Washington hosts this game against the division rival NY Giants at FedEx Field for a Thursday Night showdown. The WFT will already have a new look with Taylor Heinicke as the starting QB after Ryan Fitzpatrick had a hip subloxation and was placed on the IR.
The Washington Football Team lost their opener against the Chargers and find themselves at 0-1 entering this game. They need to find a way to adjust to Giants’ QB Daniel Jones who WFT head coach Ron Rivera says they have to contain him because he runs well with the ball. Rivera called him a dynamic runner with a good arm. He wants his defense to keep Jones contained in the pocket.
Rivera added that his offense can’t expect to win by having turnovers. He is stressing that his team must protect the football, be smart with the football and take advantage of some of the opportunities.
“Well, I think the big thing is we just got to continue to work and get better at what we’re doing. We moved the ball to certain situations and then we have a couple of unforced errors more so than anything else. And that’s on us. We can’t take away our opportunities. We can’t make them more difficult than they are already. That falls on us as a football team. We have to be smarter.”
— Ron Rivera press conference on Tuesday
The WFT has to get the running game going with Antonio Gibson which will then open up the throwing game for Heinicke and take advantage of the Giants’ secondary. Of course having a more mobile quarterback should help too. Heinicke has to get the ball to his playmakers with tight end Logan Thomas and wide receiver Terry McLaurin as well as Gibson. Against the Chargers, the WFT only had 135 passing yards, and they have to do better than that to win.
“You know, we would love to get the ball in Logan and Terry’s hands as much as possible, but at the same time, you don’t want to force it in there. That’s when mistakes happen. So, we understand that Terry didn’t have a touch in the first half, but I think that was part of their game plan was try and double him, and have someone else beat them. I know we made some adjustments at halftime, and I think we came out and did alright, so we just fell a little short.”
— quarterback Taylor Heinicke
The vaunted WFT defense led by defensive rookie of the year, Chase Young, has to step up and control those third and long plays which they could not do last week against the Chargers. First round pick Jamin Davis had an uninspiring first game with just two tackles. It was Cole Holcomb who led the defense with 11 tackles (seven solo) and one quarterback hit.
Last week, the WFT was torched in soft zones as Keenan Allen found seams and his quarterback Justin Herbert zipped in the ball to win that game in the 4th quarter. While Saquon Barkley may not factor into this game for New York as he works his way back from injuries, it is all about controlling Jones.
Vegas sees this as a close game with a 3 1/2 point spread on this morning’s line. That usually means this game will come down to a turnover, field goal, and one key play.
Where to watch if you’re not at the game:
- Game Day: Thursday, September 16, 2021
- Game Time: 8:20 PM ET
- TV Channel: NFL Network, FOX-5 DC
- Location: Landover, Maryland
- Stadium: FedExField
- FOX Sports’ lead play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and FOX Sports’ lead analyst Troy Aikman, along with sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Kristina Pink call the action from Landover. Additionally, FOX’s NFL Rules expert Mike Pereira joins to give explanations on officiating and rules throughout the game.
Here is your MGM line for today’s game:
