Giants plagued by same old issues on offense in Week 1 loss to Commanders as Russell Wilson is ineffective
Giants quarterback Russell Wilson looks on near the end of the second half of an NFL game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday in Landover, Md. Credit: AP/Stephanie Scarbrough
LANDOVER, Md. — The Giants expected fans to meet a new offense Sunday, one led by a capable, experienced quarterback in Russell Wilson.
What Giants fans got was more of the same from last season. An offense that couldn’t score or make enough downfield plays. A quarterback who failed to impress. A final result that felt all too familiar.
The Giants’ 21-6 loss to the Commanders at Northwest Stadium wasn’t just a thud. It was a bellyflop similar to the missed tackles when Deebo Samuel’s 19-yard touchdown run with 7:09 remaining closed the door on any comeback.
“Thought there were times we did some good things, but obviously not enough,” coach Brian Daboll said. “Six points, it’s tough to win a game. Didn’t feel like we got into much of a rhythm, particularly on early downs.”
The Giants gained only 231 yards, two fewer than Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels’ passing total. Wilson’s debut was underwhelming as he finished 17-for-37 for 168 yards in his 200th career start.
After Graham Gano’s 21-yard field goal in the second quarter, the Giants ran only four plays in Commanders territory until their final drive of the game. That drive got to first-and-goal at the 3-yard line, but Wilson, under duress, threw four consecutive incompletions.
It was the Giants’ second missed chance in the red zone after they failed to convert on first-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the second quarter, leading to Gano’s attempt.
“The game was simple in the sense that we didn’t convert in the red zone,” Wilson said. “We had two chances down in the red zone to make it a close game.
“I thought, for us, when we get down to the red zone and the ball is on the 1- or 2-yard line, we got to score.”
Daboll said he never thought about putting in rookie Jaxson Dart to switch things up at quarterback. Dart was promoted to backup before the game and Daboll confirmed reports that he had offensive packages for both Dart and Jameis Winston.
Leading up to the game, Daboll reiterated that Wilson was his starter. But when asked three times if that will be the case next week at Dallas, Daboll did not definitively confirm that he will remain the starter.
“I got confidence in Russ. We’re going to go back, we’ll evaluate the tape,” he said. “This game isn’t on Russell Wilson, I want to make that clear. I have confidence in Russ. We got to do a better job all the way around.”
Fans, however, saw the same issues that made the Giants difficult to watch last year.
The Commanders had no problems finding the end zone. On his second drive, Daniels threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz, who broke free from linebacker Darius Muasau.
Muasau had just entered the game for linebacker Micah McFadden, who was injured in the first quarter while attempting to tackle Daniels. He left the game on a cart and didn’t return with what the Giants called a leg/foot injury.
The Commanders added another touchdown with rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt scoring on a 6-yard run. That came after Daniels kept the drive alive with an 11-yard run on third-and-6.
Daniels finished with 233 passing yards and 68 rushing yards. Croskey-Merritt led the team with 82 rushing yards and put the game away with a 42-yard carry on the Commanders’ final drive
Gano gave the Giants their only other score with a 55-yard field goal in the third quarter.
The Giants held the Commanders to 49 yards on their first three drives in the second half, but despite three sacks of Daniels, including two by Brian Burns, they couldn’t hold them off.
“It’s a moral win,” Burns said of holding the Commanders to 21 points. “But that’s not acceptable for the talent and the belief I have in this defense. I don’t think it’s acceptable. We can play beyond what we just showed.’’
Kayvon Thibodeaux and rookie Abdul Carter had a half-sack each. Carter partially blocked a punt in the third quarter.
Nabers had five catches for 71 yards on 12 targets.
The Commanders finished with 432 yards, a total the Giants never reached last season. Despite the promise of a new quarterback, questions remain how the offense can improve and if Wilson is the one to facilitate that.
“I just focus on what we can control. I thought we competed our butts off today,” he said. That was a physical game. I thought we left it all on the field . . . They stopped us in the red zone. I think that was the name of the game.”
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.
