stadium in Landover, MD.
In the season opener for both teams, the Commanders found a weakness and kept going there, running the ball 32 times and two rushing touchdowns. While the defense made Russell Wilson and the Giants offense look really anemic, leaving questions right away, like, is the Giants offense going to be this poor? Or is the Commanders’ defense going to be much better in 2025?
The Commanders’ offense, which was virtually unstoppable in about 75% of their 2024 games, had moments when the passing offense looked out of sync, out of timing. That was to be expected, as Jayden Daniels took only one series of downs in the preseason. Terry McLaurin was a holdout, then a hold-in, but didn’t work out with the top offensive unit through most of training camp and the preseason.
So yes, the passing game was struggling; yet the Giants’ defense could not stop the Commanders’ running game. Rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt led the Commanders’ rushers with 82 yards in 10 carries. Daniels then added 68 yards on his 11 rushes, while Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols, and Deebo Samuel added 26, 25, and 19 rushing yards, respectively.
Daniels completed 19 of his 30 passing attempts for 233 yards and a passing touchdown. He was, however, sacked three times and displayed poor clock management at the conclusion of the first half, costing the Commanders at least an easy field goal down in the red zone.
Samuel led Washington with 77 receiving yards, while McLaurin added 27, Ertz and Noah Brown 26 apiece. Chris Moore had a 34-yard reception.
Washington led 7-0 when Daniels found Ertz from seven yards with 7:00 remaining in the opening quarter. With 6:14 remaining in the half, Croskey-Merritt ran in from six yards for a 14-3 lead. A Deebo Samuel end-around touchdown run from 19 yards with 7:09 remaining in the game provided Washington its final 21-6 margin.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: What happened when they last faced the Giants?
About the Author
