Epic failure.
That’s the only way to describe the Washington Commanders’ 27-27 tie with the New York Giants.
After dodging a major bullet in overtime, the Burgundy and Gold wound up shooting themselves in the foot. Even after benefiting from a Giants fumble and a missed field goal, the game came down to clock management. With no timeouts remaining, Washington could only watch the final seconds tick away after a sack ended its last realistic chance to win.
That late-game collapse also takes attention away from a secondary that allowed two fourth-quarter touchdowns and more than 20 second-half points for the fourth straight week.
Things won’t get any easier. Washington’s next game is a Monday night road matchup against the 5-0 San Francisco 49ers.
The Commanders moved the ball to the Giants’ 26-yard line with 55 seconds remaining, setting up a 53-yard field goal attempt.
Even after Rachaad White’s 2-yard run, there was enough time to organize the final sequence. Instead, Washington waited until 15 seconds remained to run another play, and quarterback Jayden Daniels took a sack.
Failure may be an orphan, but responsibility for that sequence belongs to everyone involved: the offensive coordinator who called the play, the quarterback who ran it and the head coach who oversaw it.
Daniels is the face and future of the franchise, while David Blough is still growing into his role as a play-caller. But Dan Quinn should have known better and done better in that moment.
The tie stings even more because Washington missed a chance to gain ground in the NFC East.
The Dallas Cowboys entered the weekend after a Thursday night loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Philadelphia Eagles also fell Sunday morning in London to the Jacksonville Jaguars despite taking a 1-point lead with eight seconds left.
Then came another reminder of the unpredictability of overseas football. Ameer Abdullah’s 53-yard kickoff return with one second remaining set up Cam Little’s game-winning 57-yard field goal.
Washington converted just 4 of 12 third-down attempts.
Daniels completed 3 of 6 passes for one conversion, scrambled twice for first downs, including a touchdown, and was sacked twice.
His most-targeted receiver on third down was Dyami Brown, who was targeted twice.
Bill Croskey-Merritt converted his lone third-down rushing attempt, while White was stopped for a 1-yard loss on his only third-down carry.
Washington was flagged 11 times, with nine penalties accepted and two declined.
The offense committed four penalties, the defense was flagged six times and special teams drew one penalty.
The repeat offenses were three false starts, two offensive holding penalties, two defensive holding penalties and two facemask penalties.
Repeat offenders included Amik Robertson, who was flagged twice for defensive holding and once for pass interference, and Brandon Coleman, who drew a holding penalty and a false start.
The most costly penalty was Robertson’s pass interference call. It erased an interception, and the Giants scored three plays later to make it a one-score game.
The most frustrating sequence came on back-to-back false starts that stalled a drive inside the 10-yard line and forced Washington to settle for a field goal.
One of the highlights of the lowlight came from FOX broadcasters Chris Myers and Anthony Vilma, who expressed surprise that Washington was unable to get another play off before time expired.
Next week, the Commanders get Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the call under the bright lights of Monday Night Football in San Francisco.
Again, buckle up.
_Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up [here](https://wtop.com/profile/preferences)._
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.