Washington defeats New York Giants 30-29
September 17, 2021
By Nooenfromtampa
First Quarter
The Giants won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half so Washington started on offense, and what an ugly start it was. Taylor Heinicke threw behind Logan Thomas on first down and the tip was almost intercepted. Second down saw a 7 yard completion to Terry McLaurin on a wide receiver screen. On third down Heinicke tried to scramble to extend the pass play and was sacked for a 16 yard loss. After a 55 yard punt and 10 yard holding penalty on Logan Ryan, Daniel Jones, doing his best Justin Herbert imitation, led the Giants on 11 play, 71 yard touchdown drive. Jones picked up 20 yards rushing, including the touchdown on a draw play and threw completions of 12 yards to Kyle Rudolph, 16 yards to Kenny Golladay, and 13 yards and 4 yards to Sterling Shepard. Washington went three and out on their next series, gaining only 6 yards. On the next series, the Giants starting left guard, Nick Gates, suffered a serious lower leg injury. Saquon Barkley then ripped off a 41 yard run before being chased out of bounds by Kamren Curl. A false start penalty on Andrew Thomas and a six yard by Montez Sweat and Chase Young forced the Giants to punt. The quarter ended with the Giants leading 7 – 0.
Second Quarter
In a drive that started late in the first quarter, Washington had its best offensive series of the game up to that point. Heinicke was able to complete a 22 yard pass to Dyami Brown after a six yard Antonio Gibson run. With a mixture of runs and passes, Washington was able to consistently move the ball down the field. McLaurin was the key to the drive, catching passes of 12 yards, 16 yards and an 11 yard touchdown reception, usually against the Giants best cornerback, James Bradberry. On the next Giants series, Washington’s defense held them to a three and out including a sack for a 7 yard loss by Jonathan Allen. After a Riley Dixon punt, Samuel Comsi was called for unnecessary roughness on a helmet to helmet hit on Adoree’ Jackson, thereby putting the offense in a deep hole. Washington was forced to punt after picking up on 12 yards after starting first and 22 to go. After the Tress Way punt, Daniel Jones continued to run unchecked. The Giants offense picked up 16 yards on three plays, before Jones ran for an apparent 58 yard touchdown; however, fortunately for Washington, C.J. Board was called for offensive holding, negating the touchdown. The defense stiffened and forced a 23 yard Graham Gano field goal. Washington’s offense came back to the field motivated. Gibson had a 10 yard run to start the drive. Heinicke completed passes of 24 yards to Thomas and 12 yards to Adam Humphries. Washington went into their two minute offense as time ran down in the half. A 10 yard pass to McLaurin and 7 yard pass to Brown moved the ball down to the Giants 4 yard line. J.D. McKissic ran the ball in for a touchdown two plays later and Dustin Hopkins converted the extra point. The Giants ran out the clock to end the half with Washington leading 14 – 10.
Third Quarter
To start the half the Giants went on a 9 play, 36 yard drive that featured a 17 yard completion to Shepard, a 9 yard run by Jones and several penalties on the Washington defense. The drive finally stalled out on the Washington 29 yard line and Gano kicked a 47 yard field goal to cut Washington’s lead to 1 point. Washington went 3 and out. Washington continued to extend their opponents drives by either committing penalties or giving up big plays in long down situations. On this drive it was Kendall Fuller with defensive pass interference on third and 13. He was abetted by Benjamin St-Juste on a second and 19. Jones capped the trifecta with a 33 yard touchdown pass to Darius Slayton over William Jackson III, giving the Giants a six point lead. Washington responded with somewhat of a drive. The big play was a 21 yard defensive pass interference call on Bradberry. Gibson also had a nice 14 yard run, but Cosmi was called for offensive holding on third down putting Washington in a third and 17 yards to go situation. They were unable to convert and Hopkins kicked 49 yard field goal to cut the Giants lead to 20 – 17.
Fourth Quarter
In a drive that started in the third quarter, the Giants move the ball 46 yards in 6 plays, including pass plays of 13 yards to Slayton, 22 yards to Caden Smith, 10 yards to Golladay and 8 yards to Shepard. After a 5 yard penalty and a 6 yard sack by Fuller on a blitz the drive stalled out at the Washington 34 yard line, Gano converted a 52 yard field goal to increase the Giants’ lead back to 6 points. Washington opened the next drive with an 18 yard completion to McLaurin on a slant. Heinicke completed passes mainly to McLaurin and Humphries on the drive which was aided by a defensive holding penalty on Bradberry. Two straight incompletions and a dump off short of the first down marker led to a 37 yard Hopkins field goal to cut the Giants lead to 3 points. The Giants responded quickly after Jonathan Bostic fell down in coverage, leading to a 21 yard reception by Shepard. Even with 10 yards of false start penalties, the Giants were still able to move the ball 56 yards in 8 plays to get a 55 yard field goal by Gano. Washington turned in their best offensive series of the young season by scoring a touchdown in 2 plays covering 75 yards. A 56 yard completion to McKissic and 19 yard touchdown to Ricky Seals-Jones on great throw by Heinicke to the corner of the end zone. Washington held a 1 point lead at that point. On the following series, Washington’s defense held the Giants to 14 yards on 5 plays to force a punt. Starting deep in their own territory, Gibson had runs of 11 and 3 yards, but then disaster struck. Heinicke threw an interception to Bradberry, who made a great break on the ball, on a pass intended to McLaurin. Washington’s defense held the Giants to 3 yards on 4 plays but Gano kicked a 35 yard field goal. Washington got the ball back with two minutes to go in the game. Washington was able to move the ball 40 yards down the field in 10 plays to get to the Giants 30 yard line for a 48 yard field attempt which was no good. However, fortunately, the Giants made a huge mental mistake and committed an offside penalty. Hopkins then had a chance to redeem himself with a 43 yard field goal attempt which he converted.
Washington 30, New York 29
The Legend of Taylor Heinicke begins…