What to watch in Thursday night's Giants-Commanders game: Can Big Blue increase their NFC East lead?
Giants running back Cam Skattebo celebrates after defeating the Texans on Oct. 25, 2026 in Houston, TX. Credit: Getty Images/Tim Warner
The Giants can do three things Thursday night with a win at home vs. the Commanders. First, they can avenge last month’s tie with their division rival, and widen their lead in the NFC East. The third thing? A win would make this season the first since 2020 where the Giants have at least one win over every team in the division.
It’s another step back to respectability and John Harbaugh made it plain how high the stakes are with the Giants 2-0-1 in the division.
“This is for all the marbles. It's a tie right now. This is the tiebreaker,” Harbaugh said this week. “It's like going to the second half tied, you have a chance to go win the game right now and be one up on these guys for the rest of the season.”
Should they win, the Giants (5-2-1) will hold a three-game lead over the Cowboys, who host the 49ers Sunday. It’s not an insurmountable lead, yet it’d be a firm one heading into the second half of the season.
Number Please
9: John Harbaugh was 9-1 at home on Thursday Night Football games with the Ravens. This is his first one with the Giants, who won their lone TNF game last season.
The Giants may preach going 1-0 every week, but they know this game carries extra weight. They were fortunate to tie in the previous meeting after they rallied in the fourth quarter and survived poor clock management by the Commanders in overtime.
This time, they want to leave no doubt who is the better team. Two wins in five days would create further distance between them and the rest of the division.
“This game is more than 1-0. It's 2-0, just because the last game ended out in a tie that we should have had,” Malik Nabers said. “So, both of us are fighting to get this game."
Jones on his first ever dropped punt
Prior to last Sunday, Charlie Jones said he never dropped a punt in his career. Not in Pop Warner. Not in high school. Not in college.
The four-year veteran muffed his first one against the Eagles, leading to a lost fumble. It was his second fumble this season and it came while Jones was dealing with a thumb injury that had him wearing a cast in practice leading up to the game. He didn’t wear the cast during the game.
“Since it hasn’t happened [before] you’re like, what did I do wrong,” Jones told Newsday. “But if you go back there enough, it’s bound to happen at some point. My whole thing is, I just got to know what I’m capable of doing and that’s not me.”
Jones wasn’t sure if his thumb injury played a role in the muffed punt, but said it wasn’t an excuse. He knows he has to learn from this new experience.
“I know that maybe [I have to] make a better decision if I don’t like the way the ball’s going in the air,” he said. “But I already got [it] past me and I’m just moving on to this week."
Skattebo good to go
Cam Skattebo wanted to play last Sunday against the Eagles, but the Giants held him out with a hamstring injury with the goal of being ready Thursday.
Skattebo said he’ll be good to go against the Commanders and understood the Giants thinking last week.
“If you take all the emotion out of it, it was a game that I needed to miss to make sure that I was healthy for the next 9-10 games,” Skattebo said. “That’s the plan right now and that’s going well.”
His return also means a return to Thursday Night Football, where he had his best game as a rookie last season. Skattebo had three touchdowns and 98 rushing yards against the Eagles and memorably ripped off his shirt on the postgame show with analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick.
“It’s awesome because it’s prime time,” he said. “The lights are on. The best players show up when the lights are on. So yeah, I’m ready to show up and show out when the lights are on.”
Giants defense must slow down QB Daniels
The Giants facing the Commanders again means being reminded of how bad the run defense was in the October tie. The Giants gave up a season-high 202 rushing yards, including 103 to quarterback Jayden Daniels.
It’s a chance for the defense to continue to get right after allowing less than 100 rushing yards each of the last two games. Washington running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who had 82 yards last game, is out (groin).
The Giants have to focus more on limiting Daniels, who has yet to lose to the Giants in four starts.
“He does a good job of finding that space,” defensive tackle D.J. Reader told Newsday. “Shoot, he’s electric once he gets out there. So we got to a really good job just covering up the rush lanes. Making sure we got him.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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