Washington Commanders overcome two fourth quarter turnovers to pick up their first win since week five, beat the New York Giants on the road for a 29-21 win.
The Washington Commanders got back in the win column following a 29-21 victory over the rival New York Giants, snapping an eight-game losing streak and extended the Giants’ losing streak to the same amount.
Washington rinsed the bad taste of last week's shutout out quickly after a 46-yard field goal from Jake Moody capped off a ten play, 39 yard drive on the opening possession. Washington would capitalize on a missed Giants' field goal, the first of two on the day, before extending the lead in the second quarter after RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt punched in a 16-yard rushing touchdown to push the lead to 10-0. The touchdown also made him the first Commanders rookie running back to record at least five rushing touchdowns as a rookie since Antonio Gibson in 2020.
A 39-yard field goal by Moody extended the lead to 13-0 midway through the second quarter before New York responded with RB Tyrone Tracy breaking through the Commanders' poor tackling for a 12-yard touchdown, his first of two scores on the day.
Washington capitalized on an errant throw by Jaxson Dart in the final seconds of the first half after cornerback Mike Sainristil recorded a 55-yard interception, setting up Moody for his third field goal of the half, this one from 42 yards out, to put Washington up 22-7 at the half.
The Giants would come out firing in the second half, going 82 yards on seven plays and only taking 3:12. Tyrone Tracy finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown catch, cutting it to a 22-14 deficit. Dart completed four of five passes for 59 yards and the touchdown pass.
Washington got into trouble on the following drive after a holding call on the kickoff had them starting from the 10-yard line. The Commanders were only able to get one first down before punting. After the teams exchange three-and-outs, the Giants would be on the move again.
Starting with the ball at their own 13, the Giants got to the Washington 20 before a personal foul against John-Michael Schmitz pushed them back. The following play saw Washington defensive back Antonio Hamilton make a great play to knock the ball out of Slayton’s hands that would have been a touchdown. Koo would then miss a 51-yard field goal attempt to keep it an eight-point lead.
The Commanders would make them pay two plays later when Mariota connected with McLaurin for a 51 yard touchdown. The Giants would have a big play of their own the following drive on a 42-yard connection from Dart to tight end Theo Johnson. A pass interference in the end zone would set the ball at the one, but Washington’s defense stepped up, and New York would turn it over on downs.
The Giants got called for PI on the next play to help get the Commanders out of their own goalline. However, disaster struck when Mariota fumbled the ball, and Brian Burns returned it to the 21 of Washington. That helped get the Giants right back in it when a fourth-down touchdown reception to Robinson made it 29-21 with 3:43 to go.
The Commanders then caught a big break after a fumble by McNichols, after it was determined that Abdul Carter was down by contact at the 49 instead of deep in Washington territory. The Commander, however, held up forcing a turnover on downs to cement the win.
The Commanders Win, But it Wasn’t Easy:
It wasn’t pretty or easy going for the Commanders, but in the end, they got the win. After getting a field goal on their first drive of the game, they never trailed and seemed to answer every time the Giants got close.
When the Giants had a chance to get the lead before halftime, a three-and-out followed by a punt return touchdown put an end to that dream. Then, after a third quarter where the Commanders only had 33 yards, they took advantage of a missed field goal when Marcus Mariota hit Terry McLaurin on a 51-yard touchdown pass to go up by 15.
The last few minutes of the game proved to be stressful, as fumbles on back-to-back drives gave the Giants a chance. However, the defense stepped up one last time and caused a turnover on downs, sealing the win.
Big Plays and Giant Mistakes Proved to be the Difference:
Even after the punt return TD, the Giants still had a chance to score before the half and were at the Commander 35 with 26 seconds left. Then, Jaxson Dart threw an interception, and Mike Sainristil took it to the Giant 24. Washington then kicked a field goal to go up 22-7.
Later on, the Giants had first-and-goal at the 1 following a pass interference and a chance to cut it to a one-score game. However, two negative runs and two incompletions proved to be the end of that, giving the ball right back to the Commanders. Giants kicker Younghoe Koo also missed two field goals, the second of which led to a Commander touchdown to put the lead back up to 15.
Surprisingly, the Giants outgained the Commanders, had more first downs, and committed fewer penalties. However, the inability to stop big plays and limit mistakes cost New York in the end.
What’s Next?
The Commanders have to decide on what they will do about Jayden Daniels with only three games left. After his elbow injury was reaggravated last week against Minnesota, Daniels was out this week. The Commanders are sitting at 4-10 and are out of the playoff race.
Should they let Daniels rest and fully recover with so little time left in the season? That remains to be seen.