The Commanders received a gift from the Giants during overtime of Sunday’s game at Washington and they immediately returned it.
Rather than kneel down and work the clock to score a game-winning field goal try with the Commanders out of timeouts after the two-minute warning in overtime, Giants head coach John Harbaugh opted to hand the ball off to Cam Skattebo on a first down from the Washington 24-yard line. Skattebo fumbled the ball and Commanders recovered to give themselves a chance to win the match.
They took advantage with Jayden Daniels completing two passes for 29 yards and running for 16 yards on a drive that moved to the Giants’ 24-yard line in the final minute. The Commanders only had to throw the ball to stop the clock and attempt a field goal, but Daniels instead took a snap and danced around before being stopped for no gain and the clock ran out before the Commanders could take another snap.
The result was a 27-27 tie that should feel like a loss for both teams and both head coaches given how their decisions shaped the ending. Not only did Commanders head coach Dan Quinn botch the final play, but he also saw his team blow a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter after stifling the Giants’ offense all afternoon. Jameis Winston threw three touchdown passes in the final 15:44 of regulation and the Commanders punted on their final two possessions.
The Commanders elected to kick off in overtime and forced a Dominic Zvada try from 46 yards. Zvada missed the game for the third time in the afternoon, but the Commanders scored on their first possession of the extra session.
Daniels finished the game with a stupid play, but he looked good in his return from a dislocated left elbow for about 50 minutes of play. He had touchdown passes of 38 and 26 yards while racking up 103 rushing yards for the day and he moved the Commanders pretty consistently until the wind came out of their sails down the stretch.
Winston lost a fumble and struggled until catching fire late. He had two touchdowns to tight end Isaiah Likely and tied the game with a strike to Malik Nabers. He was 33 of 54 for 326 yards, but the Giants experimented with using JJ McCarthy at times early in the game. McCarthy ran twice for two yards, handed the ball off and threw a pop pass for a five-yard loss that was negated by a penalty.
The result leaves Washington with a 1-3-1 record and they will be on the road against the 49ers Monday night in Week 6. The tie ends a two-game winning streak for the Giants and the 3-1-1 team will host the Saints next weekend.
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