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An NFC East battle is on the cards to open Week 2, as the New York Giants and the Washington Football Team face each other hoping to avoid a dreadful 0-2 start to their seasons.
Both teams lost the first game of the season. The Giants were beaten by the Denver Broncos in a game where their offense was highly ineffective, while Washington suffered a tough loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in a game where they lost their starting quarterback to a hip injury.
The number of teams that qualify for the playoffs when they start the season 0-2 is really low, and a loss on Thursday would really hurt any of those teams. So, who's winning the game between the New York Giants and the Washington Football Team?
Will any of the offenses dominate the game?
It's highly unlikely that we're going to see a shoot-out during this game, as two strong defenses will be on the field.
Daniel Jones is not the one
But the quarterback position is a big concern for both sides. For the Giants, Daniel Jones still can't figure out how to play the quarterback position, starting the year with an awful game against the Denver Broncos. He can't help himself, with 40 turnovers since entering the NFL - more than one per game.
Jones clearly is a failed project, but as long as Dave Gettleman stays with the Giants, he'll have a job with the franchise. After all, Gettleman is the one who put his job on the line for the quarterback, and now the general manager will keep believing on him because he doesn't want to assume he make a mistake, even though everyone can clearly see he did.
Fitzpatrick's injury hurts Washington. Can Heinicke do the job?
The situation for Washington isn't much better, though. Ryan Fitzpatrick signed this year to be the starter, but he suffered a serious hip injury during the first week that will keep him out for a couple of months, so it's up to Taylor Heinicke to start on Thursday.
Heinicke has started a single game in his NFL career so far, and he actually impressed during last year's playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-24. But he's still really inexperienced, and you can't trust a quarterback that way. Especially against a strong defense like the Giants.
The good news is that there's not much game film available on Heinicke as well, so Joe Judge and his staff will have a tough time gameplanning against him.
Prediction for Giants vs. Washington
A low-scoring game is on the cards here: two strong defenses, two below-average offenses.
Even if they're without the starting quarterback, Washington is a better pick to win this game, because Heinicke has shown a better understanding of how to take care of the ball and maximize the talent around him in a small sample. When there's a defensive game happening, turnovers are key. Daniel Jones is prone to commit them.
Washington should win a close battle here, putting the Giants at 0-2 and in a difficult situation to reach the playoffs.
