Washington Commanders 27 – New York Giants 22

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 27 – NEW YORK GIANTS 22…
The collapsing New York Giants lost their fourth game in a row on Sunday, falling to the Washington Commanders 27-22 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants are 2-7 overall, 0-5 at home, and 0-4 in the NFC East.

The overall team stats were close. The Giants held slight advantages in first downs (25 to 21), third-down efficiency (54.5 percent to 41.7 percent), net yards rushing (164 to 149), and time of possession (32:00 to 28:00). The Commanders held slight advantages in total net yards (358 to 326) and net passing yards (209 to 162), Both teams were 2-of-2 on fourth-down conversion attempts. Washington won the all-important turnover battle 1 to 0.

The teams exchanged three-and-outs to start the game. On New York’s second drive, the Giants ran the ball five straight times for 63 yards down to the Washington 29-yard line. But disaster struck when quarterback Daniel Jones was sacked, fumbling the ball away, and the loose ball unbelievably being recovered at the New York 31-yard line. A 22-yard pass-interference penalty on cornerback Cor’Dale Flott moved the ball to the 4-yard line and quarterback Jayden Daniels threw a 1-yard touchdown pass two plays later.

The Giants responded with their only scoring drive of the first half, driving 73 yards in 16 plays to set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Jones to tight end Chris Manhertz. The Giants converted on three 3rd-and-1s and a 3rd-and-2 on this possession. The score was tied at 7-7.

Washington easily moved down field on their third and fourth possessions of the half, first driving 70 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown and then 87 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown. On the first drive, Washington converted on 4th-and-1 at the New York 12-yard line. On the second drive, they converted on another 4th-and-1 (at the New York 35-yard line) and then on 3rd-and-18 when cornerback Andru Phillips missed a tackle. Fellow corner Tae Banks was then beat by wideout Terry McLaurin for an 18-yard score.

In between those Washington possessions, the Giants went three-and-out. The Giants trailed the Commanders 21-7 at halftime. At the break, Jones had completed 4-of-6 passes for zero yards and one touchdown (a sack gave the Giants -8 net passing yards).

The New York defense forced a Washington three-and-out to start the third quarter. The Giants then drove 66 yards in 15 plays, but were forced to settle for a 31-yard field goal by place kicker Jude McAtamney after a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson on 4th-and-1 was called back due to an offensive pass interference penalty on wide receiver Darius Slayton. However, Washington immediately regained their two touchdown advantage after a 10-play, 57-yard drive ended with a 31-yard field goal to make the score 24-10.

The Giants made things interesting in the fourth quarter. First came a 13-play, 80-yard possession that ended with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Jones. New York converted on two 3rd-and-9s. Oddly, Head Coach Brian Daboll decided to go for the 2-point conversion, which failed. The Giants now trailed by eight points, 24-16.

Again, New York’s defense gave ground, with Washington moving the ball 63 yards in 11 plays to set up a 20-yard field goal. The killer play was a 28-yard gain on 3rd-and-9. The Commanders were now up by 11 points, 27-16, with less than four minutes to play.

It took the Giants only four plays and less than a minute to drive 74 yards to score another touchdown. Jones completed passes of 9 and 15 yards before a 15-yard pass interference penalty. On the next snap, Jones connected with tight end Theo Johnson for a 35-yard touchdown. However, Jones was sacked on the second failed 2-point conversion attempt. The Giants trailed by five points, 27-22, with 2:48 left to play.

There were no more late-game dramatics as the New York defense could not force a punt. On 2nd-and-9, Daniels completed a 42-yard pass that moved the ball to the New York 27-yard line. This was followed by defensive lineman D.J. Davidson being flagged with a face-mask penalty and Washington converting on a subsequent 3rd-and-1 to end the contest at the New York 1-yard line.

Jones finished the game 20-of-26 for 174 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. The leading receiver was Malik Nabers, who caught nine passes for 59 yards. Running back Tyrone Tracy rushed 16 times for 66 yards.

The defense allowed three touchdowns in four first-half possessions. After the three-and-out to start the third quarter, they allowed two long field-goal drives and could not get the ball back with under three minutes to play. In addition, the defense did not have a sack or turnover. They only generated three quarterback hits and two pass defenses.

GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS are available on YouTube.

ROSTER MOVES, PRACTICE SQUAD ELEVATIONS, INACTIVES, AND INJURY REPORT…
On Saturday, the Giants placed Greg Joseph () on Injured Reserve and signed OLB Tomon Fox to the 53-man roster from the Practice Squad. The Giants also re-signed FB Jakob Johnson to the Practice Squad.

The Giants activated (standard elevation) PK Jude McAtamney from the Practice Squad.

Inactive for the game were WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton (Achilles), CB Tre Hawkins (ankle), P Jamie Gillan (left hamstring), QB Tommy DeVito (3rd QB), OG Jake Kubas, and DL Jordon Riley.

WR Darius Slayton and WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette were both evaluated for concussions in the game.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Brian Daboll and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Brian Daboll and select players will address the media on Monday.

Footer