The NFC East-leading New York Giants (5-2-1) host the Washington Commanders (2-5-1) at MetLife Stadium on Thursday Night Football.

Here are six things to know before this week's matchup.

The series

This is the 188th time these two franchises have met in the regular season, going back to 1932. The Giants lead the series 107-74-6 and have dominated at home, going 57-32-3.

In their most recent regular-season meeting, the Giants and Commanders tied 27-27 in Week 5 at Northwest Stadium. The Giants last beat the Commanders 31-19 in Week 11 of the 2023 season. They lost four straight after that, before the recent tie.

This is the sixth time Washington and New York have met on Thursday Night Football and the third time they will face off in New York. The Giants hold a 3-2 advantage in those meetings.

What's at stake

The Giants are two games ahead of 4-5 Dallas in the NFC East and three full games ahead of Washington. The Giants are 2-0-1 in the division, with wins over Dallas and Philadelphia and a tie against Washington.

A win Thursday will guarantee them a winning record in the NFC East for the first time since 2020, when they went 4-2.

The Commanders are 2-5-1 and third in the division. They cannot do better than their lot, nor can they worsen it this week.

The Commanders so far

Washington has had a rocky season, opening the year with back-to-back road losses to Philadelphia and Dallas. Since then, they've tied the Giants and lost tight games to Indianapolis, San Francisco, and the L.A. Rams.

They do have wins over Philadelphia and Seattle, and looked very capable in those games.

Giants in the driver's seat

The Giants have nine games remaining, and if they win four, they will finish with nine wins, which should be enough to win the division.

For Dallas to catch them, they would have to win five of their final eight to reach nine wins, but they would still have one more loss than the Giants.

Washington and Philadelphia have long odds to win the division. Both teams need seven wins to reach nine. That's a stretch, considering neither team seems able to string together back-to-back wins.

J.J. McCarthy vs. Washington

This will be McCarthy's second start against the Commanders. He started against Washington as a Minnesota Vikings player, tossing three touchdowns and leading the Vikings to a 31-0 victory.

McCarthy was sacked four times and rushed for 19 yards on six carries. McCarthy is in a great spot here again, as Washington has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.

Jayden Daniels vs. Giants

Daniels loves to play Big Blue. He has a 3-0-1 record in his four career starts against New York.

Daniels is the first player in NFL history to record at least 5,000 passing yards, 35 passing touchdowns, and 1,200 rushing yards in 26 career games. He became rushing yards through his first 20 career games.