Tale of the tape: Giants host Washington with NFC East lead on the line Thursday

The Giants put first place in the NFC East on the line tonight when Washington visits MetLife Stadium at 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video. New York is 5-2-1 and Washington is 2-5-1, but their Week 5 meeting ended in a 27-27 overtime tie.

J.J. McCarthy makes his first home start for the Giants. He has won six straight starts, including two since arriving in New York, per Giants beat reporter Jordan Raanan. McCarthy (hip) and Cam Skattebo (hamstring) carry no injury designation for the game, according to Raanan and Adam Schefter.

Tale of the tape

| | Commanders | Giants | |---|---|---| | Record | 2-5-1 | 5-2-1 | | Points per game | 21.5 | 22.8 | | Points allowed | 25.3 | 21.5 | | Yards per game | 340.3 | 349.6 | | Yards allowed | 358.3 | 312.9 | | Passing leader | Jayden Daniels, 1,250 yards, 7 TD | Jameis Winston, 1,028 yards, 8 TD | | Top receiver | Stefon Diggs, 30 catches, 5 TD | Malik Nabers, 53 catches, 648 yards | | Sack leader | Odafe Oweh, 4 | Arvell Reese, 4.5 |

Season numbers come from ESPN's game page.

What happened last time

Daniels ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 5 tie, and Nabers caught 11 of 20 targets for 121 yards and a score, per ESPN. Daniels has been quieter on the ground since, averaging 16.3 rushing yards over his last three games.

The Giants come in on a two-game win streak after holding Philadelphia to 11 points. Rookie linebacker Arvell Reese had 12 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble in that game. ESPN ranks New York's defense fifth in yards allowed and third against the pass. Washington ranks last in third-down conversion rate and is without center Lucas Patrick, receiver Treylon Burks and tight end Colson Yankoff.

Weather and the line

Rain is the wild card. Raanan said it was pouring at MetLife a little after 6 p.m. ET, with gusts up to 30 mph forecast around kickoff. DraftKings, via ESPN, has the Giants as 1.5-point favorites with a 40.5 total, and ESPN's predictor calls it a coin flip at 50.1% for New York.

Why it matters

A Giants win would put them two and a half games clear of Dallas (4-5) in the division. A Washington loss would drop it to 2-6-1 with eight games left. For Skattebo, Raanan notes, the final nine games matter for his future after the Giants tried to trade for a running back.