Game Recap: The Commanders get a road win over NFC East Giants by a score of 27-22

The Commanders and Giants met in Week 2 at Northwest Stadium in Landover and played 60 minutes of football without the winning team scoring a touchdown. Washington’s (then) brand new kicker, Austin Seibert, was the MVP of the game, kicking 7 field goals on 7 attempts to win the game 21-18.

Since that time, Washington has gone on to win 5 of 6 games to reach 6-2, while the Giants have gone 2-4 and come into this game on a 3-game losing streak. Any hope the Giants have of salvaging the season probably requires getting a win today against the visiting Commanders.

In the NFC East standings, Washington holds a half-game lead over the 5-2 Philadelphia Eagles, who play the 2-6 Jaguars in the late afternoon. With Philly likely to pick up a win in that home game, the Commanders will be focused on winning this road game against the Giants to maintain their position atop the division.

In recent years, Washington has struggled against the Giants, and in particular against starting quarterback Daniel Jones. But this 2024 iteration of the Commanders is a new and different team; the ghosts that have haunted the franchise for the past couple of decades appear to have been exorcised, and a new day seems to have dawned. Getting the win in New Jersey today to earn a season sweep of the Giants would be a significant step in closing the book on the old history and moving forward with the new story of Washington football.

The Commanders would have to win this game without starting running back, Brian Robinson, who was out with a hamstring injury.

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First Quarter

The Giants received the opening kickoff and started their first offensive drive at their 30-yard line following a 2-yard return.

The drive went nowhere; a 3 & out followed by a punt, with Washington taking over at its own 30-yard line.

Like the Giants had, the Commanders opened the game with a 3 & out drive, punting the ball to the Giants, who were pinned deep after a penalty on the return, setting up for their 2nd drive of the game at their own 7-yard line.

The Giants managed 3 consecutive first downs that put the ball at the Washington 29-yard line. On the next play, Daniel Jones was hit in the pocket by Dante Fowler and the ball ended up on the ground. The officials ruled it to be an incomplete pass to Devin Singletary, but the challenge by Dan Quinnn saw the decision reversed and the Commanders were awarded possession of a fumble recovered by Bobby Wagner.

The Commanders took advantage of the sudden change with a 5-play, 31-yard drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown reception by Terry McLaurin, his 5th of the season, to make the score 7-0.

Following good kickoff return coverage, the Giants started their 3rd drive of the afternoon at the 27-yard line. After 2 plays, they faced 3rd & 1 at the 36-yard line. Running a no-huddle attack, Jones handed the ball to Singletary on a zone read for the needed yard.

The drive continued, with the 5th consecutive run resulting in another 3rd & 1 at the 46-yard line. This time, Daniel Jones converted the first down with a QB sneak. At this point in the game, Jones had attempted (and completed) only one pass for 7 yards, and had, of course, been sacked once with the resulting turnover.

The Giants stuck to their game plan, running the ball three more times to convert their 7th first-down of the game. When Jones finally attempted another pass on the subsequent first down, the play actually lost 6 yards. He made those yards up, and then some, with an 11-yard scramble to bring up 3rd & 5 at the Washington 34. The Giants were already in field goal range when Frankie Luvu was flagged for coming across the line of scrimmage on a hard count as the 1st quarter ended.

Second Quarter

The Giants actually faced 3rd & less than a yard on their initial play of the second quarter. Two more Daniel Jones runs resulted in another pair of 1st downs to set up 1st & 10 at Washington’s 16-yard line.

A short pass and a run pushed the ball to 1st & goal at the Commanders 2-yard line.

On his 4th pass of the game, Jones threw a touchdown pass to Chris Manhertz to tie the game 7-7 with 12:21 remaining in the half. It had been an impressive 16-play drive that covered 73 yards and lasting 9:43. The Washington defense never looked like they were going to stop the inevitable push downfield by the New York offense.

The Giants already have 140 rushing yards (-8 passing); Daniel Jones is the leading rusher in the game, with 50 yards.

Washington started on the 30 after a touchback.

After 3 quick first downs, the Commanders were across midfield.

ON 2nd & 7 at the Giants 41-yard line, Austin Ekeler ran the ball for 20 yards to put the Washington offense into field goal range at the 21-yard line.

Two plays later, it was 3rd & 2 after Jayden Daniels made a bad decision on a zone read and lost a yard on 2nd down. A failed wildcat play on 3rd down came up short.

On 4th & 1 at the 12-yard line, Jayden Daniels kept the ball around the right end for 6 yards, setting up 1st & goal from the 6 yard line.

Ekeler pushed the ball to the 1 yard line on a run, and then scored a touchdown when he got the ball again on 2nd down. Following the extra point, the score was 14-7 with 6:21 left in the half. The huge play had been the 4th down, the tenth one that the Commanders have attempted in the 2024 season, converting 100% so far.

The drive covered 70 yards in 11 plays. A great answer to the Giants successful touchdown drive.

The Giants returned the kickoff to the 33 yard line, where they began their 4th offensive drive.

Going away from the run game, Jones had his first incompletion of the game on 1st down, followed by a short run by Tyrone Tracy to bring up 3rd & 8. Under heavy pressure from a good blitz, Jones hit TE Theo Johnson in the hands, but he was unable to secure the catch under strong coverage by safety Jeremy Chinn.

Following a good punt and an 8-yard return, the Commanders began their 4th offensive drive of the game, leading by 7 points, at their own 13-yard line. It had been the Giants second 3 & out of the game, and there was just over 5 minutes left in the half.

Daniels got the initial first down of the drive by scrambling for 7 yards on 2nd down.

Two plays later, on 2nd & 11, Daniels, with great protection in the pocket, hit Noah Brown for 31-yards and another 1st down at the NYG 44-yard line. Brown was now the game’s leading receiver, with 3 receptions for 50 yards.

As the two-minute warning hit, Washington had the ball, 3rd & 6 at the Giants’ 40 yard line, in range for a long field goal attempt if needed.

Following the time out, Daniels hit Zach Ertz for 5 yards to bring up another 4th & 1 at the 35-yard line. Unsurprisingly, Dan Quinn decided to go for it for the 11th time this season. The run by Ekeler was ruled a first down, but was subject to a booth review with just 1:20 remaining in the half. After review, the ruling stood, and the Commanders continued the drive with a first down at the NYG 34-yard line.

What looked like a great Daniels scramble — stop me if you’ve heard this story before — was called back for a holding call against Nick Allegretti, pushing the offense out of field goal range.

After an incomplete pass on 1st & 20, a short run by McNichols brought up 3rd & 18 with 20 seconds remaining in the half. Daniels hit Dyami Brown on a short pass to the right side of the field, and Brown ran about 20 yards downfield for a 24-yard gain and a 1st down with 11 seconds remaining.

The ball was on the NYG 18 yard line, meaning that McLaurin’s 2nd touchdown reception of the game on his second target of the game was good for 18 yards. Following the PAT, Washington’s lead was 14 points, with the score 21-7.

The Giants returned the ball on their 26-yard line as time ran out on the half, and with the home crowd booing, headed to the locker room.

Washington would get the ball to open the 2nd half.

Halftime Stats

Statistics via ESPN

Third Quarter

While the team statistics didn’t look dramatically different aside from the Giants dominating the run game while the Commanders dominated the passing stats, the score certainly was one-sided, primarily because of the early fumble recovery and touchdown, along with the final drive of the half allowing Washington to ‘double-dip’ with back-to-back possessions to end the first half and start the second. Jayden Daniels, so far, was 9-11 for 113 yards and 2 TDs; Daniel Jones had completed 4 of 6 attempts for 0 yards. The Giants, however, were averaging 6.8 yards per carry in the run game. It feels as if NY should just keep giving the ball to its running backs, but if Washington can open the half with another score to open up a 3-TD lead, that may not be possible.

The Giants kicked off, and Washington began its 5th offensive drive of the game at the 30-yard line after the touchback.

A short run on 1st down was followed by an incompletion to bring up 3rd & 8 at the 32-yard line. The drive was not looking very impressive so far. Another incompletion resulted in another 3 & out and another Tress Way punt.

The Giants set up shop on their own 21-yard line after good coverage by Washington’s punt team.

On an apparent sack on first down, Dorance Armstrong was flagged for roughing the passer by hitting Daniel Jones in the head with his arm.

After a short run and a short pass, the Giants faced 3rd & 4 at their own 42 yard line. A 3 yard gain on a reception by Malik Nabers forced a 4th-down decision. Brian Daboll decided to go for it on 4th down, and Daniel Jones converted it with a 2-yard QB sneak.

The Giants had a fresh set of downs at their own 47-yard line. Jones dropped back to pass and hit Nabers for a 16-yard completion on a play action pass play.

After a short run, Jones was sacked by Dante Fowler — his 2nd of the game- on 2nd down, bringing up 3rd & 13 at their own 40 yard line.

The Giants faced 4th & 2 after an 11-yard completion to Slayton.

Nabers gained the needed 2 yards on a short pass and a generous spot by the officials.

The ball was now at the Washington 27-yard line. Another good completion of 15-yards to Slayton set New York up with 1st down at the 12-yard line. After runs by Tracy of 3 yards and 2 yards, it was 3rd & 5 at the Washington 7-yard line.

On the critical 3rd down play, Tracy gained just 4 yards. The Giants faced their third 4th down of the drive and Daboll again decided to go for it in front of his home crowd. What looked like a too-easy touchdown pass to Darius Slayton was too easy — it was disallowed by an offensive pass interference call.

Having been pushed back to 4th & 11, Daboll sent his kicker on for a successful 31-yard field goal to move the scoreboard to Washington 21, New York 10 with 05:27 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The offensive drive had lasted 15 plays and covered 66 yards. Only the penalty flag on the 4th down play stopped the Giants offense, which looked efficient as it marched downfield.

Following the kickoff, Washington set up shop on the 30-yard line.

Chris Rodriquez came in at running back. Jayden Daniels faked the handoff and kept the ball for a 16-yard run and a first down to open the drive.

After a short run and a completion to Noah Brown, it was 3rd & 1 at the 45-yard line. On the critical play, Daniels hit rookie TE Ben Sinnott on the left side of the field who ended up getting pushed out of bounds for a 12-yard gain.

A pair of runs by Rodriguez gained 14 yards and set the Commanders up in field goal range at the Giants 27-yard line. Kliff Kingsbury called 3 passes that gained just 6 yards to bring up 3rd & 4 at the 13-yard line.

The 3rd down pass was incomplete, and on 4th down, Austin Seibert came on to kick a 31-yard field goal to restore the 14-point lead.

At this point, despite being behind by two touchdowns, the Giants offense has looked good moving the ball downfield. The Commanders defense needs to tighten up with 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter to keep the New York Giants from closing the gap to create a one-score game.

After a the ball hit the landing zone and rolled through the end zone, the Giants took possession at their own 20-yard line.

TE Theo Johnson again failed to pull in a good pass from Daniel Jones on first down. A short run on 2nd down set up 3rd & 9 as time ran out on the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Giants faced a critical 3rd down play at their own 21-yard line to open the final quarter, trailing by 14 points.

On that 3rd down play, Jones hit Wan’Dale Robinson for 10 yards and a first down at the 31-yard line.

After a short run, Jones hit Nabers for 13 yards to convert another first down at the NYG 45 yard line.

Washington DT Phil Mathis was injured on the first down play — another ball to TE Theo Johnson that hit him in the hand before hitting the ground. Johnson is having a nightmarish game. Mathis walked off the field and into the blue tent.

On 3rd & 5 at midfield, Ben St-Juste was called for a DPI penalty against Malik Nabers to give the Giants a 1st down at the 42-yard line.

The Giants lost 5 yards on a pass to Nabers behind the line, tackled by Jeremy Chinn. After a run by Tracy, the Giants faced 3rd & 9 at the Washington 41-yard line. Jones earned what appeared to be a first-down on a pass to Nabers. It was ruled short of the line to gain by the officials, and Brian Daboll challenged the ruling.

Jones has picked up his passing success. At this point he is 15-20 for 86 yards and a touchdown — a huge improvement from his halftime box score. The total yards are nearly even at Washington 240 yards, New York 236 yards.

After review, the Giants were awarded the first down.

On 2nd & 3, Daniel Jones hit Darius Slayton on a beautiful pass to the middle of the field to set up 1st & goal at the 2 yard line. On the next play, Jones kept the ball and ran over two Commanders defenders to force the ball into the end zone.

Daboll decided to go for 2; Jones couldn’t find an open receiver and scrambled, but was tackled short of the goal line. With 9:25 left in the game and New York kicking off to the Commanders, the Giants would need to stop the burgundy & gold offense, get the ball back, score a touchdown and score on a 2-point conversion to tie the game. The decision to go for 2 here seemed less than ideal for the Giants in light of the play’s failure.

The Giants’ drive lasted 13 plays and covered 80 yards.

On the ensuing kickoff, Austin Ekeler returned the kick to the 35-yard line.

After a short run on 1st down, Daniels threw an incomplete pass to Ekeler just across the line of scrimmage to bring up 3rd & 9 at the 36-yard line. Under massive pressure, Daniels delivered a strike to Ekeler in the middle of the field. The running back was all alone, and ran the ball for a 27-yard gain to the NYG 36-yard line. The Commanders were already on the edge of field goal range, and had a first-down with 8:37 left to play in the game.

Two runs brought up 3rd & 1 at the 27-yard line with the clock running.

On the 3rd down play, Daniels handed the ball to Jeremy McNichols, who squirmed through the middle of the line for 3 yards and a 1st down.

A change of running back, and it was the turn of 2nd year back Chris Rodriguez, who ran hard for 17 yards to bring up 1st & goal at the 7 yard line.

With the clock running, Kliff Kingsbury kept the ball on the ground. A pair of Rodriguez runs set up 3rd & goal at the Giants 2-yard line.

An incomplete pass on the next play brought up 4th and goal. With an 8-point lead and less than 4 minutes remaining in the game, Dan Quinn sent Austin Seibert out for his 27th field goal attempt of the year.

The 20-yard attempt was good, and the Commanders held an 11-point lead, 27-16 as the clock wound down. Washington’s scoring drive had lasted 11 plays, covered 63 yards, an burned 5:38 on the clock.

Good kick coverage stopped the Giants return man at the 26-yard line.

The Giants had to pass. They covered 24 yards on two plays, and set up with a fresh set of downs at midfield, with Theo Johnson finally pulling in a 15-yard reception.

The next play was a bit odd, with an interception & fumble (recovered by the Giants), with a DPI penalty called, but declined as the Giants ended up with the ball. The review of the turnover found that the defender was down by contact, so the Giants accepted the pass interference penalty, giving them 1st & 10 at Washington’s 35-yard line.

On 2nd down, Theo Johnson reversed all of his bad play in the game by pulling down a nice catch and rolling into the end zone for a touchdown. The Giants attempted another 2-point conversion, but Jones kept retreating and was finally sacked at the 19-yard line.

The score was now 27-22.

With 02:48 remaining in the game, the Giants would need to stop the Commanders offense and score a touchdown if they hoped to win the game.

Following the touchback, Jayden Daniels led the Commanders offense onto the field with Rodriguez at running back.

On 2nd & 9, Daniels found a WIDE OPEN Olamide Zaccheaus downfield for a 42-yard gain on a beautiful catch and run as the two minute warning was given.

After the timeout, Washington had the ball, 1st & 10 with 01:56 left in the game with the ball at the Giants 27-yard line. Both teams had a full complement of timeouts, meaning that the Commanders would need to move the ball and/or score to close out the game, and they were already in field goal range.

A facemask penalty on first down pushed the ball to the Giants 11-yard line. The Giants would start burning time outs now, but it feels like a grim situation for the G-men.

Rodriguez went up the middle for 5 yards, and then another 4 yards to bring up 3rd & 1 at the NYG 1-yard line. The clock was at 1:41 and the Giants were down to their final time out.

On 3rd down, Rodriguez fought his way to within inches of the goal line, earning a first-down for his team. The Giants burned their last timeout, and the Commanders set up in ‘victory formation’ with 1:37 on the clock.

The final score of the game was 27-22, with the Commanders forgoing the final touchdown to simply get out of Met Life Stadium with a 5-point win.

Full Game Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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