Giants doomed by kicker calamity in absurd last-second loss to Commanders

LANDOVER, Md. — Ain’t that a kick in the head.

The Giants somehow found a way to lose a game they had no business losing, mainly because they did not have a kicker and the Commanders did.

In what must go down as a low moment for a franchise that recently, has experienced a whole bunch of them, the Giants walked off the field at Northwest Stadium on Sunday on the very wrong end of a 21-18 loss that was absurd and embarrassing. They were done in when Austin Seibert, signed this week, nailed his seventh field goal of the day, from 38 yards out at the buzzer.

 The Giants did not give up a touchdown to rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels but they also could not get the Commanders off the field all day.  The Giants refused to attempt a field goal because they lost their kicker, Graham Gano, to a hamstring injury on the opening kickoff.  Gano came into the game with a groin injury and yet the Giants did not elevate Jude McAtamney off the practice squad.  

That decision proved to be costly.  The Giants squandered five points (two failed conversions, one missed extra point) because they did not have a backup kicker capable of actually kicking.

 The Commanders had seven true possessions in the game and came away with seven field goals.  They did not punt once.

The Giants were driving for the potential game-winning touchdown when on fourth down Daniel Jones escaped the pocket and fired a perfect pass to the right sideline.  Rookie Malik Nabers kept his feet inbounds but the ball glanced off his hands for a massive drop with 2:04 remaining in regulation. It was the 18th target of the game for Nabers and he pounded the turf in disgust.

Nabers finished with 10 catches for 127 yards and his first NFL touchdown. Daniel Jones was 16 of 28 for 178 yards and two touchdowns. The Giants allowed 215 rushing yards.

The Giants took a 18-15 lead with 11:32 remaining on Jones’ second touchdown pass of the day, as he hit Wan’Dale Robinson in stride for a 7-yard strike, with Robinson getting one step on rookie cornerback Mike Sainristil. With kicker Graham Gano unavailable after suffering a hamstring injury on the opening kickoff, coach Brian Daboll clearly did not feel comfortable with punter Jamie Gillan attempting the extra point.  Gillan missed one, badly, in the first quarter. Jones’ two-point conversion pass glanced off the hands of Darius Slayton.

The Commanders then did what they did all game — drive the ball for a field goal. They committed their fourth and fifth false start penalty in the red zone and Seibert’s sixth field goal made it 18-18.  

Leading 12-9, the Giants got the kickoff to start the second half and were on the move but they were halted when Devin Singletary on the tail end of a 15-yard run got the ball punched out of his grasp by Benjamin St-Juste for a fumble that was recovered by Clelin Ferrell on the Commanders 35-yard line. In a close game, these sorts of turnovers are deadly.  Sure enough, the defense could not prevent a nine-play drive that ended with Seibert’s fourth field goal to pull the Commanders even at 12.

Jones misfired on three passes for a three-and-and out. The run defense, shaky all day, was embarrassed when Brian Robinson on third–and-1 was stood up at the line, but Cor’Dale Flott failed to wrap up on the end and Robinson burst free for 40 yards. With first and goal on the 8-yard line, the Giants’ defense stood firm again in the red zone and Seibert’s fifth field goal put the Commanders up 15-12 late in the third quarter.

The Giants were a step slow from the get-go. They gave up a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the first play but they were fortunate that a holding penalty nullified the play. And then, the Giants were unable to get off the field as the Commanders hogged the ball for 9:36, using 16 plays to get down to the Giants’ 1-yard line. A holding penalty on third down by safety Jason Pinnock kept the possession alive.  A false start on right end Ben Sinnott at the 1-yard line forced the Commanders to settle for a field goal for a 3-0 lead.

There was an immediate response by the Giants. Jones called his number twice on option keepers for six-yard gains. The big strike on third-and-12 was a 28-yard catch-and-run by Nabers.  At the end of the gain, Nabers was leveled with a blind-side hit by linebacker Frankie Luvu. The NFL spotter up in the booth called down to the field to have Nabers checked out for a possible concussion, as Luvu’s helmet made contact with Nabers helmet.

Singletary lost cornerback Michael Davis with a cut to complete a 7-yard scoring run, giving the Giants their first touchdown on an opening drive in 27 games.  Yes, 27 games. 

An ongoing issue for the Giants in the first half was an inability to get off the field on defense. The Commanders came away with field goals on drives of 16, 10 and 14 yards. They sacked Daniels four times in the first half and kept Washington out of the end zone late in the second quarter when Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence combined to stop Austin Ekeler for no gain on the Giants’ 8-yard line.

It was the Nabers show after the Giants took over on their 31-yard line with 1:45 left before halftime.  Jones hit Nabers for 13 yards and then for 21, with Nabers putting a spin-move to lose Davis.  With eight seconds remaining, on third down, Jones found a wide-open Nabers for the first touchdown reception for the rookie.  He responded with some sort of celebration dance that probably needs some work.

Unwilling to try an extra point with their punter, the Giants went for the two-point conversion but Jones was flushed out of the pocket and his pass was picked off in the end zone.