Washington vs. Giants 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch ‘Thursday Night Football’ online

In a surprising twist, both Washington and the New York Giants find themselves in position to actually compete for the NFC East. The two teams play each other for the first time on Thursday Night Football.

Entering Week 3, the Dallas Cowboys find themselves atop the NFC East standing with a record of 2-0. However, after serious injuries to Dez Bryant (foot fracture) and Tony Romo (fractured clavicle), the Cowboys may no longer possess the horses to compete for the division title. With the Philadelphia Eagles struggling mightily on offense and defense, that leaves Washington and New York as the teams best positioned to take advantage.

Washington may have started the season under the cloud of a quarterback controversy, but the team appears to have moved on to another position battle. At running back, established starter Alfred Morris has lost carries the first two weeks of the season to youngster Matt Jones. The 95th overall pick in this year's draft, Jones broke out in a major way in Week 2, carrying the ball 19 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns. While Morris has experience and a proven track record on his side, the more athletic Jones has the higher upside. Given Kirk Cousins' up-and-down start to the season, Washington may benefit from an increased focus on their talented rookie rusher.

In New York, the Giants have played well enough to win two weeks in a row. Yet somehow the team has managed to choke away two games to the Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons. One of New York's biggest problems thus far has been clock management. In the season opener, Tom Coughlin's crew left Dallas with more than a minute to drive down the field for the game-winning score. Similar issues crept up in Week 2, and the Giants endured yet another fourth-quarter come-from-ahead defeat. Still, the roster remains fairly healthy relative to their division rivals. With the right adjustments, the Giants can still compete for the NFC East.

If New York is to secure its first win of the season, quarterback Eli Manning has to make big plays. In Week 1, Manning struggled in the red zone, producing no touchdown throws and completing less than 60 percent of his passes. A different Manning showed up a week later when Eli completed 27 of his 40 passes for 292 yards and two scores with zero interceptions. If that version of the quarterback shows up on Thursday night, the Giants have a chance to topple Washington.

The same rationale applies to Washington's signal caller. Cousins looked lousy in Week 1, throwing twice as many picks as touchdowns and averaging a pedestrian 6.3 yards per pass attempt. Then this past weekend, Cousins completed all but four of his 27 passes for over 200 yards, a score and no turnovers. His track record suggests that a similarly strong performance isn't likely in the cards for Thursday, but perhaps with the improved backfield play, Cousins could overcome his penchant for poor judgment. It doesn't hurt his cause that New York will take the field without Jason Pierre-Paul, the team's best pass rusher who remains sidelined with a fireworks-related hand injury.