The Giants have gone 0-3-1 in their last four games, but they still came out of Week 14 in playoff position in the NFC.
Staying there will eventually require them to win some games and this week would be a good time to start. The Commanders are also 7-5-1 on the season, so a win on Sunday night would be a significant leg up on a key competitor.
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said he believes “this game is a playoff game” and that he’d like to see the team’s leaders use that as a way to prod the team to raise their preparation to another level ahead of this weekend.
“Just continue to challenge the guys around us and ourselves,” Lawrence said, via a transcript from the team. “Challenge each other. Challenge guys to watch a little bit more, study their matchups a little bit more. It’s just doing what we already do, just a little bit more type of thing. That’s how you see it change in your play, your confidence and your belief.”
The Giants won’t be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss, but their road will be a lot more difficult so anything the team can do to summon the kind of performance that propelled them to a 6-1 start will be a welcome development in the coming days.