The Commanders minced no words when discussing the importance of Thursday night’s game against the New York Giants.
It was a must win for Washington. Jayden Daniels said it. K’Lavon Chaisson, too. Dan Quinn avoided the phrase but emphasized Thursday’s importance time and again.
While that sounds like a reach with nearly half Washington’s season left to play, but it’s shockingly fair.
A win would put the Commanders in the mix and within striking distance of the Giants, who lead a weak NFC East by a little
bit. A loss would put Washington four back with eight to play, a virtually insurmountable lead to block a path to the postseason.
The Commanders lit their margin of error on fire in the early going, with one blown opportunity after another.
Washington simply had to take this one.
The Commanders were able to do that. In stunning fashion.
Daronte Jones defense came huge in the fourth quarter and the Commanders finally surged ahead to secure a 24-21 victory over the Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Let’s take a look at what we learned about the Commanders after watching this Thursday night contest live:
Commanders (finally) come through
The Commanders found themselves with a fourth-quarter lead or tie on Thursday and for the third straight game. Washington’s lead over the Giants evaporated with a disastrous 66-yard catch-and-run from J.J. McCarthy to tight end Isaiah Likely with roughly eight minutes left.
The Commanders found themselves, as they have so many times before, needing clutch performances to close out the game. They failed so regularly in those moments that it set up this do-or-die Week 10 scenario described above.
How would they respond with so much on the line?
With Jayden Daniels’ first interception of the season. The Commanders were moving the ball well when Daniels – often accused of playing it too safe – took a deep shot to Chig Okonkwo. The ball was too far inside and allowed Giants safety Jevon Holland to make a play on the ball.
He picked it with roughly five minutes left. The Commanders wouldn’t let that be Daniels’ final pass. The defense came up huge on a third-and-1 – a Jameis Winston sneak was ruled a first-down but overturned on a Dan Quinn challenge – and got the ball back.
What would they do with this second chance?
Daniels threw another pick on fourth-and-1, operating from shotgun and with an unreal call for the situation. Here’s a look at it:
The Commanders had three timeouts and the two-minute warning to get the ball back. They did that, somehow.
So, let’s ask this question again. What would they do with this (third) chance?
Stefon Diggs came up huge. The veteran receiver got open quickly and Daniels found him for a 32-yard, go-ahead touchdown.
Young pass catchers step up
The Commanders entered Thursday’s game with Terry McLaurin on injured reserve, expecting tight end Chig Okonkwo pairing with Stefon Diggs to pace the passing game. Then Okonkwo left this game early and was questionable to return with a back injury.
Uh, oh.
That meant Daniels had to find new targets. The quarterback did exactly that. He got Ben Sinnott heavily involved despite him entering the night with just one catch. He has some beauties in this one, including a catch-and-acrobatic-leap over a would-be tackler.
Then he scored a key touchdown at the end of the half.
Then on a gut-check drive after allowing New York stole the lead, early in the second half, Daniels found rookie Antonio Williams the ball – it was his first target of the game!! – with room to catch and run for a huge 31-yard touchdown.
Okonkwo eventually returned in the fourth quarter, but those plays made while he was out were crucial to the Commanders staying in it deep in this game, where they need big contributions from role players.
Commanders continue running aground
The Commanders want to run the football. Like, really, really bad.
You can tell in the commitment to it, with a nearly even run-pass split in the first half of Thursday’s game. That was the case despite the fact Washington averaged just 2.4 yards per carry in that span.
The Commanders haven’t been a good running team most of the season. Bill Croskey-Merritt, their best and most physical back, has been on injured reserve for three games. While Rachaad White can move it on the ground, the blocking is lacking in a big way, outside of right guard Sam Cosmi.
It has an impact on most everything Washington does, from staying on schedule to controlling the clock. It’s no shock that the best Commanders performances occur when the ground game (not including Jayden Daniels scramables) gets going.
They were at 60 or less in two of the last three games, desperately needing better in this essential contest at New York.
The Commanders averaged 2.4 yards per carry entering the fourth quarter. The split stayed relatively even, so offensive coordinator David Blough could maintain the playaction passing threat, with play fakes providing some offensive production.
White had an explosive late and Austin Ekeler had a tough fourth-quarter run, but this running game is nowhere near where it should be at this point in the season. It’s hard to imagine Croskey-Merritt as a savior if he returns as expected next week, and the offensive line is what it is talent-wise, but they’ve got to find solutions to beef up production on the ground.
