Coming off a Hail Mary win, the Commanders will try to sweep the Giants and improve to 7-2

Washington (6-2) at New York Giants (2-6)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, FOX

BetMGM NFL Odds: Commanders by 4

Series record: Giants lead 108-72-5.

Against the spread: Giants 3-5; Commanders 6-2.

Last meeting: Commanders beat Giants 21-18 on Sept. 15 in Landover, Maryland.

Last week: Commanders beat Bears 18-15 at home. The Giants lost to the Steelers 26-18 in Pittsburgh Monday night.

Commanders offense: overall (3), rush (3), pass (10), scoring (3)

Commanders defense: overall (13), rush (25) pass (6), scoring (10)

Giants offense: overall (26), rush (24), pass (23), scoring (31)

Giants defense: overall (13), rush (25), pass (6), scoring (10)

Turnover differential: Commanders plus-4; Giants minus-3.

RB Brian Robinson Jr. A national audience has seen (twice) what QB Jayden Daniels can do, and he's the offensive rookie of the year favorite for a reason. But Washington's offense has been so effective because of balance, and it's not just Daniels taking off and running. Robinson has rushed for 461 yards and six touchdowns this season, the Commanders' game without him is the only one they've lost since the season opener. He ran for a career-best 133 yards on 17 carries against New York in September.

CB Deonte Banks. The 2023 first-round draft pick was benched for the second half of the nationally televised game against the Steelers. It has been a bad year for him. He was lifted after missing a tackle Monday. Banks started the season as the Giants' projected shut-down cornerback. Coach Brian Daboll said he will start Sunday.

The Giants defense versus Daniels. In the first game, the Commanders gained 425 yards, held the ball for 37:32, were 8 of 15 on third and fourth down attempts and did not punt. New York stayed close because Washington was 0 for 6 in the red zone and it had 10 penalties for 69 yards.

Daniels has sore ribs that limited him in practice, but he is expected to play. ... Rookie LT Brandon Coleman could return from a concussion, while veteran LT Cornelius Lucas is out with a left ankle injury. ... The Giants won't have K Greg Joseph (abdomen) or P Jamie Gillan (hamstring) available. With Graham Gano still out after being injured against Washington in Week 2, rookie Jude McAtamney may be elevated off the practice squad to kick. ... RB Tyrone Tracy cleared concussion protocol and is expected to play, as is CB Cor’Dale Flott, who missed the Steelers game with a groin injury. ... LB Ty Summers (ankle) is questionable.

Washington looking for its first sweep since 2021. Giants have won three of the past four meetings.

Washington is 4-0 at home for the first time since 1978 and is 2-2 on the road. ... Washington has not started 7-2 since 1996. ... The Commanders are the fourth team since 1950 and first since the 2016 Cowboys to win six of their first eight games starting a rookie QB. ... Daniels had a career-high 326 yards passing against Chicago. He has completed 71.8% of his passes, ranking second to Detroit's Jared Goff among players with at least 100 attempts. ... Last week was the first time Washington won a game with a TD on the last play in regulation since at least 1970. ... Robinson has five TDs in his past five games. ... WR Terry McLaurin had a season-high 125 yards receiving last week. ... TE Zach Ertz has had 50-plus yards receiving in four consecutive games against New York. ... DT Daron Payne picked up his first full sack of the season against the Bears. ... Giants have lost three straight. They are 0-4 at home and have not scored a first-half touchdown in any of those games. ... QB Daniel Jones threw for 264 yards against the Steelers. He had two TD passes and no interceptions against Washington in September. ... Tracy's 145 yards rushing was the highest total by a Giants rookie since Saquon Barkley ran for 179 yards at Washington on Dec. 9, 2018. His 45-yard TD run was the Giants’ longest offensive play of the season. ... WR Darius Slayton had four catches for 108 yards Monday. ... The Giants have an NFL-high 35 sacks, one more than last season. ... OLB Azeez Ojulari has two sacks last week and five in the past three games. DT Dexter Lawrence leads the NFL with nine sacks. ... The Giants haven’t intercepted a pass in seven straight. ... ILB Bobby Okereke had 14 tackles and forced and recovered a fumble Monday.

This is the LSU matchup: Daniels and Malik Nabers on the same field again. In his second game after missing two with a concussion, he caught seven passes for 71 yards. He has 46 catches for 498 yards in six games. He is the third player in the Super Bowl era with 40-plus receptions through his first six career games, joining Barkley (40 in 2018) and the Rams’ Puka Nacua (50 in 2023).

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu (4) celebrates after tackling Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn watches from the sideline in the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll answers questions after an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) runs for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) leaves the field after an 18-15 win over the Chicago Bears in an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown (85) catches a 52-yard touchdown pass in the end zone as time expires to give the Commanders an 18-15 win over the Chicago Bears in an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams returned to court Friday, sitting stoically as his lawyers fought to eliminate a key charge in the federal corruption indictment that threatens his political future.

The Democrat’s lawyers are fighting to throw out a bribery charge, one of five counts in a case that U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho said will go to trial April 21, 2025.

They argued at a hearing in Manhattan federal court that the charge does not meet the federal standard of a crime, particularly after recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions redefined how bribery is prosecuted.

Prosecutors suggested Adams' lawyers were splitting hairs because, as they allege, Adams was taking bribes and exerting influence while holding a prior elected office and as he anticipated becoming mayor.

Ho said he would take the arguments “under advisement and attempt to rule shortly."

The bribery charge “does not state a federal offense” and is “insufficiently specific” to support keeping the count as part of Adams’ indictment, his lawyer John Bash argued.

“The prosecutor for the United States had trouble defining what the ‘quo’ is here,” Bash said, referring to the concept of a “quid pro quo,” a Latin phrase essentially meaning “this for that," or “something for something.”

The indictment, which also includes wire fraud and conspiracy charges, accuses Adams of accepting flight upgrades and other luxury travel perks valued at $100,000 along with illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals looking to buy his influence.

In exchange, prosecutors say, Adams performed political favors that benefited the Turkish government, including pressuring the fire department in 2021 to approve the opening of a diplomatic tower that it had deemed unsafe.

Adams held a different elected position at the time, Brooklyn borough president, but by then it was clear that he would become mayor.

Adams has pleaded not guilty to the charges and vowed to remain in office as he mounts his legal defense.

Bash argued the alleged perks don't meet the legal definition of bribery because they predate his time as mayor and have "nothing to do with his governmental position.”

Adams' lawyers contend prosecutors are seeking to criminalize “normal and perfectly lawful acts” that Adams undertook as Brooklyn borough president before he was elected mayor.

Under the law, prosecutors must show that Adams took bribes in exchange for using his official office to exert influence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten argued that Adams’ role as borough president “gets him in the room, as it were, with the fire commissioner.”

Ho wondered whether, rather than Adams' job as borough president, it was Adams’ impending move to City Hall that gave him the power to pressure the fire department.

“It seems a little weird when the jurisdictional connection here is that he was Brooklyn borough president but that his ability to exert pressure extends from something else," Ho said.

Scotten stood firm, arguing that “if Margot Robbie gave him a call and was really persuasive,” the “Barbie” actor and producer still wouldn't be able to influence the fire department without also holding an elected office.

“He probably would've taken that call," Ho quipped, prompting laughter in the courtroom.

Ho allotted the defense and prosecution each 20 minutes to argue the issue.

The judge interjected with questions throughout the arguments, at one point asking Bash to consider whether prosecutors would be able to remedy their alleged deficiencies by providing additional details or allegations.

“I’d hate to write the government’s superseding indictment for them, if that’s the direction they’re going to go,” Bash replied before launching into an extended discussion of the intricacies of bribery law.

Scotten said at a hearing last month that they are pursuing “several related investigations” and that it is “quite likely” prosecutors will seek a superseding indictment charging Adams with additional crimes. Scotten also said it is “likely” additional defendants will be charged.

Late Thursday, Ho rejected another defense attempt to chip away at the case, denying Adams' request for a hearing on the mayor's claims that the government has been leaking information about the investigation to the news media.

The judge ruled that Adams and his lawyers failed to substantiate those claims and, if any leaks occurred, that the government was to blame.

In court filings outlining their arguments, Adams' lawyers said the years of flight upgrades and other perks the mayor received were at most “classic gratuities,” which a recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings found were not covered by the bribery statute if they were given for past acts, according to the filing.

Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, responded that Adams actions were plainly criminal.

“It should be clear from the face of the indictment that there is nothing routine about a public official accepting over $100,000 in benefits from a foreign diplomat, which he took great pains to conceal — including by manufacturing fake paper trails to create the illusion of payment,” prosecutors wrote.

Several of Adams’ closest aides — including his police commissioner, schools chancellor and multiple deputy mayors — have resigned in recent months after federal investigators executed coordinated searches of their homes in early September.

Adams has maintained that he can continue to lead the city effectively while fighting the charges.

But his political future remains fraught and several opponents have announced plans to challenge him in next year's mayoral primary.

Earlier this week, Adams raised eyebrows after repeatedly declining to criticize former President Donald Trump, refusing to say when he last spoke with the Republican nominee or whether he was angling for a pardon should Trump win reelection.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives to the US federal court house in New York, Friday, Nov. 01, 2024.(AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

FILE - New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at City Hall, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives to the US federal court house in New York, Friday, Nov. 01, 2024.(AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives to the US federal court house in New York, Friday, Nov. 01, 2024.(AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives to the US federal court house in New York, Friday, Nov. 01, 2024.(AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives to the US federal court house in New York, Friday, Nov. 01, 2024.(AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

FILE - New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks to reporters after a news conference in New York, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)