Washington football Week 9 preview: Trying to stop Daniel Jones as critical NFC East stretch begins

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has crushed the Washington Football Team in his young career. Like, 3-0 against Washington as a starter and 1-17 against everyone else-level of crushed. This is despite Jones’s turnover-heavy style of play and lack of noticeable improvement this season.

For Washington, the blueprint to beating Jones goes beyond generating turnovers and sacks. It must collapse the pocket quickly because, under pressure, Jones goes from an average quarterback to one of the league’s worst. Facing a good rush, Jones completes 44.1 percent of his passes and has taken 23 sacks, third most in the league, according to Sportradar. Washington must also, Coach Ron Rivera emphasized, stop Jones on the ground.

Asked Friday about the threat of the Giants’ power-run game, Rivera said they are “struggling” to run the ball because of injuries at running back. He pointed out “probably the biggest threat to run is their quarterback.” Three weeks ago, Jones pulled the ball on an option against Washington and sprinted 49 yards, and a week later, he took off on a now-famous, 80-yard run against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“The biggest thing is we’ve got to make sure we’re gap sound and we are playing our techniques,” Rivera said. “If you’re assigned the quarterback, you’ve got the quarterback.”

No matter how Jones plays, Giants Coach Joe Judge has told reporters he won’t bench him. The Giants won’t do what Washington did to Dwayne Haskins, who was drafted nine spots after Jones in 2019, because they believe they must endure Jones’s growing pains for a fuller evaluation. Washington will counter with Kyle Allen and continue to chase the division title.

The next four games are critical in Washington’s push for the NFC East. Washington’s opponents — the Giants, Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys — are a combined 8-22-1 with a point differential of minus-184. Washington, at 2-5, trails the 3-4-1 Eagles by a game and a half for first place, so it must win at least two to set up a serious challenge.

In December, Washington plays at Pittsburgh, at San Francisco and hosts Seattle and Carolina. Overall, the Eagles have a somewhat more difficult schedule as well as concerns about quarterback Carson Wentz, who leads the NFL in turnovers (16).

It remains possible for Washington to play a winner-take-all game at Philadelphia in Week 17. But first, if this push for the division is to get serious, Washington must take advantage of a soft upcoming schedule.

This is an important opportunity for Washington’s defensive line, which will face a quarterback prone to bad decisions and a struggling offensive line. Judge has a rotation of three guards and tackles each, and he has told reporters he plans to stick with it. This includes left tackle Andrew Thomas, who was the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft and is off to a slow start.

After a fast start, rookie defensive end Chase Young has just 2½ sacks for Washington. Carla Young, his mother, jokingly graded his performance through six games a “C-plus” because he “wasn’t leading the league in sacks.” The coaches have praised Young’s work ethic, saying the numbers will come. He and the rest of the line — Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne — could help the unit validate its preseason hype with a big game Sunday.

“It’s having the impact that you would envision,” Rivera said of the defensive line this season. “But to be honest, I think it could be better. I really do.”

After frustrations boil over, Giants wide receiver Golden Tate won’t play Sunday. This week, after Tate wasn’t traded at the deadline, he liked posts on Twitter that criticized his role in the offense, and his wife complained on Instagram about the team “killing his stats.” The Giants disciplined their third-leading receiver, who has 22 catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns, by holding him out of practice Wednesday. New York then announced Saturday that he did not travel with the team, meaning he will be inactive.

Giants reserve receiver C.J. Board, who suffered a concussion and sprained neck three weeks ago against Washington, is expected to return Sunday. He was a full participant in practice this week, and Jones needs every weapon he can get.

Injury report: Left tackle Geron Christian (knee) is listed as doubtful. This is an important year for the third-year pro to show he should be part of the team’s future, but he’ll probably miss his second straight game. Swing tackle Cornelius Lucas, with whom Rivera was “very, very pleased” after the Week 7 win over the Cowboys, would start instead.

No. 2 wide receiver Dontrelle Inman (hamstring) is also doubtful. This hurts less thanks to a rejuvenated wide receiving corps, which includes the return of Isaiah Wright (shoulder), the addition of Robert Foster and Saturday’s activation of Steven Sims Jr. (toe) from injured reserve.

The Giants will be without running back Devonta Freeman (ankle) and No. 2 cornerback Ryan Lewis (hamstring). The rushing attack will probably be a committee of Wayne Gallman, Dion Lewis and Alfred Morris. The open cornerback spot will be filled by Isaac Yiadom.

Nicki Jhabvala contributed to this report.

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