It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…
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2026 opponent preview series: Wk 1 Eagles | Wk 2 Cowboys | Wk 3 Seahawks | Wk 4 Colts
Previewing Washington’s 14 opponents of the ‘26 season — one at a time
In 2026, the Commanders will, like every other team in the NFL, play 17 games against 14 opponents. With the amount of roster change that NFL teams undergo
annually along with the unusually large number of head coach and coordinator changes in 2026, it seems useful to spend some time to review each of Washington’s regular season opponents.
Week 5 will see the Commanders complete their first pass through the NFC East after opening on the road in Philly & Dallas in Weeks 1 & 2. It will also — technically — be Washington’s 3rd consecutive home game, although the trip to London in Week 4 makes that description feel a bit dubious.
Week 5 Preview: New York Giants at Washington Commanders
Date: October 11, 2026, 1 p.m. ET
Location: Northwest Stadium in Landover
(The two teams play again at Met Life Stadium in Week 10)
The Giants will come to Northwest Stadium after having opened the season with 3 home games in 4 weeks. They play the Titans and Cardinals (who were ranked 27th & 29th in ESPN’s latest Football Power Index) at Met Life Stadium in the two weeks immediately prior to the game in Washington. So, Big Blue could enter this game feeling pretty good about themselves and their new coaching staff.
The All-Time Series Numbers
This rivalry is the oldest that Washington has in the NFL (beating the Cardinals by a week; the Bears by 3 weeks; and the Packers by 5 weeks), and it has survived one relocation and a total of 4 different team monikers on the part of the Washington franchise.
The birth of the rivalry
The Giants have been playing football since 1925, and they were the 2nd team to play against the Boston Braves in the burgundy & gold’s inaugural season in 1932 — the only season in which the “Braves” moniker was used by the team.
That first game in this 93-year rivalry was won by the Braves 14-6 at home in Boston in early October. The game played at the Polo Grounds in New York two weeks later ended in a 0-0 tie — the ultimate defensive battle!
Playoffs
The two teams have met twice in each regular season since then. They have also met twice in the playoffs (a surprisingly low number considering the length of the rivalry) with the teams pitching one shutout each — Washington winning 28-0 in 1943, and New York winning 17-0 in the ’86 postseason (played in Jan 1987). The Braves lost to the Bears in the ‘43 Championship game, while the Giants went on to defeat the Broncos and win the Super Bowl in ‘86 (a feat the Redskins would repeat the following season when Doug Williams made history in multiple ways).
All-time
In total, the Giants have played the burgundy & gold 188 times and lead the series 108-75-5. As far as I can tell, the Packers are the only other NFL team to have beaten a rival more than 100 times; they lead their all-time series against the Bears 109-98-6.
Recent history
Dan Quinn’s Commanders have done their best to turn the tide. Washington swept the series in 2024 and again in 2025; DQ’s Commanders are a perfect 4-0 against the Giants. They’ll be looking to reach 5-0 in this Week 5 home game.
Washington is 6-4-1 in the last ten games, dating back to the start of the 2021 season.
Giants fans will, no doubt, see 2026 as a ‘turning of the page’ with the hiring of John Harbaugh as the team’s new head coach.
Giants Coaching Changes
Harbaugh joined the Giants after spending 18 seasons as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. The transition occurred after New York experienced three consecutive years with fewer than seven victories, finishing the 2025 season with a 4–13 record.
Matt Nagy is the new offensive coordinator. He came to national prominence originally as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, and spent 4 seasons as head coach of the Chicago Bears. His task in New York involves developing an offensive system around quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Malik Nabers, and RB Cam Skattebo.
Dennard Wilson is the defensive coordinator, the same role he had with the Tennessee Titans under Brian Callahan, who was fired mid-season. Wilson previously served as DB coach under Harbaugh. He inherits a Giants defense that finished near the bottom of league rankings in several statistical categories.
Offense
The offensive scheme is being built by Nagy through collaboration with head coach John Harbaugh to combine spread principles with a physical, run-first foundation. Observers anticipate a heavy reliance on shotgun formations and run-pass options to maximize the athleticism of the team’s young core. A primary focus of the design is protecting and developing second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart, who operated primarily out of the shotgun as a rookie, and matching Nagy’s historic tendency. The playbook features a “less-is-more” philosophy aimed at slowing down pre-snap reads and reining in Dart’s tendency to scramble recklessly, which resulted in multiple injuries and concussions last year.
RPO concepts will feature heavily, using quick slants, screens, and isolation routes to force conflict on opposing linebackers. Heavy personnel groupings will also factor into the weekly game plans. Consistent with Harbaugh’s coaching history, the offense will utilize 12 personnel packages featuring two tight ends. This structural alignment aims to establish a power running game behind tackle Andrew Thomas while creating middle-of-the-field targets for Isaiah Likely and Theo Johnson.
Injury challenges on offense
The Giants offense — outside of the offensive line — is built on 3 talented young players, each of whom suffered a season-ending injury in 2025. The team’s success moving forward depends on the health of these three key players.
Jaxson Dart enters his second season, recovering from a fractured fibula that ended his rookie campaign in week 14. His debut year featured multiple medical evaluations due to an unsustainable style of play marked by a high volume of heavy collisions outside the pocket. The team’s 2026 outlook depends on his ability to transition to Matt Nagy’s RPO-heavy system, which aims to protect the quarterback by emphasizing quick pre-snap decisions and reducing unnecessary physical exposure.
Cam Skattebo is working his way back from a serious ankle injury suffered last October. The injury followed a heavy workload where his violent, high-contact running style led to declining yardage efficiency and multiple lower-body bruises prior to the injury. Coaching staff expectations for 2026 center on limiting his touches and teaching him to protect himself, though questions remain whether his physical approach can be successfully reined in without diminishing his effectiveness.
Malik Nabers faces significant uncertainty following a torn ACL that wiped out nearly his entire 2025 season. A major setback during his winter rehabilitation required a 2nd surgical procedure to address scar tissue issues and structural stability. This has delayed his running program and raised concerns regarding his ability to participate in training camp or contribute on the field early in the 2026 season, if at all.
Defense
Dennard Wilson’s defensive scheme combines aggressive, press-man coverage with a physical, blitz-heavy philosophy that is expected to rely on simulated pressures and versatile safety alignments to generate a consistent pass rush without sacrificing numbers in the secondary, consistent with Wilson’s historic tendency to disguise coverage pre-snap. The high-volume blitz philosophy aims to force quick quarterback decisions and exploit protection mismatches to force turnovers.
Man-match concepts, using physical CBs on the perimeter to disrupt receiver timing and force low-percentage throws outside along with heavy front alignments will also factor into game plans. Expect the defense to utilize hybrid front packages with three safeties or extra edge rushers in order to establish a stout run defense while creating creative blitz pathways for Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Special Teams
While the ST coordinator is former Redskins safety Chris Horton, John Harbaugh’s extensive early background as a special teams coordinator is expected to immediately upgrade this area for the Giants. New York finished the ‘25 season ranked 25th in special teams EPA — ranking 30th in net yards per punt and 31st in punts pinned inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Harbaugh, known for focusing on special teams in game planning, has already overhauled the depth chart with key additions like punter Jordan Stout and All-Pro return specialist Braxton Berrios, who was signed to fill the void left by Gunner Olszewski’s season-ending injury.
Summary
Under John Harbaugh, Giants fans are hoping to emerge from a multi-year playoff drought; they anticipate that Harbaugh’s structural discipline will immediately stabilize a franchise accustomed, in recent years, to high coaching turnover. There is also hope that the newly structured, aggressive schemes under Matt Nagy and Dennard Wilson can quickly elevate a young roster that has struggled with consistency and fundamental execution. However, there are many questions regarding how quickly these changes can yield actual wins in the highly competitive NFC East, where the Giants have finished last in 3 of the past 5 years.
While the defense hopes to field a potent pass rush with Burns, Carter, and Thibodeaux, the absence of an elite interior anchor in the wake of the Dexter Lawrence trade leaves the run defense vulnerable. Furthermore, the offensive trajectory relies heavily on the hope that Jaxson Dart can drastically reduce his errors and that Malik Nabers can return to peak form following a major injury, leaving little room for error if things don’t go as planned early in the season.
Key statistical 2025 rankings
It’s a matter of form, I guess, to include rankings from 2025 as we enter a new season, but with an entirely new coaching staff that is implementing entirely new philosophies and schemes in every phase of the game and organizational management, I’m not sure how much light these rankings shed on expectations for the ‘26 season.
Key Offensive Rankings
- Scoring Offense: Ranked 17th in the NFL (22.4 points per game).
- Total Offense: Ranked 19th in yards gained (333.5 total yards per game).
- Passing Offense: Ranked 22nd in net passing yards (207.2 yards per game).
- Rushing Offense: Ranked 15th in rushing yards (126.2 yards per game).
- Sacks Allowed: Tied for the 23rd-most sacks surrendered (48 total sacks).
- Third-Down Efficiency: Ranked 20th in conversion rate (37.2%).
Key Defensive Rankings
- Scoring Defense: Ranked 26th in the NFL (25.8 points allowed per game).
- Total Defense: Ranked 25th in yards allowed (359.5 total yards per game).
- Passing Defense: Ranked 26th in passing yards allowed (241.2 yards per game).
- Rushing Defense: Ranked 16th in rushing yards allowed (118.3 yards per game).
- Pass Rush: Ranked 21st in total team sacks generated (39 sacks).
- Takeaways: Ranked 24th in total forced turnovers (17 takeaways).
Roster Moves: Trades, Free Agency, and the Draft
Trades and Free Agency
Player trades
New York Giants traded disgruntled star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for their first-round pick (No. 10 overall) in the 2026 NFL Draft
Free agent signings
Offensive Signings
- Isaiah Likely (TE): Signed a three-year contract to serve as a versatile “F” tight end, facilitating head coach John Harbaugh’s shift to heavy 12 personnel packages.
- Darnell Mooney (WR): Secured a one-year contract worth up to $10 million to add deep-threat capabilities and depth to the perimeter.
- Calvin Austin III (WR): Signed a one-year deal worth up to $4.5 million to fill the slot receiver vacancy and contribute as a return specialist.
- Patrick Ricard (FB): Signed a two-year contract to reunite with Harbaugh and establish a physical blocking presence in the new running game.
- Jermaine Eluemunor (OL): Re-signed on a three-year, $39 million contract to maintain continuity at right tackle opposite Andrew Thomas.
- Evan Neal (OT/G): Re-signed to a one-year contract to receive a clean slate under the new coaching staff, with a projected move inward to right guard.
Defensive Signings
- Tremaine Edmunds (LB): Agreed to a three-year, $36 million contract with $23.7 million guaranteed to take over defensive signal-calling duties.
- Greg Newsome II (CB): Signed a low-risk, one-year contract worth up to $10 million to reinforce the perimeter under defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson.
- Ar’Darius Washington (S): Signed a one-year contract to act as a versatile defensive back and special teams contributor.
- Micah McFadden (LB): Re-signed on a one-year, $3.75 million prove-it deal to preserve depth at inside linebacker.
- Jason Pinnock (S): Returned to the franchise on a one-year contract to add competition to the safety rotation.
Special Teams Signings
- Jordan Stout (P): Signed a three-year contract following an All-Pro season to kickstart an overhaul of the team’s punting unit.
- Braxton Berrios (WR/RS): Added as an All-Pro return specialist to fill the roster void created by Gunner Olszewski’s season-ending injury.
- Ben Mann (LS): Secured a 3-year, $3m contract.
- Elijah Campbell (CB) & Cam Jones (LB): Both signed one-year contracts strictly intended to bolster performance on coverage units.
Some key free agent losses
- WR Wandale Robinson
- CB Cordale Flott
- TE Daniel Bellinger
- S Dane Belton
The 2026 NFL Draft
Round 1, No. 5: Arvell Reese (LB, Ohio State) – A highly versatile defender who can play all over the field as an edge rusher or off-ball linebacker.
Round 1, No. 10: Francis Mauigoa (OL, Miami) – A dominant All-American OL slated to start immediately at right guard.
Round 2, No. 37: Colton Hood (CB, Tennessee) – A physical outside cornerback; no touchdown pass allowed as a primary defender since 2023.
Round 3, No. 74: Malachi Fields (WR, Notre Dame) – A big, physical “power forward” target acquired via trade to complement Malik Nabers.
Round 5, No. 186: Bobby Jamison-Travis (DT, Auburn) – A massive, 328-pound nose tackle drafted to clog space and fix a porous run defense in wake of the “Sexy Dexy” trade.
Round 6, No. 192: J.C. Davis (OL, Illinois) – A large developmental offensive lineman adding size and depth to the front unit.
Round 6, No. 193: Jack Kelly (LB, BYU) – A thick linebacker with pass-rushing upside who will contribute early on special teams.
Betting Lines
Oddsmakers have established the home team as the baseline favorite for this matchup.
- Point Spread: Commanders -2.5
- Game Total (Over/Under): 48.5 points
A 2.5-point spread represents a bit less than the standard margin given for home-field advantage in the NFL, indicating how closely oddsmakers see the matchup between these two teams and the large amount of unknowns due to coaching and roster changes. The point total is set at 48.5, reflecting expectations of solid offensive output from both sides.
