The Commanders' secondary, which featured several new pieces compared to the 2024 season opener, showed improvement as well. Malik Nabers had a quiet 71 yards, much of which was gained on one play, on five catches. He faced much stickier coverage compared to last year, as Trey Amos and Marshon Lattimore, two Peters acquisitions in the last 10 months, both recorded pass breakups on Nabers.
For all those improvements, it was sloppy at times. Penalties plagued both sides of the ball, as the Commanders racked up 12 flags for 89 yards. The offense had problems with drops that stymied its momentum, starting on the opening drive, when Ertz dropped what would have been a first down on third-and-10. In the second quarter, Samuel had a pass slip through his fingers, which contributed to a three-and-out. On defense, Deatrich Wise Jr. was called for an illegal use of hands on fourth-and-goal, which gave the Giants a fresh set of downs at the Commanders' 1-yard line.
And yet, there were flashes when it appeared as if the Commanders hadn't skipped a beat from last year. They zoomed down the field on their second drive, covering 89 yards in eight plays, highlighted by a 34-yard pickup from Chris Moore and culminating in Ertz's touchdown.
The Giants responded with a long drive of their own, converting two third downs and getting some help from an unsportsmanlike conduct call from Lattimore. The difference, however, was that Washington's defense held firm inside the 5-yard line. Wise took down rookie Cam Skattebo for a two-yard loss, and safety Will Harris -- another offseason acquisition -- stuffed Wilson at the goal line. That's when Wise committed his illegal use of hands penalty, but the defense forced two incompletions and a tackle for loss, which made the Giants settle for a field goal.
Two drives later, the Commanders' offense was back to picking up steam. Samuel secured a 16-yard pass to convert a second-and-16, and Daniels scrambled for 11 yards to convert a second-and-6 after being backed up on a second-and-19. Croskey-Merritt finished up the drive with back-to-back six-yard runs, the second of which was his touchdown.
Both teams went through a lull in the third quarter, with just a 55-yard field goal from Gano coming in the final two minutes. But the Commanders found points when they needed them in the fourth quarter, as they put together an 80-yard drive in nine plays that featured three runs of 14, 11 and 12 yards from Daniels. Samuel capped things off with an outside run to the left, navigating through blockers and diving across the pylon to put the Commanders up 21-6.
"First of all, it starts up front," Samuel said. "It started with the offensive line and Luke [McCaffrey] getting a great pin block. Just followed the guys into the end zone and did what I had to do."