Giants, Commanders Ends in Tie
Photo Courtesy of USA Today
East Rutherford, New Jersey (PSF) — A huge divisional matchup between the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders ended in a 20-20 tie. The two NFC East teams have been a surprise this year, with the Giants entering as 7-4 and the Commanders at 7-5. Both teams also were slotted into wild card positions in the NFC, making this matchup even more crucial.
The game started off looking like the Commanders would be in complete control, as they forced a fumble from Giants quarterback Daniel Jones on the first drive, and were able to get out to a 10-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Giants were able to settle in and eventually tied it with a Saquon Barkley touchdown, making it 13-13 at the half.
The Commanders received the ball first in the third quarter and right away, Giants edge rusher Azeez Ojulari forced and recovered a fumble on Washington QB Taylor Heinicke. This set the Giants up with great field position, and they were able to capitalize off of the turnover, with Jones finding wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins for his first career touchdown.
Late in regulation, a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Giants center Jon Feliciano forced the Giants out of field goal range and eventually gave the Commanders the ball back with 3 minutes left. Down by just 7, Taylor Heinicke made some amazing throws and led the Commanders down the field on a 90 yard touchdown drive capped off an amazing catch and run by Jahan Dotson.
The Giants had time to go down and score, with under two minutes left but had to punt after three incompletions, including a huge drop by Darius Slayton. The Commanders were not able to capitalize after the Giants quick punt, and punted as well to eventually send the game to overtime.
Overtime was met with multiple punts, and the Giants got the ball back with 30 seconds left and no timeouts. An amazing throw and catch by Richie James put the Giants in Washington territory, and another short gain gave the Giants a chance to hit a long field goal as time expired. Graham Gano missed the 58-yarder as time expired and the game ended in a tie. This was the Giants first tie since they tied with Washington in 1997. It is interesting to see how this will impact playoff chances, as the Giants host the 11-1 Eagles next week, and the Commanders have a bye and then play the Giants again.
