Big Blue Review: Week 5 at Commanders; T; NYG: 27, WAS: 27
It wasn’t a win, and it wasn’t a loss. Before yesterday, only one tie had occurred in the NFL since the Giants tied Washington in 2023.
Yesterday, the Giants tied the Commanders again. A slop fest in rainy Maryland featured three missed Giants field goals and a Cam Skattebo fumble in overtime. But the Commanders made the most egregious error when they lost track of their timeouts in overtime and passed on a game-winning field goal attempt.
For the Giants, a tie has never felt better.
Jameis Winston might not be so bad after all. Before yesterday, the Giants were winless in their last 24 games when trailing at halftime. They were also 0-230 since 1970 when trailing by 14 points or more in the final eight minutes of a game.
Again, the Giants did not win this game… but they didn’t lose. It is difficult to deem a tie “successful,” especially when both teams had several chances to win. Dominic Zvada, who hadn’t missed a kick in any of his first four NFL games, missed three field goals for Big Blue. One more field goal could have changed the outcome.
The Giants’ offense was lifeless through most of the first half. They entered halftime trailing 12-3 after giving up a touchdown less than two minutes into the first quarter. Zvada missed a 50-yard kick in the opening quarter and a 57-yard shot in the second.
Big Blue had only recorded three sacks before yesterday, and their pressure rate was among the lowest in the NFL. Yesterday, they recorded five sacks in one game, challenging Jayden Daniels, especially in the second half. Daniels was playing through an elbow injury, so the Giants had to make him uncomfortable.
Zvada got his mojo back early in the third quarter, nailing a 56-yard kick to make it a one-score game. On their next drive, though, Washington struck back. Daniels found a lane through the middle and sprinted 38 yards for a touchdown.
Without Brian Burns, the Giants’ defensive line was still adjusting. The Giants didn’t just tie for the first time since 2023 – they blitzed the Commanders on 62% of Daniels’s dropbacks, their highest blitz rate since 2023. This is how they nearly doubled their sack total.
Meanwhile, Winston thrived against one of the NFL’s highest blitz rates. He converted 12 of 15 passes for two touchdowns against Washington’s blitz, his best career numbers against the blitz. The Giants scored a third-quarter touchdown, as Winston capped a 17-play drive with a dart to Isaiah Likely.
“He showed that fire in his eye coming into the huddle every time, knowing that when there are plays to be made, he was gonna make a play,” Likely said.
Winston was especially impressive in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns to help the Giants tie the game. After Washington started the quarter with another long touchdown run by Daniels, the Giants responded with another long touchdown drive.
With 7:24 left in regulation, Winston fired up the middle to Likely, who dove into the end zone for the score. He lost the ball while diving, but replay review revealed his palm crossed the goal line before his knee touched the ground or the ball left his hands.
“When your back is against the wall, you have to depend on your playmakers,” Winston said. “I think we did a good job of doing that, mixing up on them, and kind of just threw them off schedule.”
The Giants’ defense forced a three-and-out on Washington’s next drive, including a sack by Dru Phillips for a six-yard loss. When Winston got the ball back, he completed three straight passes and four of his first five. He eventually found Malik Nabers for a 17-yard scoring grab.
“I thought [Winston] was amazing in the fourth quarter,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “I thought he was amazing in the second half. I thought his ability to come out and change like that [was great]. I felt we changed our offense up, we tried some different things, and he really settled into the things we did offensively.”
After the Giants tied the game, the Commanders had 96 seconds to reach field goal range. Daniels completed his first pass for 22 yards, but after two incompletions and a sack by Arvell Reese, Washington punted. The rookie Reese was fantastic, leading the Giants in tackles for the second straight week.
In overtime, the Giants started with the ball and positioned Zvada for a 46-yard field goal. He missed about 50 feet to the left; it was his third miss of the day. The Giants forced Washington to punt on their next drive, so had Zvada succeeded, New York would have won.
“I don’t have any excuses,” said Zvada, who was 9-for-9 in field goals before yesterday. “We have a lot of games and a lot of opportunities. I’m going to get back to what I know and make sure that we’re ready for next week.”
Special teams are a big reason the Giants have a winning record this season. Jordan Stout has been an excellent punter, and Zvada has become a reliable replacement for Graham Gano. Zvada went undrafted, but the rookie kicker earned Big Ten Kicker of the Year honors with Michigan in 2024.
Zvada’s misses were one reason the Giants kept delaying a field goal in their next overtime drive. They were at the Commanders’ 24-yard line when Skattebo fumbled for the fourth time this season, but for the first time, he couldn’t recover. He gave Washington a massive chance to win.
“I’m a back that tries to get more yards, and I think in that situation, I’ve got to tailor myself down and get what I can to get down because we’re in a good position to win that game,” Skattebo said. “Right there at the end, I was being me, trying to get more yards, and made a mistake.
“There’s 11 guys on the other team screaming at you, telling you you messed up, it’s your fault, you sold the game, everything. You get that lying on the floor after you [fumble]. The players that become great in this league move past those things.”
The Giants deserve some credit for fighting and tying this game, but in the end, they botched multiple chances to win. Luckily, the Commanders made an even worse mistake. Either Daniels or his head coach, Dan Quinn, forgot there are only two timeouts in overtime, and they could not spike the ball in time for a game-winning field goal.
“[The tie] was a sigh of relief,” Skattebo said. “I probably won’t get reamed as much, but I’m still going to get reamed. I messed up a play. It sucks to be a part of that. Every emotion you could possibly think of when the other team has the ball past the 50-yard line goes through your head.
“It’s your fault.”
The 3-1-1 Giants’ next game will be next Sunday at 1 PM (12 PM CDT) against the New Orleans Saints (1-4) at MetLife Stadium (FOX, FOX ONE).
