The rivalry between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins takes another step as the team that leaves FedEx Field with a victory will go top of the wide-open NFC East on Sunday.
New York are currently 5-5 for the season and come into this one off the back of their bye week, while Washington were blown out by the Carolina Panthers, who improved to 11-0 on Thursday.
The Giants won by 11 points when the sides met back in week 3, and there is no doubt that they are favourites for this one, but you can never underestimate Kirk Cousins and this Redskins team.
NFC East wide-open and up for grabs
Every season you have that one division that swings one way and then the other on a weekly basis because the standings are that tight, this season it is the NFC East.
With no team in the division going into this round of fixtures with a record above .500 the division is certainly up for grabs with both the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles losing on Thanksgiving Day.
The Giants have a chance to take a commanding two-game lead when they travel to the capital, and another win over the Redskins would theoretically give them a two-and-a-half game lead due to the tiebreaker.
Dallas are well and truly out the race with a 3-8 record and Tony Romo out for the season and at 4-7, Philadelphia don’t look anything like a play-off team after conceding 90 points in the past two weeks.
Can Cousins get over his Giants losing run?
At the start of the 2015 season, head-coach Jay Gruden elected to start Cousins at quarterback ahead of Robert Griffin III and the decision has thrown out some mixed results so far.
Cousins helped the Redskins overcome a 24-0 deficit against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 7, and he managed to record a perfect rating against the New Orleans Saints in week 10.
The quarterback however, is 0-3 in his career against the Giants, throwing only two touchdowns and an astonishing eight interceptions, while completing less than 52 per cent of his passes.
Giants having an up-and-down season
As statistics go, Eli Manning is having the best season of his career, and he could be in for a big day on Sunday with Washington sitting 12th in the league in yards allowed through the air.
On offense, the Giants really need to start protecting the football to get opportunities, and they also need to find some momentum in their running game.
Odell Beckham Jr is the stand-out receiver for New York having amassed 339 yards with four touchdowns, he also had four touchdowns in his two games played against Washington.
Injury Report
Three players are out of the game for the Giants, Larry Donnell (neck) underwent tests on Wednesday and will be out for a lengthy period, while Mark Herzlich (quad) and Justin Pugh (Concussion) are also set to miss the trip to Washington.
Weston Richburg (ankle) is doubtful, J.T. Thomas (ankle) is questionable and Prince Amukamara (pectoral) is likely to return against the Redskins after missing the last five games.
As for the Redskins, their injury list is as big as your weekly shopping list, but nine of the 11 players listed as probable have participated fully in practice this week.
Trenton Scherff (hamstring) is out indefinitely and Keenan Robinson (shoulder), Bashaud Breeland (hamstring) and Deshazor Everett (hamstring) are questionable for the NFC East divisional clash.