Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Washington Over New York Giants

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September 8, 2025

by David Earl

Quick Observations

What stood out the most offensively in Washington’s win ovet the Giants was Washington’s utilization of Deebo Samuel, which had a direct effect on the running game. Even though he had one attempt, rushing for 19 yards and a touchdown, Kliff Kingsbury‘s motioning of Samuel helped keep the New York Giants defense off balance for the majority of the game. As a result, Washington finished the game with 220 yards rushing, averaging 6.9 yards per rush. Taking away Jacory Croskey-Merritt‘s 42-yard run, he still produced a good game running for 40 yards on 9 carries, averaging 4.44 yards per rush. The offensive line created running lanes against a very strong defensive front anchored by DT Dexter Lawrence of the Giants. This includes the efforts of TE John Bates, who may not offer a great deal in the passing game but has become one of the better blocking tight ends in the NFL.

The defensive line was another standout, especially against the run game. Granted, the Giants were without LT Andrew Thomas and their unit is not particularly strong overall. That said, Washington’s defensive front dominated a bad group all game long, as you would expect a playoff-caliber team to do in these matchups. The Giants’ run game produced 74 yards total on 23 carries, averaging 3.2 yards per rush, and their longest run was 15 yards by QB Russell Wilson. The addition of DT Javon Kinlaw seemed to have paid immediate dividends against both the run and pass. This unit allowed a 25% third-down efficiency rate with the Giants converting only 4 of 16 into a first down. On the back of this defensive line, the defense generated 7 tackles for loss, 8 quarterback hits, 2 sacks, and 6 pass defenses primarily due to Russell Wilson being pressured.

Washington’s red zone efficiency was 3 of 4 (75%), but miscues, mainly in the passing game, resulted in a poor third-down efficiency of 36.4% (converting 4 out of 11). They committed 12 penalties costing Washington 89 total yards with a few bringing back potential first downs that would have kept the drive moving. Speaking of the passing game, the lack of chemistry was very evident between Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin early in the game. Opening the second half with three consecutive drives going 5 plays, 4 plays, and 4 plays respectively, only amassing a total of 49 yards cannot happen this week against a team like Green Bay. Then there is that sequence at the end of the first half where Dan Quinn’s poor management of timeouts, combined with Jayden Daniel’s lapse in situational awareness with the intentional grounding, cost Washington potentially 3 more points before halftime. These are just a few positives and negatives noticed, which are more typical of many week 1 performances of the league as a whole.

Offense Sloppy but Affective

There are certainly some inaccuracy issues Jayden Daniels dealt with through this game. The first drive stalled as he threw behind an open TE Zach Ertz. Yes, it was catchable, but these are throws he made easily a year ago and I am confident he will make on a consistent basis. The third drive of the game over over-throwing a wide-open Terry McLaurin down the left sideline, was primed for a big play and potential touchdown. A few other throws that can certainly be attributed to week 1 issues that still need to garner attention to improve from as well. That said, Daniels also displayed great anticipation and placement, like the sideline pass to WR Chris Moore on their second possession for 34 yards and the tight window touchdown pass to TE Zach Ertz. Overall, Daniels completed 63% of his passes for 233 yards, 1 TD, and zero interceptions, finishing with a 98.3 quarterback rating. He also added an additional 68 yards rushing, averaging 6.2 yards per carry.

The run game was also clicking, led by seventh-round rookie RB Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt. He averaged 8.2 yards per carry and 4.4 yards per carry after his 42-yard run. He certainly showed a quick first step burst this team lacked for a while and, much like college, he took full advantage of what the offensive line set up for him in the run game. I’ll be interested to see how well Croskey-Merritt performs when he is forced to create when the openings are not there. As for the offensive line, they performed rather well aside from LT Laremy Tunsil being caught standing flat-footed, which led to one of Brian Burns‘ sacks and some struggles rookie RT Josh Conerly had against the outside speed rush at times. LG Brandon Coleman had a very strong performance, allowing 0 pressures and opening lanes, plus getting to the second level. All in all the offensive line showed plenty of improvement from a year ago, but will that continue?

 

 

Defense Led By Defensive Line

As for their defense last season, the run defense was Washington’s Achilles heel, and watching the ease with which opposing running backs sliced through Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen was very frustrating.  We had to watch Washington’s 28th-ranked run defense. Yes, I had stated before that this defense holds more questions than answers but this game helped answer some questions. The defensive line proved to be more stout against the run and Washington banking on a player who has never reached his fullest potential in Javon Kinlaw thus far paid off. Again, the Giants were short LT Andrew Thomas and the unit overall is not great but Washington’s defensive line didn’t simply control the line but dominated. They accounted for 17 total tackles of the team’s 54 with 6 being tackles for loss. Their pressure resulted in 6 quarterback hits and a total of 2 sacks. The defense generated 22 pressures on 45 dropbacks which created an uneasy pocket for Russell Wilson all game.

As a result of the pressure applied, Russell Wilson completed only 45% of his pass attempts, ending with a 59.3 quarterback rating. WR Malik Nabers was held to 2 receptions off of 5 targets for 23 yards at the end of the first half. Between the defense’s pressure applied on pass drop-backs and containing the Giants’ run game to a 2.7 yards per carry average, they were only able to manage 79 first-half total yards. Back to Malik Nabers, this game was a very good sign for CB Marshon Lattimore. Lattimore allowed 1 catch from 2 targets and 11 yards, plus a pass breakup. He was a major concern heading into this season and started off on a positive note. While this defense turned out a great performance, this Thursday night matchup against Green Bay will go a long way in determining what Washington has defensively.