Giants Must Make Major Change vs Commanders on Thursday Night

The New York Giants will meet the Washington Commanders for the second and final time this regular season on Thursday night, and they are hoping for a better result.

The Giants initially saw the Commanders in the nation's capital back in Week 5 and rallied from a 27-13 fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime ... only to end in a tie.

New York would have won the game had Cam Skattebo not fumbled on its final possession. It then had to rely on an all-time blunder from Washington on its own final play in order to escape with a draw.

Things are a bit different heading into Week 10.

The Giants are 5-2-1 and have an opportunity to put a stranglehold on the NFC East with a win. J.J. McCarthy is now the starting quarterback instead of Jameis Winston. And this time, New York is the host.

But while the Commanders are just 2-5-1, they are still dangerous thanks to versatile quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is yet to turn the ball over this season and burned the Giants for 103 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground in the first matchup.

That's exactly what needs to change for New York here on Thursday evening.

The Giants refused to deploy a spy on Daniels in Round 1, and it resulted in Daniels routinely leaving Big Blue defenders — most notably Arvell Reese — in the dust.

New York can absolutely not afford to let that happen again.

The good news is that Daniels hasn't been using his legs much in recent weeks, having amassed a grand total of 49 rushing yards over the last three games. But the Giants still need to err on the side of caution and ensure he can't break big gains down the sideline.

That means implementing a spy on Daniels and/or rolling with three safeties on the field. New York blitzed the heck out of the former first-round pick back in Washington, and while it did result in the Giants sacking Daniels five times, it also gave him more opportunities to rip off significant chunks of yardage.

If New York can contain Daniels, keep him in the pocket and monitor him like a hawk whenever he gets out of it, it should win this game. But that will involve defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson deviating from his typical gameplan.

A win Thursday night coupled with a Dallas Cowboys loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday would all but salt away the division title for the Giants.

New York cannot afford any mishaps against the Commanders, one of the easiest games remaining on the team's schedule. Daniels must be contained at all costs.