Like It Or Not: November 12, 2026

Welcome into Fox 5's live Commanders pregame show. We are gearing up for kickoff just a little over an hour from now as the Commanders will face off against the New York Giants for the second time this season. Let's take you out there live as we have crews at watch parties across the DMV as we take a live look right now at fans. Hopefully starting to file into Tap Sports Bar at MGM National Harbor and Star Hill at Tyson's. Our Chad Ricardo will also join us live from MetLife Stadium as both teams tonight prepare. for what you could call a possible redemption game for both of them. The last time they played against each other was week five of the season. The game started as a promising return for Jaden Daniels, but the Commanders blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, then missed another chance to win it in overtime. Daniels driving the Commanders into field goal range, seconds away from securing that win. No timeouts left, but instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock, he snapped it, scrambled to the side, and went down, and it all allowed for the final seconds of overtime to tick away, ending in a frustrating 27-27 tie. And now, five weeks later, the Giants currently leading the NFC East division with a 5-2-1 record, the Commanders entering tonight's game in the opposite direction, having only two wins through their first eight games. A team trying to shake off last Sunday's Week 9 loss to the Rams. Washington had a slight edge. Over L.A. heading into halftime, but that crumbled in the back half, falling 20-13 at home. The Commanders had a chance to at least tie the game late, but again, time running out on their last drive. Mistakes on both sides of the ball continue to raise concerns about the team's consistency in clock management and its chances of making that playoff push. With just eight games remaining on the season, managing editor for Sports Illustrated, Peter Dewey, a win tonight, he says, could turn things around. If they win this game, they have the tiebreaker over the Giants. And when you look at the NFL in these division races where really Washington's only chance to make the playoffs is going to be winning the division. If you have the tiebreaker, it gives you a little bit of a buffer instead of having to have a better record than the Giants by one game, they could finish with the same record and the commanders would end up winning the division. So obviously that makes this a huge game after they tied the first time around, you get this win, you put yourself in a position where now all of a sudden you're just two games He's back with still half the season to play and And anything can happen at that point, especially with the Giants having a backup quarterback. I'll try for the interview. And head coach Jen Quinn says they are fighting to make that happen as the commanders take the Giants on the road. Let's get you out to East Rutherford, New Jersey, where our Chad Ricardo is out at a very, very wet parking lot against a head of the game here, Chad. A weather, a house. Okay, you found a Commander. Listen, Marina, I got to tell you, we have found, unfortunately, a total of about four Washington Commanders fans all day long. These New York Giants fans, they have packed MetLife Stadium. They've got their tickets. They are ready for the New York Giants to move to 6-2-1 tonight. However, the Washington Commanders are here ready to raise hell and prevent that from happening. What we found here is a young man who is actually from up here in the north. Northeast, but a Washington football fan. How did you become a Washington football fan? Lifelong fan. As a kid, my brother was a Giants fan and he just annoyed me with him so much that how could I not be a Redskins fan? Plus, the Redskins, their history with Riggins and Theismann, they were just a great team to watch back in the 80s when I was growing up. You're the brother, right? How does it make you feel to see your brother wearing the colors? Of a winner tonight. I try not to announce that too much to anybody. But, you know, he is what he is. And I'm happy for him. And you all have come, obviously, as a friend group here. It's Cataboo. That's the Victor Cruz or the Shockey? The old school Shockey jersey that's here as well. What is this like to come to a game like this, despite the rain, together with friends and family? It's always a lot of fun. That's a great answer. That's a great answer. Shockey, get in here. Man of more words. What's it like? I heard that you were responsible for this. Yes, yes. It's a great experience, Philby. We're going to win, baby. Let's go Giants. Let's go Giants. Now you're just talking too much, Shockey. Back here with the Washington football fans. The U fans are going to help you guys tonight. Not going to help at all. Here tonight in this game, some would say that this is a must-win game for this Washington Commanders franchise. 2-5-1 right now. Now, if they lose tonight, four games under the... The Giants and the season is basically over. This is a huge game. We need to play together as a team. We need our wide receivers to step up through our injuries that we got. And we need... We need Jaden Daniels not to make stupid mistakes late in the game. Got to get on the same page here. Jayden Daniels, David Blau, et cetera. With the rain here, brother, who does the rain favor? Does it favor Cam Scadaboo and the battering ram, or is it Jaden Daniels getting it done with his leg? I think it's Scadaboo because he can just run over people. And you only got Daniels running, and as long as they got a spy on him. They'll be okay. Holy smokes. He says that Arvell Reese is going to be that spot. Jaden ran for two touchdowns the last two times that these two teams met. If you can't catch him, you can't tackle him. That's what I'm saying. Reese is a different man now. Let me ask you this. Before I let you all get out of this rain and into a lovely MetLife stadium here. Here, many... On the internet, in the Washington, D.C. area are saying that if the Commanders lose this game and this season begins to spiral, that this will in fact be the end of the Dan Quinn era. My opinion, if we lose this game, go for the draft pick. Wow. It's over. Yeah. It's over. I hate to say it, but yeah. I mean, listen. Lifelong Redskins fan, hate the Giants, but I can't deny the direction they're heading, they're going to be a tough team, and if we give them that big of a lead... It's going to be tough to come back from it. That would be difficult. But the good news is the Commanders are going to raise some hell tonight. If we win tonight, it's a different ballgame. It's a different ballgame. Different ballgame. I tell you what, Marina, you guys see it there in studio. The Giants fans are basically hanging around waiting for the Commanders to win this game. We're going to find the Commanders fans if you're watching. Hop on 95 North. Come on up here and find me and my dear friend right here. Come help us out. We need it. We need more burgundy and gold in the stands up there in New Jersey. Thank you, Chad. That and, of course, Chad's garden gloves. We'll talk about that later. We'll see you later. Here for more on tonight's matchup, pro football player Lois Cook of D.C. Divas and sports journalist Adam Gotkin with us here. Adam, we'll start with you. I mean, this is do or die here for the Commanders. If they want any shot at the remainder of this season, what do they have to do to be effective? I think they have to be aggressive. They can't go out there and play scared. They can't have their tails tucked between their legs because this could be it. If they lose this game, then you're. Out of it. I think there's no other way to say you're out of it. You've got to at least put your full foot forward and be aggressive. I want to see Jaden Daniels run. I want to see those zone reads and not play scared like they kind of have since he's come back from injury. Yeah, you talk about Jaden Daniels, and we saw, like, a very aggressive, kind of the spark that Jayden Daniels always has on that first half of the L.A. Rams last Sunday, right? They came back from the locker room, and it seemed to be a different offense. What do they need to do here up against this Giants? Adam mentioned Jaden using his legs. I mean, he ran for 103 yards against the Giants back in week three. I'm sorry, week five, excuse me. But the last three games, he's only been running for about 49 yards. Use his strength. You know, this is what they have. Right, exactly. But they've got to be aggressive. They've got to play mistake-free football. This is a division game. It's going to be a tough matchup, but they have to come in correct. They've got to come in strong. I want to see them take to the ground. I want them to establish the run. And it's the... Elements are not in the favor of a passing game, but establish the run. That way you can control the clock. You've got Eckler, you've got Rashad White, but you also have Jaden Daniels, and he is the golden ticket. And you know who you also have? Stephon Diggs, who did not play up against that first game up against the Giants, and that's going to be different. Now we know Terry McLaurin is out for the season. That's going to be a huge hindrance for the remainder of the season. They've got to get away from that at this point and just focus on the receivers that J.D. Five does have, and Stephon Diggs can help here. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, Stefon Diggs was brought in to be Now he kind of has to be the number one, and we didn't really see him step up last week. The guy who did step up was Van Jefferson. You kind of need a guy like that to just do something, to get four or five catches to take you over the edge when you don't have your number one receiver. Also, a very important thing for tonight's game, you do have Traylon Burks back, which is a deep threat. That's something that Washington was desperately missing last week. There was just no deep threat without McLaurin and without Burks. But now you get Burks back, so you can maybe stretch the field a little bit. And you have Stephon Diggs. You have Antonio Williams. Like, this is a talented receiving room, much more talented than it was last year when Terry was hurt. So I think, you know, the excuses are gone. He's hurt. It's the NFL. Everyone is hurt. You've got to make do. You've got to figure it out. And you've got to move the football. And this offense with the Giants a little different, too, right? We've got a QB1 who's injured. Jameis Winston has now been moved back down. And you've got J.J. McCarthy coming up and starting this game. What are we looking for the defense to do up against that Giants offense? Well, interestingly, J.J. McCarthy is doing pretty well with it. He's a giant, so definitely need to apply the pressure to J.J. McCarthy. They also have Malik Neighbors, who's had about 11 passes in the last game, targets. He is a threat, a deep threat. So the commanders are going to have to lock down on him, make sure that they're able to disguise the coverage, make sure they have a guy on them at all times. Apply the pressure to J.J. McCarthy. Make him make some mistakes. Yeah, Scadaboo healthy also as well. So that's something. Clock management here. I mean, it almost seems like this is something we should not be talking about in the pro leagues, especially not once, not twice, three times. And it brings back fresh memories for Commanders fans. It was up against these Giants, the New York Giants, that we came up to that 20-27 tie here. What needs to change here? Because I know head coach Quinn is saying it's my fault, it's my fault, but the guy with the mic and the earpiece here is J.D. Five. He's the captain on the field. He's got to make something happen too. Yeah, I think you're exactly right there. Yes, David Blau is new. Yes, Dan Quinn has struggled in some of these spots as a head coach, but Jayden Daniels has to be smarter than that himself. I mean, you even go to the last play of that Rams game. He has to know. You cannot just dump the ball underneath the TIG and hope that you have a miracle play there that's going to win you the game. You have to go to the end zone. And he said afterwards that he knew it was, they call it an ozone play. That's one of those quinnisms where it has to go out of bounds or to the end zone. Jaden has to make those smarter decisions. That's what he did so well back in 2024 when this team made it to the NFC championship game. There was never a doubt of his ability to come up with those big plays and the big moments towards the end of the game. I mean, I think this is a game where he has to not just not make those mistakes, but. I mean, he has to go out there and show us why he is this franchise quarterback. I mean, he's been a good quarterback, I think, since he's come back from injury. He hasn't been special. He has to be special. And, of course, being special also means not making those mistakes that make you look like a fool. Yeah, especially at this level. We'll see if, in fact, he shows us how special he is up in New Jersey. Lois Adams, stay with us because, of course, we've got so much more to break down. Let's check our Instapoll at this hour. What do the Commanders need most to beat the Giants? And of course, is it the better O-line play, more explosive play? Better plays, better defensive pressure, and like Adam was saying, fewer mistakes. I think that's what it takes. You give up games by all these unforced errors, and there have been so many to count here for the last couple of weeks in the season. Give us a QR code scan there, and of course we'll keep checking in throughout the hour. Pretty unanimous at this hour, so I don't know if there's going to be a lot of movement here. We'll check back in. Much more here on Fox 5's pregame show. We'll check in with the Commanders fans in National Harbor on the other side. Pero ya no, pero ya no, pero ya no. And the Commanders playing New York tonight, preparing for a rematch against the Giants. The Commanders dealing with a few injuries heading into this matchup, but there is some good news. Jaden Daniels is not on that injury report after dealing with several tough injuries that have forced him to miss time this season. The team will be without two players on offense. Their center, Lucas Patrick and tight end, Colson Yankov, have both been ruled out. Patrick entering concussion protocol during last week's game against the Rams, while Yankov is dealing with a knee injury. Nick Allegretti expected to step in at center. Another player to keep an eye on is wide receiver Treylon Burks. He missed last week's game with a foot injury and has not participated in recent practices. But head coach Dan Quinn says Burks is trending towards playing. On the other side, the Giants are looking pretty healthy. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy left Sunday's win with a hip pointer and running back Cam Skadaboo is missing it with a hamstring injury. Both practicing this week, John Harbaugh says Skadaboo should be, quote, Full go, and they're not the only ones. Malik Neighbors, Andrew Thomas, Theo Johnson, they have also been dealing with some minor injuries. All three practice in full this week. The only Giants player with an injury designation is linebacker Malik Harrison, who is questionable with a groin injury. And speaking of the Giants, fans in New York also fired up for tonight's rematch. Jennifer Williams from our sister station for Fox 5 New York reporting from MetLife Stadium. With the NFC East very much up for grabs, the Giants can tighten their grip on it with a win over the division rival Commanders. And Thursday night in primetime at MetLife Stadium, the atmosphere will be just as hostile as the weather. I'll tell you one thing we were all thinking about, though, is the game. And very fired up about the whiteout. Pretty cool deal. Can't wait to see the fans out there. I know they're going to be loud and excited. We've been here rain or shine for 30 years, and I just think New York has a toughness and attitude. Seeing that on the team with a chance to execute, it's what we live for as fans, so really excited for tonight. What's up J-Man? What's up J-Man? What's up J-Man? The Giants sit at 5-2-1. Of course, that tie came a month ago in Washington, so defending home turf in the rematch will be crucial. I told the guys, it's all hands on deck. On a short week like this, it's all hands on deck. Everybody, all the time, every second, get ready for this game because it comes fast, but that's how you get prepared. Winning changes everything. So past years, coming later in the season, there really wasn't much you can look forward to, but we'll put up with all the wind and the rain and everything else that's at stake, and yeah, it's awesome. As much as we don't like each other, I think we're all happy to be here, right? I think I'm the only Commanders fan here, but it's going to be a great game. You know, Giants are playing good this year, so we're going to have to not make mistakes on offense, I'll tell you that. But it's the NFC East, it's a good battle, and what else could you ask for, you know? Despite losing key players early in the season under first-year head coach John Harbaugh, the Giants are seeking the team's first division title since 2011. We knew that once they started running off wins and wins and wins, and with the quarterback's situation being healthy now. We knew that it was going to be a pretty good game. I'm just so blessed to be a part of this team. I say it over and over again. I just can't thank the Giants organization and the fan base for welcoming me. At the end of the day, it's running out there to do my job at a high level and go get a win on Thursday night. That's the only thing I care about. Quarterback JJ McCarthy, who left Sunday's win over the Eagles with a hip injury, is good to go tonight, as well as fan favorite running back Cam Scadaboo, who the Giants will need on a messy night at MetLife. At MetLife Stadium, Jennifer Williams, Fox 5 News. And the Giants defense playing its best football in years. Rookie Arvell Reese has had three sacks, 12 tackles, and a forced fumble in their win over the Eagles. The youngest player in NFL history with three sacks in a game. Quarterback Greg Newsom, the second, had a major impact all season and just signed a new three-year, $46 million deal to stay in New York. And that is music to our producer, Deja's ears, because Deja apparently has been a lifelong fan. And I just realized today when she showed up wearing a Giants shirt, I was like, how dare you? So I know how you're feeling about tonight's game. Yes, everyone's like, this is how I find out. Like, yes, this is how I found out. Look, I remember just being a kid, running, yelling, Super Bowl wins. It was a wonderful, it was a great time. And then, you know, you start to see that decline, the final years of Manning. And, you know, then just trying to rebuild this team. You know, I stuck it out. And I was in shock. I could not believe it. But I am so happy that, you know, we have a team. We have a chance. This is big for us. Leading the division right now. I am ecstatic. I love this right now. Okay. Well, don't get too comfortable leading the division. You know. The NFC East is some would describe a dumpster fire. Yeah. You know. The best of the worst. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. That's right, the best of the worst. You can't say that about the NFC North. I know that a lot of fans wish that we had Caleb Williams at this point, but, you know, it is what it is. I think people are more forgiving of you than your sister, who definitely jumped the bandwagon there, especially for the Commanders fans. Exactly. I make sure I make fun of her whenever they definitely lose. You're going to have a lot of that this season. All right, we'll see what happens tonight. Thank you, Deja. And let's check in with more fans across the region, including where our Cindy Purcing is, live right now at MGM National Harbor's Tap Sports Bar, where fans can come out and watch the game. game. So it looks like they're getting ready. Yeah, Marina, it's actually a bit difficult to hear you because the party is getting started here at Tap Sports Bar at MGM. Less than an hour now. from kickoff, and folks are certainly getting excited. There's going to be a Commanders rally here, which means there's going to be a Commanders legend, some cheerleaders, a DJ, and fans, they are ready. We're going to bring you over to meet some of my new friends, and we're going to start with Gary. Hi, Gary. How you doing? Tell me how we are feeling. We're less than an hour from game time. So about this game, I feel great about it. I think that we have the tools. I don't know if the weather's going to play in our favor, but I definitely think that we have the tools necessary for what we have to do. Tell me, this is my first time coming to MGM for this. Why is this the place you picked? It seems like a fun atmosphere with a lot of fans. I'm sorry, I missed part of that. Tell me why you enjoy coming out here to MGM for this. It seems like a pretty good atmosphere out here with all the fans. Well... For one, the casino. So you know. That'll do it. But it's always just a live environment here, especially for watching the games. TV's everywhere, great food, great drinks. So, yeah, it's always a good time here. Awesome. Well, Gary, thank you for your time. And before we let you go, Marina, we're going to come over to my buddy Michael. Michael, I know you watched the last game when the Commanders played the Giants. How was that for you? I was disappointed with the tie, so we got the win tonight. How are you feeling, and how are you feeling about head coach Dan Quinn? I'm kind of 50-50 on him, so he's got to win tonight. If he wins tonight, I'll feel better. Okay, you seem like you're going to have a good time here. It seems like a lot of fun. Most definitely. Nice crowd, everybody eager for the game tonight. Can't wait. We're going to win tonight. You got your red wine. Is that it? I got my red wine. I'll celebrate Washington wins. All right, cheers to you. Thank you, Michael. Okay, take care. All right, Marina. Fans are feeling pretty good. We'll check in with you all throughout the evening as the game progresses. We'll send it back to you in studio. I'm not sure if a full bottle of wine is good for the loss or for the win. We'll let him decide. Thank you, Sydney. Coming up next, our panel will be back to break down tonight's matchup. I'm starting to speak now. I know you want it while I turn around and watch me check up on you watching me shake it I see it in your face Lewis Cook and Adam Gotkin are back with me now. And, of course, as we know, the Commanders are in for this fight tonight to keep the season going. The Giants leading that NFC East division, a big change from what we've seen over the last few years. As we were saying before the break, is this the Harbaugh effect? Is John Harbaugh already changing that culture? And, of course, looking at the Commanders, is Washington's biggest problem? Coaching and decision-making has so many questions to break down. We'll start with Harbaugh, which obviously, coming from the Ravens, we're very familiar with his style. And it seems as though once they picked him up, things changed over there. Yeah, John Harbaugh is one of those guys that just has what it takes coaching-wise to take a team to the next level or to just have a team get over the hump. I mean, with the Ravens, the issue was never them being a decent team. It was them not winning Super Bowls. John Harbaugh is one of those coaches where his teams are always going to be playing smart football. They're not going to be making mistakes, and they're going to be playing hard, which is something that we kind of have with Dan Quinn and the fact that his team is playing hard, but you have the mistakes that John Harbaugh just has not made. I mean, he is... One of the better coaches, I think, in football. I think a lot of Washington fans said, man, I wish maybe he could have waited a year and come here because, you know, there's a reason that he was in Baltimore for so long and there's a reason that he got another job so quickly. And that was when Coach Quinn came to Washington. That was one of the things that people talked about. Can a defensive coordinator be a head coach? Will he have that offensive eye that we see maybe with the clock mismanagement? Well, one thing that's interesting is how... You see, for example, Harbaugh with the Giants. They don't necessarily have all the weapons that over the past couple of years, but he's been able to make something out of nothing, out of nothing. They've been a successful organization so far this year. With Dan Quinn, you see that they have what it takes, the aggressiveness they have, and that's what you get out of a defensive coach. But they're just not clicking. There's been multiple situations over this season, whether it be injury, adversity, what have you. Something is missing, and what I do particularly like about DQ, Dan Quinn, is the locker room. They are bought into him, and that is particularly important for a football team. Oh, yeah, they've not. In all this, you call it debacles of the clock and who's responsible for what. They've stood behind Coach Quinn, although I did hear Jayden Daniels start to waver a little bit over the last couple of days from Ashburn. I don't know if you tuned into that as well. But regardless, the question here being, what happens tonight? So a one-on-one. Who do we take in, Neighbors or Stephon Diggs? Who do you think is the guy to make it happen on either side here? It's got to be Malik Neighbors if you're talking about which one is the better wide receiver. He is a guy who can go out there and win a game. Stephon Diggs, I don't think he has that anymore. He's still elite when it comes to finding that soft zone coverage and making plays after the catch, but Malik Nabers is just one of those receivers that you look at and say, that is a number one guy. And it's going to be really tough for this Washington defense to keep him in check. We saw last week what Puka Nacua did. He pretty much took over that game offensively for the Rams. And it's a little bit interesting when you talk about this Washington defense because they are not a defense that's going to play man-to-man. They're going to play zone. They'll blitz. They'll play zone behind that. So you can't necessarily say, let's just double Malik Nabers because You're not playing man to man. You can't just put a second man over there and you can't just pay more attention because then you're not paying attention to your zone coverage, which is a defensive player. That's where big plays can happen. So, you know, do they play more man coverage to keep track of Malik Nabers? Do they just dial up the pressure, try and confuse JJ McCarthy? That's the question, because Nabers is one of those guys where he can take over a game. He can have 10, 15 catches. For 120 yards and two touchdowns, and you can't let that happen again after Puka did it last week. And Daniels himself, I mean, at the last game, he scored two of the touchdowns, right? So he is just as important as he is passing the ball as getting into the end zone himself and to the rushing point. We were talking about how many yards he rushed last time, 103 up against the Giants. The weather here could be a big component as to how much Jaden Daniels risks it, right? I mean, this is a guy that I've got to imagine, mentally speaking, with the injuries here, he may be concerned about a slip and fall. He might be concerned. Concerned. And you also have to think there's been a lot of scrutiny on Jaden Daniels over the past few past few weeks as a player in the game that starts to set in on you. So I have to question is Jayden Daniels eliminating his rush exposure or is the defense just showing up and having containment? But Jaden Daniels absolutely needs to make a move today. He needs to make a statement and show Commanders Nation exactly who they signed up for. And he has what it takes. He's just got to. Put it to the test. Yeah, show him. He is the franchise quarterback here. We talk about the weather, obviously. I remember the Miami Dolphins going up to Kansas City, and it was like below 30 degrees, and Miami had no idea what they were in for. But this is rain. I mean, nothing here is something. Both these teams know how to handle this weather. Yeah, it's football. You go out there and you play the game. And, you know, when these teams played earlier in the year in Washington, it was a little bit rainy as well. And Washington actually went out that game, and they threw the ball around a lot. So I don't think that's anything that is really going to impact the game at all. Well, if there's one thing, it's make sure you, you know, keep extra tight security of that ball because fumbles can, you know, be a little bit more of an issue in this type of weather. But you can't blame it on the weather. You've got to just go play your game. This is the NFL. Everyone deals with weather. These are professional football players. They should go play football and not worry about the rain. I like that. And like we said, rainy night in New York. So, of course, we've got our Mike Thomas here to give us a little bit of a preview of what we're going to be dealing with at home and, of course, up in MetLife Stadium. Mike? Yeah, yeah.