EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants have gotten away with living on the edge all season. Thursday night, they could not as the Washington Commanders scored with :57 remaining to beat the Giants, 24-21. Let’s get to the ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’.
Kudos to …
Ar’Darius Washington — The veteran safety had what could have been a game-sealing interception of Jayden Daniels at the Washington 46-yard line with 2:15 to play. The offense could not close the game out, however, and the Commanders took advantage of their
final opportunity. In his best game as a Giant, Washington also had six tackles and two passes defensed.
Jevon Holland — Holland also had a massive interception for the Giants, his fourth of the season and first since Week 3. Holland picked off a Daniels pass for Chig Okonkwo with 5:31 remaining and the Giants holding a 21-17 lead. He was ruled down at the 2-yard line, however, rather than the play being called a touchback. That proved costly as the Giants could not get a first down.
J.J. McCarthy — The 23-year-old was a little erratic early in his first start as a Giant at MetLife Stadium. He ended up having an excellent night, 23 of 36 for a career-high 293 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception. McCarthy’s 66-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely with a defender in his face was a tremendous throw.
McCarthy also ran six times for 34 yards, 5.7 yards per carry.
Cam Skattebo — The second-year running back had 18 carries for 78 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and 2 touchdowns, including a 13-yard run. He also had 44 yards receiving, giving him 122 total yards. Skattebo also had one highly-publicized sideline incident:
Skattebo did seem to indicate after the game that he would have liked to have had the ball in his hands more with the Giants trying to close the game out late.
Isaiah Likely — The Giants’ outstanding tight end had nine catches on 11 targets for a career-best 127 receiving yards. His 66-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a pass from McCarthy was the longest play of his career.
Arvell Reese — The rookie linebacker didn’t have any sacks or true highlight reel plays, but he did make a game-high 13 tackles.
Jameis Winston’s hard count — It didn’t work, but you have to love Jameis for trying this.
Wet Willies to …
Dominic Zvada — How long do you think it took GM Joe Schoen to ring Nick Folk’s agent, or start compiling a list for a placekicker workout, after Zvada missed a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter on Thursday night?
The Giants lost by three points, and Zvada missed a field goal from extra-point distance. The Giants want to believe the rookie will develop into a quality kicker, but he is now just 17 of 23 (73.9%) and his misses are costing the Giants games.
Zvada also had a costly kickoff out of bounds penalty after the Giants’ go-ahead touchdown with 8:13 remaining, putting the ball at the 40-yard line.
Theo Johnson — The play below was a third-and-3 at the Commanders’ 46-yard line in the fourth quarter with the Giants trailing 17-14.
An NFL tight end has to make that catch. Johnson’s inconsistent hands have been an issue since the Giants drafted him in 2024, and they hurt the Giants Thursday night.
I will admit I did not like the play call there. Why not run the ball on third down, then go for it on fourth down if you don’t make it? Analytics said the Giants should have gone for it there, anyway.
Still, that’s all moot if Johnson just catches the ball.
Giants’ four-minute offense — The interceptions by Holland and Washington gave the offense two opportunities to put the game away. The Giants could not get a first down either time.
The first time, JWinston’s tush push first down was overturned on replay forcing the Giants to punt from their 11-yard line. The second time, the Giants had third-and-3 at the Washington 39-yard line coming out of the two-minute warning. J.J. McCarthy lost two yards on a designed quarterback run.
The Giants actually missed a ton of opportunities to score points, so it wasn’t just the four-minute offense that couldn’t get the job done.
Kwillies to …
Jordan Stout — The Giants’ punter is fantastic. On Thursday night, he had punts of 68 and 64 yards. He also had a touchback from the 46-yard line early in the fourth quarter, and shanked a 12-yard punt from the 41-yard line that put the Commanders at their own 29-yard line with 1:46 to play. Three plays later, the Commanders scored the game-winning touchdown.
