Quick Game Result
The Commanders took a 13-0 lead in the first half, and never allowed the Giants to tie or take the lead.
Still, Washington made several mistakes, with two turnovers in the 4th quarter to make the win a lot tougher to achieve than it should have been.
Final score:
- WAS 29
- NYG 21
Pre-game notes
RB Chris Rodriguez is out this week with a groin injury. That likely pushes Bill Croskey-Merritt into the lead back role though Chase Edmonds is active after being signed from the practice squad earlier this week. Croskey-Merritt opened his NFL
career against the Giants in Week 1, running for 82 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries in his NFL regular season debut, which the Commanders won 21-6 with Russell Wilson starting at QB for the Giants. That seems like a lifetime ago.
Of course, Jayden Daniels is out again this week as Marcus Mariota gets his 7th start of the season, with rookie Jaxson Dart starting for New York.
First Quarter
On a cold day in an outdoor stadium, the Giants are kicking off after winning the coin toss. The Commanders opened the game with the ball at the 33-yard line after a return by Chase Edmonds on a fairly short kickoff.
Commanders
Interestingly, the offense opens with Jeremy McNichols — usually the 3rd down back — running on 1st down (for a 1-yard loss). After a Mariota scramble, on 3rd & 3, McLaurin got a favorable spot to earn a fresh set of downs — a call that was challenged by the Giants. Watching it live, I thought Terry was a half-yard short, but the replay ref let the spot stand. 1st & 10 for the Commanders at the 43-yard line.
McNichols stays in the game and earns 5 yards on 2 runs. On 3rd & 5, Conerly was flagged on a false start when Brian Burns should have been flagged for offsides. The refs call one marginal call each way early in the game. On 3rd & 10, Mariota fired downfield and hit Noah Brown on a 28-yard strike inside the NY 30-yard line.
A bad holding call against Trey Burks on a run play changes it to 1st & 20 at the NY 39-yard line.
After a dropped pass in the middle of the field on 2nd down by Deebo, on 3rd & 20, Mariota ran the ball to the 28-yard line (gain of 11 yards) and Jake Moody came out for a 46-yard field goal attempt. He made the kick to open a 3-0 lead with about 9 1/2 minutes left in the quarter. Three penalty flags (2 accepted for 15 yards) killed this drive.
Giants
The Giants started their first offensive drive at the 33-yard line (same as Washington’s first drive).
Dart opens his day by hitting Darius Slayton on a 19-yard strike in the middle of the field, defended by Quan Martin.
The defense got into the penalty-spree with an offsides against Kinlaw; Tyrone Tracy got the needed 5 yards to convert another first down at the WAS 37-yard line.
After a pair of short runs, on 3rd & 6, Dart overthrew Darius Slayton, defended by Antonio Hamilton, by about 5 yards. Younghoe Koo’s 52-yard field goal attempt missed by a mile. Score remains 3-0.
Washington
With about 7 minutes on the clock, the Commanders take over at the 42-yard line — strong field position — with a chance to add to the 1st quarter lead. So far, Washington has out-gained NY 54 yards to 29 yards.
Bill Merritt gets in the game for the first time; he runs for 6 yards on 1st down, then does it again on 2nd down, reaching the NY 45-yard line.
After Bill’s 3rd straight run and a Mariota scramble (good blocking, better DB coverage), on 3rd & 4, McNichols got the ball and ran for 5 yards with a nice move and a broken tackle. So far, it’s 11 runs & 3 passes in the two opening drives.
After the 1st down, Bill came back on the field. An incomplete pass on 2nd down was nearly intercepted on a very good defensive play. On 3rd & 6 at the 31-yard line, Mariota held the ball too long and Abdul Carter ripped the ball out of his hands. Fumble recovered by Josh Conerly.
The run game is working pretty well (12 runs, 50 yards, 4.2 avg). Mariota is 2-4 passing.
With the ball at the 38-yard line on a frigid day, DQ elects to punt the ball. The Giants return man makes the fair catch at his own 9-yard line.
Giants
Dart’s first down pass goes roughly 20 yards over Slayton’s head under pressure from Preston Smith. After a short 2nd down run, on 3rd & 7, TE Theo Johnson was stopped a yard short of the first down.
On the punt, Jaylin Lane burst up the middle with a 21-yard return to the NYG 47-yard line with 32 ticks left on the clock in the opening quarter. So far, Washington is winning the field position battle.
Mariota found Deebo in the middle of the field for 14 yards to the NYG 33 yard line to end the quarter.
Second Quarter
Bill busted several tackles on the opening play of the quarter to earn 11 yards to the 22-yard line.
A Mariota run to the left side was followed by a beautiful play — what looked like (but wasn’t quite) a sort of delayed handoff to Bill, who ran untouched to the 5-yard line before bowling over three tacklers to score the first TD of the game!
Following the PAT, Washington led 10-0 with about 13 1/2 minutes left in the half.
The scoring drive covered 47 yards in 4 plays — one pass and three runs.
Giants
New York’s offense started their third drive of the game at the 19-yard line after a holding penalty on the kick return.
Wandale Robinson made a play on a screen pass, gaining 17-yards on a catch & run at the line of scrimmage.
After a Jacob Martin batted pass and a short run, on 3rd & 7 at the 38-yard line, Dart overthrew Slayton by about a yard with Hamilton in close coverage.
Jaylin Lane made the fair catch at his own 24-yard line.
Commanders
The ground game seems to be working for Washington. Bill has 44 yards on 6 carries so far, and Mariota has added 30 yards on 4 carries. Mariota is 3-5, 45 yards in the passing game. Washington has outgained NY so far, 121-58. No Washington receiver has more than 1 catch.
John Bates keeps that streak alive with a 19-yard reception with Zach Ertz out of the game.
On the next play, Josh Conerly makes his second fumble recovery of the game when Bill Merritt drops the balll at the end of a 10-yard run.
Laremy Tunsil goes to the sideline, apparently with an injured shoulder, and is replaced by Brandon Coleman.
McNichols has a beautiful play on a screen pass and explosive scamper down the left sideline that he takes for a 16-yard gain to the NYG 25 yard line.
With Bill having fumbled, McNichols stays in the game on 1st down & 2nd down. On 3rd & 6 at the 21-yard line, Mariota overthrew Jaylin Lane in the back of the end zone after moving well in the pocket for several seconds.
Jake Moody came out for a 39-yard field goal, which he made easily. Score: WAS 13-NYG 0 with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the half.
Noah Brown went to the locker room to be checked for injury.
It’s been all Commanders since the Giants’ missed field goal that ended their first offensive drive, but the burgundy & gold need to finish drives with touchdowns instead of field goals if they want to put this game away early.
Giants
Following the touchback, the Giants offense started with the ball at the 35-yard line. They’ve had a missed FG & 2 punts so far today.
On 3rd & 2, Tracy bulled his way for the needed 2 yards to the 46-yard line.
A defensive holding penalty on Noah Igbinoghene on a Dart scramble gave the Giants a 1st down at the WAS 42-yard line with about 6 minutes in the half.
On 2nd & 9, Dart. under some pressure, scrambled right up the middle for 29 yards to the Washington 12-yard line! Exciting play by Dart, not so good for Commanders fans.
Two plays later, on 3rd & 10, from an interesting formation, Tracy ran well, breaking a tackle attempt by Will Harris inside the 5-yard line to score a touchdown.
After the PAT, the Giants had closed the gap to just 6 points at 13-7 with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the half.
Commanders
Washington needs to end the half with the ball and a score. Edmonds was tackled on the return at the 23-yard line, so they’ve got 77 yards of green grass in front of them.
A holding flag against Deebo on 1st down negated a nice run by McNichols and set the offense back 10 yards.
After a short scramble by Mariota (who was under pressure) and a losss of 4 by McNichols (who was hit in the backfield by Abdul Carter just as he got the ball), the two-minute warning arrived with the Commanders offense facing 3rd & 22 in the shadow of their own goal posts.
After the timeout, on the 3rd down play from the 11-yard line, McNichols ran the ball for 6 yards. The 3 & out was an untimely poor drive by the Commanders.
Following the Tress Way punt, Washington’s coverage did a great job to force a loss of 3 yards on the return.
Giants
The Giants took over at their own 25 yard line.
Washington’s defense finally got pressure, with Jacob Martin getting heavy pressure on 1st down and Von Miller getting the sack on 2nd down.
On 3rd & 18, the Giants RT Eluemunor, jumped offside. On 3rd & 23, Bobby Wagner stopped Wandale Robinson dead for a 3-yard gain on a short pass.
Washington
On the punt, Jaylin Lane returned the ball for an apparent touchdown, but an early flag had everyone expecting it to be called back.
BUT NO! The penalty was against the Giants — Lane has his 2nd punt return touchdown of the season!!!
Amazingly, Moody hit the right upright on the PAT, so the score, with 65 seconds left in the half, is 19-7.
Washington’s special teams have stepped up again in a huge way on the return, then ‘doinked’ on the extra point. Moody compounded the error by putting the kickoff out of bounds to give the Giants the ball at their own 40-yard line with a time out in hand.
Giants
Darius Slayton gained 19 yards on 2nd down; another 6 yards on a pass to Robinson put the ball at the 35-yard line with 26 seconds on the clock. Mike Kafka called time out.
On 2nd down, Dart threw deep for Jalin Hyatt — Mikey Saintristil stepped in front of the receiver, picked the ball off, and returned it 55 yards!!!
Commanders ball at the 24-yard line with 12 seconds on the clock, 1st & 10 and no time outs.
After an incomplete pass, Jake Moody came out to kick a 42-yard field goal to make the score 22-7 heading into the half.
Washington scored 9 points in the final 65 seconds of the half due to great plays by Jaylin Lane and Mikey Sainristil!
The Giants will get the ball to open the second half.
Halftime Stats
Statistics via ESPN
Third Quarter
Croskey-Merritt did not touch the ball after his fumble. It will be interesting to see if DQ keeps him off the field in the second half.
The Commanders defense has done well, giving up one TD, but forcing 3 punts and a missed field goal attempt on 5 drives.
Washington needs a dominating win. Hopefully, the 2nd half will be similar to the first.
Giants
The NYG offense opened the 2nd half with the ball at the 18-yard line after a penalty on the return.
They moved the ball effectively. Aided by a 5-yard penalty on Hamilton, the Giants soon had the ball 1st & 10 at their own 46-yard line.
On the 1st down play, TE Theo Johnson made a great catch & run for 24 yards. Two plays later, it was 1st & 10 at the 18-yard line.
On the 1st down play, Tyrone Tracy made a beautiful catch on the right side of the end zone against Bobby Wagner for a touchdown.
Following the PAT, the score stood at 22-14 with just under 12 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. The scoring drive covered 82 yards in 7 plays.
Commanders
With the lead cut to 8 points, Washington definitely needs to keep scoring. Marcus Mariota and the offense open their initial drive of the 2nd half just inside the 10-yard line following a good kickoff return by Chase Edmonds marred by a penalty against Tyler Owens.
Bill is back in the game — he ran for 4 yards on 1st down. Terry caught his 2nd pass of the day — this one for 15 yards on a 2nd down reception.
Two plays later, on 3rd & 3 at the 36 yard line, the Dru Phillips broke up a pass on intended for Terry on a great defensive play to force the punt.
Giants
After the punt & return, NY took over at their own 19-yard line with the opportunity to tie the game with a successful drive.
Two plays later, on 3rd & 5, Slayton dropped a nice pass that would have been good for a 1st down. 3 & out; Giants punt.
Commanders
After an 8-yard return by Lane, the Commanders offense re-took the field at the 36-yard line with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
It was back to the ground game with Croskey Merritt with 7 yards on 2 runs. On 3rd & 3, with McNichols back in the game, Mariota scrambled under pressure and couldn’t quite find Trey Burks on the right sideline.
DQ decided to punt.
Giants
After a fair catch at the 13-yard line, Jaxson Dart returned to the field with his offense and another chance to tie the game.
After a bruising run by Singletary and a completion to Slayton, they had 1st down at the 31-yard line.
A Dart scramble and a short run brought up 3rd & 3; on the 3rd down play, Washington stiffened and stopped Singletary short. The rather quiet crowd came to life, calling for Kafka to go for it.
On the 4th down play, Dart had all day to scan the field and eventually found Daniel Bellinger on a ‘checkdown’ pass that moved the ball across midfield.
Two more completions to Bellinger moved the ball to the 25 yard line.
A dead ball personal foul against Giants center John Michael-Schmitz moved them back to the 35-yard line.
On the subsequent play, Dart threw a beautiful pass to Slayton in the end zone that was knocked out of the receiver’s hands by Antonio Hamilton, who seems to have had more good plays than bad today.
On 3rd & 20, the Giants gained 2 yards on a handoff to Tracy as the quarter came to an end.
Fourth Quarter
Trailing by 8 points and facing 4th & 18, Mike Kafka unsurprisingly sent out Younghoe Koo for a 51-yard attempt. Koo, of course, missed a 52-yard attempt in the 1st quarter.
On this kick, he again missed very wide to the left — not much different than his earlier missed attempt.
Commanders
With 14:55 on the clock, the Commanders take over just beyond their own 40-yard line.
The 1st down pass to Deebo hit the receiver inside the NYG 45 yard line for a chunk play of 18 yards.
A false start on Biadasz made it 1st & 15 at the NYG 46-yard line; then a false start on McNichols made it 1st & 20 on the Commanders side of the field. Going backwards is not a winning formula.
What is a winning formula is Mariota to McLaurin for 51 yards and a touchdown on a play-action pass!!!
Great play all the way around!
Following the PAT, the score stood at 29-14. The scoring drive covered 59 yards in 2 plays.
Giants
Trailing by 2 scores with just under 14 minutes left in the game, the Giants really need a touchdown here.
The Big Blue offense takes the field at the 33-yard line, under a little pressure as the clock starts limiting the number of possessions left for each team.
Dart found Theo Johnson AGAIN on a 42-yard pass downfield against Noah Igbinoghene for a 1st down at the 9 yard line.
A DPI flag against Jeremy Reaves in the end zone on the next play put the Giants at the 1-yard line, goal to go.
Dart was shaken up on the subsequent 1st down play and had to leave the field, replaced by Jameis Winston.
Singletary lost 2 yards on 2nd down. On 3rd & goal from the 4 yard line, Winston threw the ball way over Wandale Robinson’s head incomplete.
On 4th & goal at the 4 following a Washington time out, with Jaxson Dart back on the field, his line drive pass to the end zone was broken up by Quan Martin on what looked for a moment to be an interception.
The scoreboard doesn’t change. With about 10 1/2 minutes left in the game, and leading by 2 scores, the Commanders have the ball at their own 4-yard line, needing to at least put together a few first downs to run the clock and improve field position.
Washington
Defensive pass interference against the Giants moved the ball to the 21-yard line, 1st & 10 with 10:17 on the clock.
Bill is back on the field; he ran for 4 yards on 1st down and stayed inbounds to keep the clock running, then went for 8 yards and a 1st down to extend the drive.
Deebo went for 11 yards on a smoke screen; Mariota kept the ball on a zone read and slid down inbounds.
The clock keeps running well under 8 minutes.
Bill ran for another first down; the ball control clock-eating drive is working right now.
After a stuffed run and an incomplete pass, with 5:50 on the clock, on 3rd & 12, Mariota was not only sacked, but he fumbled the ball as well!!
What a total disaster!!
The Giants, who looked dead in the water a moment ago, now have the ball at the Washington 21 yard line with about 5 1/2 minutes on the clock.
Giants
Two plays later, on 3rd & 2, Preston Smith hit Tyrone Tracy 3 yards deep in the backfield to force the 4th & 5 play!
Dart, with the game very much on the line, hit Wandale Robinson on a pass at the goal line for a late touchdown to breathe life back into a game that was all but over before the Mariota fumble.
Commanders
McNichols struggles with the kickoff, and the Commanders re-take the field a their own 14-jyard line with 3:39 on the clock.
Bill opens the drive with an 11-yard run and the Giants call their 2nd time out.
On 2nd down, the Giants bite on the fake to McNichols, and Mariota finds TE Ben Sinnott at the 50-yard line, and he then runs the ball to the NYG 39 yard line — a 32-yard catch & run!!
After the Giants final time out, we had a crazy play!! Abdul Carter forces another fumble when he punches the ball out of McNichols’ grasp.
I’ll just let you watch it:
The Giants player was ruled down with contact at the 49-yard line, so the laterals and return didn’t count, but it’s NYG ball. D’oh!!!
As the 2-minute warning arrives, the Giants have the ball 1st & 10 at the Washington 40-yard line with no time outs.
Two plays later, on 3rd & 8 in a 4-down situation, Antonio Hamilton made another great pass break up, knocking the ball out of the air just before it reached WR Darius Slayton.
On 4th & 8, Dart missed Wandale Robinson inside the 10 yard line with Quan Martin in coverage. Drive over.
Commanders
The Commanders only need to get in victory formation; they will win 29-21.
Full Game Stats
Statistics via ESPN
Join our partner FanDuel for all your betting needs
