Commanders handle business vs. Giants, continue to 'demonstrate improvement'

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Washington Commanders spent last week preparing for Sunday’s rematch with the New York Giants .

Before game day, the head coach made sure everyone understood they would face two opponents. Dan Quinn finds beauty in gridiron simplicity. The form tackle that rocks a ball carrier or a well-executed chip block, the kind his tight ends delivered against New York’s pass rushers in Washington’s 27-22 road win at MetLife Stadium.

Advertisement Yes, he covets explosive plays on both sides of the ball like every other win-obsessed coach. Those moments don’t always arrive in bunches, if at all, and certainly not as loudly as last week’s Hail Mary finish . Good teams lean on a baseline of consistency to grow and survive.

To avoid stagnation or regression. To win even when their best is unavailable. For the first time this season, the Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels would face an opponent for the second time.

Washington rallied for a three-point win over New York in Week 2 , at a time when external expectations remained low and internal thoughts focused on putting one foot in front of the other. From there, the pace increased. The Commanders lost only once in between battling the Giants while chatter increased about where this surging team might be headed.

Quinn revealed the other opponent — their Week 2 selves — and shared his expectations for his players this weekend: All that improvement, show, don’t tell . “We need to de.