FANPULSE: Redskins fans and Giants fans agree on the outcome of this week’s matchup

This week’s game predictions:

Big Blue View fans = Redskins win by 4 points

Hogs Haven fans = Redskins win by 9 points

The situation

Giants fans and Redskins fans agree on the final outcome — a win for Washington. The only place the two fan bases disagree is on the question of “by how much?”

GM Dave Gettleman appears to already have his sights set on the 2019 offseason and his salary cap position. In the past few days he has traded Eli Apple to the New Orleans Saints and Snacks Harrison to the Detroit Lions.

The Giants season appears to be over already.

An overview from Pro Football Talk

The failure of the Giants to lay the foundation for a quarterback change and/or to read the mood and attitude of the fan base resulted in an unexpected blowback to the benching, which then prompted an overreaction by management. After the team cleaned house, firing McAdoo and G.M. Jerry Reese, ownership tied the hands of their successors, forcing them to stick with Eli Manning.

And so they did, deluding themselves into believing that splurging on left tackle Nate Solder and drafting running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick would make the 2018 edition of the team more like 2016 and not 2017. Seven games in, the Giants have admitted that it’s not working, and they’ve commenced the process of dismantling the roster, flipping players who won’t be part of the future for draft picks.

They may not miss cornerback Eli Apple (who was called a “cancer” by safety Landon Collins last year) or defensive tackle Damon Harrison (who doesn’t really fit in the team’s new defense), but the trades coming less than 48 hours after a Monday night loss to the Falcons sends a very clear message: We’re finally admitting that a quick fix isn’t practical, and we’re now tearing it down in the hopes of building it back up, eventually.

This is where they should have been a year ago, and maybe they would have been there if they hadn’t blown the Eli Manning benching so badly. An unprecedented number of free-agent quarterbacks were available, and the Giants could have selected Sam Darnold or Josh Allen with draft pick that became Saquon Barkley, who will spend the first few years of his career feeling a lot like Barry Sanders.

If, as it now appears, the Giants will be throwing in the towel on 2018 and planning for the future, it makes sense to trade as many veterans as possible, which in a roundabout way will aid the process of sinking to the bottom of the standings — and in turn rising to the top of the draft order. If, back in 2004, the Giants had been the first to pick and not fourth, they would have been able to get Eli Manning without giving up the extra picks needed to climb three spots. If they can earn the first overall pick this year, they can keep (and use) all of their draft picks in 2019 and 2020 in order to improve the team.

Some would call it “tanking.”

The recent history of Giants vs Redskins

Redskins players and coaches would be wise not to take this Giants team lightly, despite the 1-6 record. After all, the Giants played the Atlanta Falcons to a 3-point ball game on the road on Monday night.

More importantly, Jay Gruden’s Redskins have a ... what shall I say?... a ‘spotty’ history playing against the Giants when the Redskins should have expected to win.

In 2016, the Redskins played the Giants in Week 17. New York was enjoying its best regular season since 2008, had already clinched a playoff spot, and was widely expected to rest starters and simply ‘phone it in’. The Redskins were the team that did a sleepwalking routine at home, losing 19-10, falling to a record of 8-7-1 and losing any hope of a playoff spot.

Getty Images

Wide receiver Odell Beckham #13 of the New York Giants scores a fourth quarter touchdown past cornerback Will Blackmon #41 of the Washington Redskins at FedExField on November 29, 2015 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Last season (2017), the Giants hosted the Redskins — again in Week 17. The Giants were 2-13 and had no motivation, aside from pride, to show up and play. The Redskins were 7-8, and had the opportunity to avoid a losing record by putting the hurt on the flailing Giants in New Jersey. Instead, it was a replay of 2016, with the Giants winning the matchup 18-10.

What to expect this week

This Sunday, a wounded Giants team that seemingly has nothing to play for, coached by a first year head coach, quarterbacked by an over-the-hill veteran being asked this week if he expects to be traded, and surrounded by Twitter reports that the team’s entire defense is available for trade, will host the first place Redskins, who are seeking to increase their division lead.

Common sense tells us that it should be a cakewalk for the Redskins; history says that the team better show up with its collective head screwed on right and ready for battle, because the Giants have a way of playing and beating the Redskins even when it seems they shouldn’t.