By DaVince “Dino” Wright
Game Info
New York Giants vs Washington Commanders
Sunday – December 18 – 7:20 p.m.
TV: NBC
FedEx Field – Landover, MD
Records Before the Game
New York Giants (7-5-1, 3-2 Away)
Washington Commanders (7-5-1, 3-3 Home)
Last season the NFC East was the butt of everyone’s jokes as a division. So many football fanatics, commentators and casual observers made negative comments about the division. Well, this season the NFC East teams are all over .500 and beating the brakes off of your favorite NFC and AFC teams. These two teams played to a 20-20 stalemate just two weeks ago. This game will be extremely important and playoffs seedinging will have clarity after Sunday night.
The NFC East
This isn’t the first time that every team in the NFC East is over .500 at this point of the season. Philadelphia is currently in first place with a 12-1 record followed by the Dallas Cowboys at 10-3. There will be some tough football down the stretch for this division. At the end of the day there. might be three NFC East teams making it to the playoffs this season. The winner of this week’s Sunday Night Football game will have the inside track to the post-season.
New York Giants
Quarterback Daniel Jones will need to get protection this week. Washington is coming in to steal a game on the road this week. The Giants will need to establish the run and allow Saquon Barkley to get to the outside carrying the ball. This will be a tough game for the Giants secondary because starting Safety Xavier McKinney is out. The key for a Giants win will be the defense.
Washington Commanders
The Commanders are 3-2 in their last 5 games. Washington has wins over Atlanta, Houston and Philadelphia. The Commanders are the only team to beat Philadelphia this season. The offense is averaging 19.5 points per game while the defense is giving up 19.7 on that side of the ball. Washington has 5 key players listed as questionable for this game. They will need production from RB Brian Robinson, Jr., DE Chase Young, DE Montez Sweat and WR Benjamin St-Juste this week.
Prediction
ESPN has the Commanders with a 63.4% chance of winning at home in this NFC divisional game. The over/under is 40.5, so take the under. This will be a battle from start to finish. I’m taking Washington by 4!
Final Score
Commanders – 21
Giants – 17
