The Washington Commanders are a franchise in need of a win. The New York Giants are in need of an overhaul. The two teams are set to meet in Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season with an opportunity for one of them to ‘get right,’ as they say, with both looking to overcome plenty of self-inflicted wounds.

For the Commanders, their opponent’s dysfunction isn’t just field level; it appears to be organizational, with the latest piece of the chaos puzzle being the firing of their assistant defensive line coach after he threw a fit for having his seat on the team plane switched from the front of the plane to the back.

So, while Washington is dealing with its own myriad of issues, they don’t seem to be the same kind as New York’s, and those issues could lead to the burgundy and gold’s first victory since October 5.

The Giants are favored to win this game, but if you were to gauge the state of each team by the franchise health around the rosters, the Commanders would come out well ahead of a franchise that Locked On Giants host Patricia Traina says needs a full-on makeover in the offseason.

A ‘Country Club’ Atmosphere?

“I want to see the Giants bring in a leader of men, somebody who’s going to get rid of that country club atmosphere that has been in that locker room under Brian Daboll and just restore pride in the product,” Traina said on a recent episode.

“The Giants really haven’t had an identity, a characteristic that they could hang their hats on. And this has been going on now well over a decade.”

Of course, that type of environment is nothing Washington hasn’t had to deal with itself in the past. Under managing partner Josh Harris, general manager Adam Peters, and head coach Dan Quinn, the new culture of the Commanders’ franchise seems to be standing strong despite the losing season that has unfolded in 2025.

While some fans of the organization will feel like this year has simply been the return of previous habits that doomed past rosters to the exact same place in the season standings this one has wound up in, it is still fundamentally different. 

And if Washington can harass rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart and cause some issues for the home squad this weekend, perhaps it can at least keep the new trend of beating New York in place, while trying to figure out everything else.

‘Endorsing Recklessness’

“It just seems like between Mike Kafka and beforehand Brian Daboll, they were endorsing the recklessness of Dart. And that to me, that’s got to stop in plain English,” says Traina. 

That recklessness oftentimes comes out when under pressure or playing from behind, making the way the Commanders start this weekend just as important as how they close.

Of course, this is a battle between two teams with five combined wins in 26 combined games, so it isn’t like Washington is walking into the matchup looking like the immaculate hero sent to slay the sloppy villain, though sloppy is exactly how we’d describe them after hearing Traina’s description of the team’s conduct on the field.

“The unsportsmanlike conducts, jumping offside, or the false starts, just stuff that is just all mentally related… this Giant team this year has been one of the most undisciplined teams that I think exists in the NFL and they’re just not good enough to overcome those mistakes.”

Neither, it turns out, is Washington. Even with several of their more talented players returning to health in recent weeks, the Commanders have been unable to string together any consistently positive outings, leading to the eight game losing streak that is one game longer than New York’s entering the weekend.

The Race for the Draft

Unfortunately, both of the team’s lost seasons have led to the belief among the fan bases that neither team should lose, lest they sacrifice draft position for a singular win in a pointless effort.

What will happen in Week 15 is unknown, because of that fact. In fact, which way the two teams go at this point is mostly unknown as well, as Traina puts it: “I’ve given up trying to figure it out because at this point team is cooked. …Now that being said, I wouldn’t exactly lose sleep if the Giants ended up with the number one pick. Just think of the possibilities for the Giants to trade down.” 

Funny. Commanders fans, and even some media, were just saying the same thing.

READ MORE: Commanders coordinator issues challenge to offense after shutout

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2025 season.

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