Divisional games are always a little bit up in the air in the NFL. Teams just know each other better than anyone else, and it seems like teams can sneak in a win at different times, even when they might be a little bit outmatched on a talent level. Last year the Giants beat the Redskins both times they faced them, and the Redskins are certainly looking for some revenge from those games last season. Either way, the team that loses this game falls to a 1-3 record and will be the worst team in the divison.
So far in this young season, the Giants have beaten the Texans while losing to the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals. Considering they are 1-2 against teams with a combined record of 7-2, that really isn't that bad for the Giants. The Redskins did lose to the same Texans in week one, have a win over the 0-3 Jaguars, and lost a close game to the Eagles last week. One major thing to note in this game though, is that in yards per game, the Redskins currently are ranked number 2 in the NFL, behind only the Atlanta Falcons, with the Redskins averaging 444 yards per game. The Redskins also have the number 4 defense in the NFL through 3 games. They are only allowing an average of 282.7 yards per game. The Giants has definitely been struggling though in their early games. Offensively, they are behind the average, ranking 25th out of the 32 NFL teams getting only 319 yards per game. Defensively, the Giants rank a little better at 22 overall, allowing 364.7 yards per game. The Redskins should be able to move the ball down the field against the Giants and the Giants might struggle to move the ball against the Redskins defense. If the Redskins can simply hold onto the ball and win the turnover battle they have a great shot of winning this matchup.
Another interesting note is that all of the Thursday night games so far this season have been won by the home team. Washington is at home as well, which makes this game even clearer about who the likely victor will be. The final score prediction in this game is Washington Redskins 31, New York Giants 21.