Commanders silence New York with last-gasp victory

A rainy Thursday night at MetLife Stadium set the sign for the New York Giants’ white-out game against the division-rival Washington Commanders, with the primetime clash shaped as one of the biggest in recent history for the home side, who held control of the NFC East with a 5-2-1 coming in.

Despite solid production from their franchise quarterback, Jayden Daniels, the visiting Commanders had struggled for any sort of consistency throughout the first half of their campaign, but having fought out a rare tie against the Giants when the teams met a month ago, were keen to cause an upset and silence the raucous atmosphere.

Despite reaching the Commanders’ 37-yard line on their opening drive due to a couple of big carries from Cam Skattebo, the Giants were forced to punt, as Jim Harbaugh did not trust Dominic Zvada with a 55-yard field goal attempt given the inclement weather.

After quickly forcing Washington off the field and regaining possession near midfield, JJ McCarthy and New York worked their way well and truly into field-goal range on their second drive, but Zvada missed a 33-yard attempt, certainly justifying Harbaugh’s earlier decision to not give him the responsibilities from further.

Treylon Burks was the early focal point in the Commanders’ passing attack, but after he was unable to haul in what would have been an improbable catch after a deflection of Stefon Diggs’ helmet, Washington settled for a field goal themselves, which Drew Stevens converted to open the scoring.

The Giants continued to control time of possession by moving the chains consistently with a number of 3rd- and 4th-down conversions on the ground, thanks to Skattebo, the legs of McCarthy, and even a quarterback sneak from Jameis Winston. After returning to the red zone, they made it count this time, with Skattebo punching in a touchdown from the goal line to give them their first lead of the night with a couple of minutes remaining in the half.

A 30-yard catch-and-run by Stefon Diggs gace Washington every chance to respond with points of their own before the break, and with Daniels settled into the game, he made all the right plays to lead them down to the 1-yard line. He found Ben Sinnott on a touchdown pass in the dying seconds, and the Commanders took a 10-7 lead into halftime on the road.

The defensive domination of the game picked up where it left off to begin the third quarter, with the Giants forcing Washington into a quick 3-and-out. McCarthy parlayed that into a strong offensive drive, working down the field through Malachi Fields before Skattebo found the end zone for a second time to wrench back the lead.

The Commanders had another response up their sleeve, however. It took just 6 plays for Daniels to respond with a combination of the aerial attack and ground game. Rookie receiver Antonio Williams was hit perfectly in stride to stroll into the end zone, giving the game its 5th lead change midway through the third.

As New York looked to be on the doorstep of a response themselves, a screen pass to Malik Nabers endered disastrously when he fumbled after the catch, with Jeremy Reaves swooping on the loose ball for a crucial takeaway.

The game reached a stand still as the teams entered the final quarter, but following an unsuccessul 4th down attempt by Washington deep in Giants territory, Isaiah Likely brought New York to life by exploding for a 66-yard catch-and-run and touchdown. The Giants faithful were in raptures as their team took a 21-17 lead entering the dying stages.

The Commanders had responded to every touchdown they’d conceded with one of their own to that point so far, but that trend was quickly bucked. After being on the verge of the red zone, Daniels took an end zone shot in the direction of Chig Okonkwo, but was picked off by Jevon Holland. It wouldn’t be his last opportunity to win the game, however, as Washington regained the ball around midfield with 3 minutes to play.

The game’s most critical play to that point came on a 4th down, where Daniels threw his second interception in as many drives, as Ardarius Washington stepped in front of Okonkwo to come up with a potentially game-winning play.

But New York were unable to officially seal victory by picking up a first down, leaving the door ajar one last time for the Commanders offense to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. A massive defensive pass interference call against Deonte Banks kickstarted their drive, and in the blink of an eye, Diggs broke loose on 3rd down, walking into the end zone untouched for a 32-yard, go-ahead score.

50 seconds remained for McCarthy and the Giants to at least send the game to overtime. Fields got things going with a 21-yard reception to get them across midfield in an instant, but Rasul Douglas made a game-winning play by intercepting New York’s quarterback on a deep ball intended for Nabers. Washington came back out and into victory formation to close out a tremendous 24-21 road victory.

It’s a devastating blow for the Giants’ divisional and playoff hopes. On what could have been a special night in the Big Apple, the door is now right back open for the Dallas Cowboys, or even the Commanders themselves, to take control of the NFC East.

Touchdowns
Washington: Sinnott, Williams, Diggs
New York Giants: Skattebo 2, Likely

Top Performers
Washington: Diggs, Daniels, Reaves, Robertson
New York Giants: Skattebo, Likely, Washington, Holland

Injuries
Washington: N/A
New York Giants: Pinnock (back)

Crowd: TBC @ MetLife Stadium