By opening the season with losses at Philadelphia and Dallas, the Washington Commanders knew they couldn’t afford to lose another pivotal divisional match-up against the New York Giants. Starting the season 0-3 in the NFC East would almost assuredly kill any postseason hopes before they even began, which elevated the stakes of this Week 5 rivalry game.
Inexplicably, in what some pundits called a “must-win” game during the opening month of the season, the Commanders tied New York, 27-27, on a soggy, dreary afternoon.
Washington led by 14 points with roughly eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but faltered late — allowing a pair of touchdown drives that knotted the score and sent the game into overtime.
In a bizarre play that will be repeated on a nightmarish loop for the foreseeable future, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels snap the ball with 12 seconds remaining in overtime, scramble around a bit, then dove to the ground. The Commanders had the ball at New York’s 24-yard line, so they already were in comfortable range for a game-winning field goal attempt. But with no timeouts remaining, the Commanders were powerless to stop the clock as the final seconds ticked off. To say the home team let a winnable game slip through their fingers would be an understatement.
“I wanted to get off the field before they could take it away from us,” joked Giants head coach John Harbaugh.
With less than two minutes remaining in overtime, Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne stripped running back Cam Skattebo, and the fumble was recovered by defensive tackle Shy Tuttle. Daniels and the offensive then took the field and looked calm and composed marching into scoring position … until everyone involved suffered a shared mental breakdown during the final 50 seconds of overtime.
Before then, Daniels looked superb in his return to action after a two-game absence due to a dislocated left elbow. The former Heisman Trophy winner completed 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions, while adding 103 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Offensively, New York compiled just 77 yards at halftime but finished the day with 408 yards of total offense. Quarterback Jameis Winston completed 33 of 54 passes for 326 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Defensive players and coaches won’t be eager to watch the second half footage though, after they allowed Winston to rack up 26 of 38 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns after halftime.
Winston didn’t even have to spread the ball around to compile such stats. He did so by repeatedly throwing to the same two targets. Tight end Isaiah Likely hauled in 11 catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Malik Nabers secured 11 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.