Five Washington Commanders players key to beating New York Giants

Jayden Daniels is back. The Commanders quarterback will return from a two-game absence wearing a brace that should protect his left elbow from yet another dislocation, with the last incident coming in Week 2.  

The Commanders have worked to fit the brace just right, to provide the proper protection and non-throwing-arm function to perform like JD5.  

Daniels believes the brace won’t hinder him, nor will the fear of another dislocation. If that’s actually the case, the Commanders can compete with anyone.

Their franchise quarterback has that effect on NFL games, as we’ve seen so many times before.

He can’t, as we’ve also learned, do it alone. He’ll need help from these five Commanders to beat the New York Giants and remain competitive in a suddenly wide-open NFC East.  

WR Antonio Williams 

We know Stefon Diggs won’t play on Sunday. Terry McLaurin’s status remains up in the air. That’s a troubling development creating the need for others to step up. This won’t be all on third-round rookie Antonio Williams, but we’ve seen the flashes of explosiveness and quality routes that suggest Daniels could use him as an asset in the passing game.  

Expect some mistakes as he continues to develop, but Williams should have an opportunity to see more targets in this one as Daniels gets revved back up.  

RB Austin Ekeler 

Washington signed the veteran running back last week and played him against the Colts just a few days later. The production was solid, to the tune of 29 yards on just four carries. Head coach Dan Quinn said Ekeler will be more “embedded” in the game plan this week, so it’s far to expect him to receive more touches in his second game back after suffering a torn Achilles’ tendon early in Washington’s 2025 campaign. The run game will be important on a game with inclement weather, and Ekeler will be key in the effort to get the ground game going strong.  

S Quan Martin 

Expect to see a ton of Quan Martin (and Jeremy Reaves) considering three active safeties in Nick Cross, Tyler Owens and Percy Butler have all been ruled out. The Commanders still must stay away from explosive plays, and Martin will often be playing deep in this one. And, as we all know, Giants quarterback Jameis Winston is not afraid to chuck it. He’ll also put the ball in danger, so Martin and the secondary needs to take some errant passes away when they’re available. We all know Martin has had his struggles – he has a 103.6 passer rating when targeted – but Washington needs a consistently solid game from Martin in coverage.  

LB Sonny Styles 

Sonny Styles has played quality football the past two games, with a combined 13 tackles, an interception, two passes defensed, a forced fumble, three quarterback hurries and a knockdown in that span.  

The No. 7 overall pick has proven he can do it all, as a pass rusher, cover man and run defender. They’ll need all of that quality on Sunday, slowing Giants running back Cam Skatebo and tight end Isaih Likely. He’s quickly becoming the defensive centerpiece even at this early stage. Considering how he has played, it’s fair to expect another big game on Sunday. 

DC Daronte Jones 

We’ll all seen the stat by now highlighting how much the Commanders blitz and how bad Winston when blitzed.  

Washington brings pressure 44% of the time. Winston has a 36.8 passer rating against it. Jones blitzes a ton and generally plays zone behind it, which can be an effective way of creating turnovers against a gunslinger-type of passer like Winston.  

Jones must dial up the right blitzes at the right times and confuse the heck out of Winston and force him to make the mistakes he’s prone to making. Player execution is always paramount, but coaching can help the Commanders get to 2-3 and right back into the mix in the NFC East.