Eager to wash away taste of defeat

It is a common refrain after a one-sided loss: We can’t wait to get back on the field as soon as possible to rid this from our memory banks.

This was a refrain the Giants repeated over and again this week as they prepared for their one Thursday night game of the season, against NFC East foe Washington, fresh off opening up with a 27-13 loss to the Broncos.

“I think coming off of a loss, people obviously are going to be in their heads about it a little bit,’’ defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “I’ve been in this league long enough to know that good teams will look at this short turnaround as an opportunity to get that bad taste out of our mouth. The faster we’re able to play a game and get a win under our belt, the faster we can move on from the loss that we just had the past week.’’

➤ When tight end Evan Engram suffered a strained calf Aug. 29, in the third and final preseason game, the feeling at the time was he was probably not going to be able to make it back 14 days later for the season opener. Engram did not make it back for Week 1, and on Wednesday, he was ruled out of the Week 2 game at Washington.

Engram pushed to make his 2021 debut this week, but there has not been enough time for his calf to heal. Veteran Kyle Rudolph made the start against Denver in his first game with the Giants, but was not much of a factor in his 47 snaps. Coming off foot surgery that kept him out of training camp and all three preseason games, Rudolph caught two passes for 8 yards.

Linebacker Cam Brown, a special teams contributor, was also ruled out with a hamstring injury.

➤ Daniel Jones is 4-0 in four career starts against Washington and has compiled a passer rating of 100.0 in those games, his highest against any opponent he has played more than one time. Jones has completed 68 percent of his passes for 901 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions in the four games versus Washington.

➤ The Giants hope to put out a better performance from their defensive backfield in this game than they did in the opener, when Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater found gaping holes in the coverage.

“We could definitely have a better start,’’ CB James Bradberry said. “We’ve just got to keep building, correct our mistakes from the last game and try to improve this week.’’

➤ Ereck Flowers, the Giants’ 2015 first-round pick (No. 9 overall) starts at left guard for Washington. … Similar to the way the Giants work their defense, Washington often puts three safeties — Landon Collins, Bobby McCain and Kamren Curl — on the field at one time. Collins, the Giants’ second-round pick in 2015, tore his Achilles tendon in Week 7 in 2020 and missed the remainder of the season.

“With Landon, you’ve got a very physical guy,’’ Washington coach Ron Rivera said. “That is some of the best things he does down in the box.’’