Week 1 Takeaways - New York Giants at Washington Commanders

By: Sam Myer 9/8/25

TLDR – The Commanders dominated defensively against a lackluster Giants offense, quieting all-offseason concerns regarding their offseason additions. The offense on the other hand left much to be desired, as they were clearly shaking off the rust from a long summer.

The Washington Commanders began their 2025 campaign with a mostly dominant win at home against division rival, the New York Giants. It was the most anticipated beginning of a season that Washington has had in over 30 years, and it largely did not disappoint. The offseason was full of speculation after notable additions in the offseason, a frustrating contract dispute, a looming stadium deal, and the second season of Jayden Daniels on everyone’s mind. After processing all that throughout the spring and summer, Commanders fans took a big sigh of relief after the win on Sunday.

The front office in Washington worked hard all offseason to ensure that the team was poised to take a step forward in 2025 after a historic season in 2024. Adam Peters repeatedly emphasized the importance of improving both offensive and defensive lines and it was on full display on Sunday. Laremy Tunsil was the splash acquisition at the start of free agency when Washington traded several picks to the Houston Texans to bring in the star left tackle. This attitude to protect Jayden Daniels at all costs was reinforced in the draft when Peters selected Oregon tackle Josh Connerly Jr. with the 29^th pick in the first round. Despite these notable additions on the offensive line, it was instead the defensive line who made the biggest statement in their week one win. Javon Kinlaw, Deatrich Wise, Dorance Armstrong, and Daron Payne all had dominant performances particularly in the run game. The Giants running backs were held to a sheepish 28 yards on 15 carries between their three active RBs. It was a promising start for the unit that underwent the most turnover in the offseason, but it wasn’t the high point for the defense.

The Commanders starting cornerbacks at the start of the 2024 season consisted of Benjamin St. Juste, Emannuel Forbes, and Michael Davis. At the start of the 2025 season, those starters are now Marshon Lattimore, Trey Amos, and Mike Sainristil. The difference couldn’t be more drastic, and it certainly shows on the field with Malik Nabers being held to just five catches on twelve targets. Amos had impressed all throughout training camp and he got off to a great start as one of the starting outside corners. Will Harris was another notable addition in the offseason and made his presence known quickly with multiple big hits in the first half. After exiting the game due to injury, Jeremy Reaves forced a fumble in the 4^th quarter. While the secondary performed well, this was aided by a poor performance from Giants QB Russell Wilson. Their next matchup will provide significantly more challenges for Washington when they travel to Green Bay on Thursday Night Football.

One big thing to look forward to in their Thursday night showdown in Lambeau is for the offense to take a step forward. The Commanders offense had a slow start to their 2025 season, leaving much to be desired after their dominance in 2024. In classic Kliff Kingsbury fashion, the running game was the focal point of attack on Sunday. They finished the day with 220 rushing yards led by 68 yards from Jayden Daniels and 82 yards from rookie 7^th round pick Bill Croskey-Merritt. The preseason hype train for Bill was completely out of control, lighting social media ablaze after his touchdown in their second matchup. Fortunately, it seems that at least for now, that hype was warranted. Bill had a solid NFL debut, capped off with a touchdown and an explosive 42-yard run in the 4^th quarter. One shoutout that must be made is to backup tight end John Bates, who had several key blocks that sprung big plays in the run game. Bates has gained significant recognition since moving into a largely blocking tight end role and is now considered one of, if not the best, blocking tight ends in the entire NFL.

The biggest shining star on Washington’s offense on Sunday was undoubtedly Deebo Samuel. He finished his Commanders debut with seven catches for 77 yards and an EPIC touchdown run to seal the game in the 4^th quarter. Samuel faced significant criticism last season regarding his weight gain last season after he had pneumonia. He addressed this publicly in the offseason and spoke on how he’s worked all offseason to get his body back to peak physical form. Safe to say that this showed on Sunday as he registered just shy of 100 yards from scrimmage and was the clear focal point of the passing game with a team-high 10 targets. This may be the first season where there is legitimate target competition for newly extended Terry McLaurin.

Terry McLaurin was the talk of the most of training camp during his contract dispute that became very public and very frustrating for the Washington faithful. What began as a departure from OTAs slowly turned into a disgruntled press conference at Eastern Motors, then proceeded to get worse in training camp. A hold-out turned into a hold-in, which then turned into a trade request. For the first time, it seemed that the fan-base was starting to turn on Adam Peters and Terry alike. To everyone’s relief, a deal finally got reached just two weeks before the season started and everything seemed to return to normal. But just like in Jaydens NFL debut last season, him and Terry weren’t quite on the same page. And just like the first game last year, Terry had his man beat on a deep route down the left side and Jayden simply over-threw him. Jayden is certainly still settling into the season, but this is to be expected after not throwing one pass in any three of their preseason games.

The Washington Commanders travel to Green Bay for Thursday Night Football in week two for a true litmus test of how much they’ve improved from last year. The Packers are the talk of the league since trading for superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons and are widely considered to be a Super Bowl contender. They certainly looked the part on Sunday when they completely dismantled the Detroit Lions at home. Washington will have their hands full with Parsons and the rest of the Packers defense, as well as the ever-rising star quarterback Jordan Love.