After a disastrous Week 1 performance against the Minnesota Vikings, the New York Giants will look to bounce back in Week 2 when they take on the Washington Commanders on the road. This could be another tough test for Big Blue, as despite the Commanders losing in their opener to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they showed promise under rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
As for the Giants quarterback, will Daniel Jones finally get the NY offense going after scoring just six points against Minnesota and getting picked off twice last Sunday? While New York is the underdog against their division rival this weekend, this injury blow to Washington's secondary should leave the Giants signal-caller with no excuses.
Washington's secondary took a huge hit, as NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. is having surgery to repair a torn UCL in his thumb. While this news is brutal for the Commanders, perhaps it will open the door for Jones to take advantage of a less-than-fit Washington secondary?
Forbes was a first-round pick by Washington - he was drafted 16th overall in 2023, so his absence will surely be felt. Now, Jones must take advantage of a banged-up secondary. After the Commanders allowed 37 points to the Bucs in Week 1, with Baker Mayfield putting on a clinic passing for nearly 400 yards, it's hard to imagine Washington's defense being any better without Forbes. This is Jones' opportunity to play at a level Brian Daboll expects him to.
While we shouldn't expect him to throw for over 400 yards after his rough Week 1 outing, this injury for the Commanders may present an opportunity for wide receivers like Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt to finally get some more targets and receptions on their ledger. Plus, Jones has had success against Washington over his six-year career. He's gone 5-1-1 against the Commanders since 2019, and he has a career 10-3 TD-INT ratio in those starts and has averaged 215.7 yards in those games as well.
This is the perfect game for Jones to rebound after an ugly loss at home to the Vikings. If he wants to silence his critics and prove he should be starting going forward, this is the game to do so. Only time will tell if he plays well, or if more fans will be calling for him to hit the bench.
