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Washington just may have saved their season on a cold, rainy Thursday night in New Jersey!
In a must-win road primetime game, the Commanders came up big at the end against the NFC East-leading Giants to pull off an improbable 24-21 victory!
It wasn’t the prettiest of games for three quarters, but the fourth quarter more than made up for that with play that would wow even the most novice of fans.
The Commanders now sit 3-5-1 on the season and pulled
within two games of the Giants for the division lead. They are also 1-0-1 for the season matchup and haven’t lost a game to John Mara’s team since Sept. 7, 2025.
Below are my Studs and Duds of the game, followed by some notes.
Studs:
- WR Stefon Diggs: Diggs came up HUGE when Washington needed him the most, splitting the defense late in the fourth quarter and taking it to the house from 32-yards in what turned out to be the game-winning score. He led all Commanders’ receivers with six receptions for 83 yards and the touchdown.
- LB Frankie Luvu: Luvu was a menace all night, showing up all over the field and making plays. He had some timely blitzes that caused some havoc in the Giants backfield and forced a fumble on Malik Nabers that Jeremy Reaves recovered. He had six tackles, four pressures, a quarterback hit and the forced fumble.
- TE Ben Sinnott: Seldomly used in the passing game, Sinnott has really become just a glorified H-Back, however he saw an increase in targets when Chig Okonkwo went to the locker room in the first quarter and made the most of them, hauling in four receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown. He also blocked VERY well, especially when helping on the edge.
- LB Sonny Styles: The rookie is REALLY growing in this defense. He was around the football all evening and made some really nice plays, none bigger than his tackle for a loss on J.J. McCarthy late in the fourth quarter where it looked like he was shot out of a cannon into the Giants’ backfield. That play may have saved the game! My only gripe is he was right there on some pass plays and was just a nano-second from making a play on the ball (however that’s me nitpicking). For the game, he led the team with 13 total tackles (five solo), one tackle for a loss and two pressures.
- Commanders Interior Offensive Line: Chris Paul, Sam Cosmi and Nick Allegretti were STOUT in the run game and didn’t allow a pressure in pass pro. Allegretti played a pretty clean game at center. He did a nice job adjusting protection and moving to pick up stunts and twists, while keeping his snaps nearly perfect (something Patrick struggled with a bit). Very good game for the interior!
- HC Dan Quinn: DQ looked in control most of the game and his use of time outs and challenges were nearly perfect. We get on him pretty hard, but he did a nice job Thursday night.
Duds:
- THERE SHALL BE NONE NAMED!
Notes:
- For obvious reasons, Jayden Daniels did not make my studs list, HOWEVER, how he bounced back from those two poorly thrown balls that were intercepted was a thing of beauty. I give him a hell of a lot of credit for that game-defining drive, where he eventually found Diggs for what would become the game-deciding touchdown. That’s what the great ones do. They have short memories when things go bad, and Jayden exemplifies this. KUDOS to him for staying focused and rising to the occasion in a big moment.
- I don’t know why WR Antonio Williams wasn’t being targeted more often. When he gets his hands on the football, good things tend to happen. He caught both of his targets for 42 receiving yards, including a 31-yard catch-and-run for a score in the third quarter.
- OC David Blough’s gameplan looked a LOT different than previous games – IN A GOOD WAY! It actually resembled more Kliff Kingsbury than Ben Johnson with all the shotgun, tempo and chipping to help Brandon Coleman, the weak link of on Washington’s offensive line. We still DESPERATELY lack a running game, but Blough did call a few designed runs to Daniels during the game which I liked. The one gripe I have is the series right before the half, when Washington was at the half-yard line. I know Jayden should have scored on the quarterback lead, but RUN THE DAMN BALL WITH YOUR RUNNING BACK!
- Speaking of LT Brandon Coleman – he did enough to finally get off my Duds list. Yes, he false started AGAIN early in the game and was called for a hold (that was essentially negated by a defensive holding call on the Giants), but he played a LITTLE BIT better overall, and at this point, that is all we can ask of him.
- CB Amik Robertson did allow some receptions during the game, but he’s SUCH a great competitor and played with effort all night. He had two big tackles for a loss and a pass defended that should have been picked. He’s turned out to be a GREAT signing.
- TE Chig Okonkwo and Daniels were not on the same page all evening, and his blocking on some run plays was not up to par. I’m not putting him on the Duds list, but it was not his best game.
- It was nice to have WR Treylon Burks back. Although he didn’t look 100%, he was out there gutting it out. He had just two receptions and drew a key pass interference late in the game, but I saw a few times where he was blocking his ass off downfield! I hope Washington brings him back in 2027.
- CB Rasul Douglas had a quite game – and that’s usually a good thing for a corner. He had a chance to end the game with and interception that went through his hands as the final minutes were ticking down but made up for that with a leaping pick of McCarthy (who was under heavy duress) downfield to seal it.
- S Nick Cross had an up-and-down game. He did allow some receptions in underneath coverage, but made some very nice plays against the run. It was his blitz in the second quarter that forced McCarthy off his spot and into the waiting arms of Oweh for the sack. HOWEVER, his “throttle-down” on the blitz that led to the long Isaiah Likely touchdown in the fourth quarter was COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!
- I will give DC Daronte Jones a TON of credit, especially late in the game, for keeping his foot on the pedal with timely blitzes. Not all of them got home, but a lot affected McCarthy just enough to cause issues in the passing game. I absolutely LOVED that he brought pressure multiple times on the final Giants drive of the game, not allowing J.J. time to sit in the pocket and find his guys downfield. A MASTERFUL end-of-game performance! His defense did allow a lot of yards in the middle of the field, but a lot of that was due to him blitzing one or both linebackers and the Giants simply replacing them with Likely in the void.
- Although I thought the refs called a really good game (see below), the pass interference on Jeremy Reaves in the end zone was really ticky-tack.
- K Drew Stevens seems to get better each week!
- The third down stop on Jameis Winston’s QB sneak was HUGE!!!
- DB Percy Butler made a few nice plays at safety. It was good to see him get some solid run.
- LB Kain Medrano’s forced fumble on the kickoff after Diggs’ touchdown almost ended the game. Too bad Mikey Sainristil couldn’t come up with the recovery. Great special teams play!
- This defensive front is really missing DLs Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw.
- DL Johnny Newton wasn’t a dud, but he’s really like the INVISIBLE MAN out there.
- After a Dud performance against the Rams, EDGE Odafe Oweh looked a lot better Thursday night against the G-Men. He had four tackles, a sack, a stuff and three pressures.
- It was ABSOLUTELY REFRESHING to watch a game where the refs didn’t really factor into the outcome. They let guys on both side of the ball play. Unless there is something that’s absolutely egregious, that’s how it should be.
