Game Preview, Week 1: New York Giants at Washington

September 5, 2025

by Steve Thomas

Welcome to week 1 of the 2025 NFL season, everybody!  It’s been a long offseason, but one that was thankfully lacking all in the unnecessary drama that used to plague this team’s offseason under prior ownership.  I must admit that it’s a little odd to cover a franchise that is now seemingly focused only on football and business issues after having the latter for so many years.  Regardless, it’s great to have finally made it to week 1.  Washington’s first opponent is the New York Giants, who are by no means going to be a pushover this year.  Don’t let the Giants’ 3 – 14 record last season fool you, because they are a better team than that record suggests.  New York has a brutal front seven and have had an entire summer to gameplan for Jayden Daniels.  This game should tell us quite a bit about how Washington is going to fare this season after exceeding all expectations in 2024.  The fans are expecting quite a bit – will they deliver?  We’ll soon know the answer, at least for week 1.  Most importantly, enjoy the game and the return of NFL football.

Game time & location:           Sunday, September 7, 2025, 1:00 p.m. ET, Northwest Stadium, Raljon, Maryland; Gates                                                        open 11:00 a.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 8:00 a.m.; all other parking lots 9:00 a.m.

Television:                              FOX

Television announcers:        Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady

TV broadcast map:                Click here

DC-area radio:                          BIG-100 (WBIG FM)

Washington radio network:    Click here

Giants radio network:             Click here

Satellite radio:                           SiriusXM: 232 (Wash. broad.); SiriusXM internet: 831 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831

 

Washington roster:                 Click here

Washington depth chart:       Click here

Giants roster:                         Click here

Giants depth chart:               Click here

 

All-time head-to-head record vs Giants: 72 – 107 – 5 (last 10: 4 – 5 – 1)

Last meeting:  W, November 3, 2024, 27 – 22

Eagles record (2024): 3 – 14 (4th place) / away: 2 – 6 / NFC: 1 – 11 / NFCE: 0 – 6

Washington record: 12 – 5 (2nd place) / home: 7 – 2 / NFC: 9 – 3 / NFCE: 4 – 2

Early odds: Washington, -6

3 KEYS TO THE GAME

Which version of Russell Wilson will we get?

Wilson, of course, is an all-time great and probable future Hall of Famer, but the truth is that he hasn’t produced at a high level since his last season with Seattle in 2021.  He was marginally better with the Steelers last year, but still wasn’t great.  New York’s season essentially hinges on Wilson’s ability to perform.  I think it’s very unlikely that he’ll be able to turn back the clock to 2015, but at the same time, it’s a good bet that he’s an improvement over Daniel Jones and Drew Lock, both of whom being bad last year.  The Giants also have a trio of pretty talented receivers to assist.  If all goes well for Wilson, it’s not beyond the scope of reasonable to think that they could be a significantly more capable offense than they were in 2024.  If so, that will end up being a bigger test for Washington’s defense than some fans realize.

Control New York’s defensive front

The Giants have perhaps the  front seven includes Kavon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and the third overall pick in this year’s draft, rookie linebacker and pass rusher extraordinaire Abdul Carter, among others.  Carter has generated comparisons to Micah Parsons.  That’s no joke, and we’ll find out quick if Washington’s offensive line really is improved.  Washington can’t afford to get manhandled in pass protection in this game, and they’ll need to be able to establish rushing lanes against this group.  This is a major issue in this game.  Keep an eye out on how well Washington is doing in the trenches against the Giants.

Get Washington’s rushing game going

We’ve been talking on The Hog Sty podcast since early last season about the status of the team’s running game.  Daniels made the team’s ground game look better than it was.  Washington needs to get its new running back by committee approach to work against a Giants defense that was almost as bad as Washington’s defense was last year.  The Giants defense gave up 4.6 yards per carry on the ground last year compared to 4.8 for Washington; meaning, despite the fearsome defensive front 7, this is a bit of a weakness for New York.  Washington needs to see somebody besides Daniels take the lead on the ground.  If that doesn’t happen, it probably doesn’t bode well for the offense going forward.

Bonus: Shake off the rust

Perhaps the single most important key to this game for Washington is to shake off the rust from the offseason and play well in all phases of the game immediately.  It should not be lost on anyone that most of Washington’s first string players on both sides of the ball barely played at all in the preseason.  Whether they can come out in week 1 and look like they are ready for the season is an open question in my book.  Don’t forget that Washington lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 1 last season.

3 KEY MATCHUPS

Marshon Lattimore and Trey Amos vs. Darius Slayton and Malik Nabers

Lattimore is supposedly back to normal after a season in which he was hurt and played badly as a result.  I don’t know whether that’s true given that he barely played in the preseason, but he and Trey Amos have their hands full to start the season.  Keep an eye out on how open Slayton and Nabers can get in this game.  I suspect that the Giants will probably target the rookie Amos on a regular basis; however, they also will not be afraid to go after Lattimore given his poor performance last season.  These matchups are collectively a major key to this game.

Laremy Tunsil vs. Kavon Thibodeaux

All Washington fans should be excited to see Tunsil in action.  There’s a history of excellence at the left tackle position in Washington, and Tunsil is set up to be next in line.  As a result, his matchup with Kavon Thibodeaux, who is an outstanding player in his own right, is set up to be an outstanding test for him.  It’s going to be one of the most high-profile and watched of the day.  Keep an eye out on how well Tunsil does in his Washington debut.

Terry McLaurin vs. Paulson Adebo

McLaurin, of course, hasn’t practiced or played before this week in months.  Can he instantaneously revert back to his normal, outstanding self?  Frankly, I tend to doubt it; not because I doubt McLaurin as a player, but I don’t think it’s realistic to expect anybody to just jump in immediately without having practiced at all.  He’ll most likely be faced most often with Paulson Adebo, who came to the Giants to be their #1 corner after completing his rookie deal with the New Orleans Saints.  Adebo has been . . . decent, but nothing to write home about by NFL cornerback standards so far in his career, so I think this is probably a pretty good matchup for McLaurin in his first outing.  All eyes will be on McLaurin to see whether he can return to form immediately.  What we need to see is Daniels and McLaurin connecting downfield in press-man coverage.  It’s a good sign if that happens.

OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)

LP – limited practice                          FP – full practice                    DNP – did not practice

NIR – not injury related                      Q – questionable                     O – out

D – doubtful

Washington	Giants
DE D. Armstrong, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FO	T A. Thomas, foot; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP; Game: D
WR N. Brown, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: DNP	WR M. Nabers, back; Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: DNP
CB J. Jones, hamstring; Wed: LP, Thurs: LP; Fri: DNP
K M. Gay, illness; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
QB M. Mariota, achilles; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP

Steve’s Prediction

Washington wins a close one at home by a score of 24 – 21.

Inactives

QB Josh Johnson (emergency 3rd QB)

RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.

LB Ale Kaho

LB Kain Medrano

T Trent Scott

T George Fant

DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste