Game Recap – Washington Commanders at New York Giants

December 5, 2022

By Noonefromtampa

First Half

The Commanders won the coin toss and elected to defer until the second half. The New York Giants came out running the ball behind Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones. Washington stopped Barkley after three yards, but Jones scrambled up the middle and picked up 9 yards for a first down. Barkley picked up 5 yards on a sweep but then Jones ran a keeper and Jonathan Allen knocked the ball loose. The fumble was recovered by Jamin Davis.

The Commanders also went with the running game. Brian Robinson picked up 5 yards on first down and caught a swing pass for 10 yards on second down. Jahan Dotson slipped down but caught a 9 yard pass from Taylor Heinicke while sitting on the turf. Antonio Gibson then picked up the first down with a two yard run on the next play. Heinicke overthrew a wide-open Logan Thomas inside the 10 yard line. Robinson picked up 16 yards on a toss sweep around the left end to give the Commanders a first and goal. Howeverm Washington was unable to convert from there, which has been one of the team’s problems this season. A short run, a short pass completion and an incompletion led to a 21 yard field goal by Joey Slye. Commanders 3, Giants 0.

Washington held the Giants to a three and out behind a second sack by Daron Payne which cost the Giants a nine yard loss. After the punt, Washington went on the offensive quickly. Dotson picked up 16 yards on a first down completion. Robinson picked up 10 yards on two carries. One play later, Heinicke hit Thomas for 11 yards. After a six yard run by Gibson, two plays later Terry McLaurin caught a pass on a drag route. Fabian Moreau missed the tackle and McLaurin scored a 19 yard touchdown. Slye converted the extra point. Commanders 10, Giants 0.

The Giants offense came to life on the next series. Jones hit Darius Slayton for 8 yards. Barkley carried twice for 7 yards and then Jones rolled to right but then scrambled up the middle for a 21 yard carry. Kamran Curl was called for holding and 5 yards were tacked on to the play. Barkley caught a swing pass but was forced out of bounds by Christian Holmes. Jones ran for three yards when he could not find any open receivers. Bobby McCain made a good play in third down tackling Richie James for a one yard loss. Graham Gano hit a knuckle-ball kick which made it through the uprights for a 48 yard field goal. Commanders 10, Giants 3.

After the touchback, Robinson picked up 5 yards on first down, but Heinicke was sacked for an eight yard loss on second down by Justin Ellis. McLaurin was able to pickup only 12 of the 13 yards needed for the first down, forcing a Tress Way punt.

The Giants offense continued to perform well. On the first play after the fair catch, Slayton caught a 55 yards pass from Jones after Holmes could not find the ball. Two plays later, Montez Sweat lost containment and Jones ran around the end for 10 yards to give the Giants a first down on the Washington 13-yard line. Barkley then ran off right tackle for a 13 yard touchdown. Commanders 10, Giants 10.

On Washington’s next possession, Jonathan Williams picked up one yard on first down, then Heinicke hit McLaurin for a 20 yard completion. McLaurin picked up 9 yards on a catch and Robinson ran 1 yard for the first down. The Giants forced an incompletion two plays later on third down and seven, but Moreau was called for defensive holding. Gibson ran twice for 12 yards and then was stopped for no gain. After a second down incompletion, Heinicke threw to McLaurin at the goal line, but the ball fell short. Moreau was called for pass interference on the play, but after the officials huddled, the flag was picked up. Coach Ron Rivera was incensed as the replay showed apparent interference. Slye kicked a 43 yard field goal to give the Commanders the lead back. Commanders 13, Giants 10.

On the next drive, the Giants were able to drive the length of the field with just 2:28 left in the half. With Washington playing a prevent defense, the Giants elected to run the ball through both with Barkley and Jones.  In four plays Barkley picked up 20 yards and Jones picked up 4 yards. Then Barkley ran off right tackle for 21 yards. Isaiah Hodgins picked up 10 tough yards on a catch over the middle breaking tackles to get the first down. The Giants were able to use their timeouts and combine runs and passes to move the ball down to the Washington 9 yard line. Jones spiked the ball and Gano kicked a 27 yard field goal to tie the game. Commanders 13, Giants 13.

Washington took a knee to end the half after the kickoff.

Second Half

Washington started the half on offense, but it did not go well. After a short run on first down and an incompletion on second down, Heinicke was stripped sacked on third down and eight. The Giants started the second half at the Washington 20 yard line. It took 5 plays to move 20 yards, and Hodgins scored his first career touchdown on a 6 yard catch over Holmes. The extra point by Gano was good. Giants 20, Commanders 13.

Gibson mishandled the subsequent kickoff and Washington started at their own 5 yard line. Robinson ran three straight times for 5 yards, 12 yards, and 5 yards to move the Commanders out to better field position. Three more runs picked up another first down out to the Washington 32 yard line. After a false start call against Thomas, Heinicke hit McLaurin for 15 yards and first down. Gibson picked up 4 yards and Curtis Samuel ran 7 yards for an apparent first down, however Thomas was called for a questionable illegal block above the waist to make it second down and 16. Heinicke was then strip-sacked again even though it was shown on replay that his arm was moving forward. On third down and 21, Samuel picked up 10 yard and Way came on to punt it away.

The Washington defense was finally able to stop the Giants and force a three and out. After allowing an 8 yard completion, they held Barkley to no gain and Jones to 1 yard. After a great punt, the Commanders started at their own 26 yard line. Heinicke scrambled for 7 yards on first down and Robinson picked up the first down with a 5 yard run around the right end. Robinson followed that up with runs of 4 yards and 11 yards. With the Giants focused on the run, Heinicke hit McLaurin for 12 yards on a bubble screen. Gibson caught a pass for 8 yards, Dotson caught a checkdown for 1 yard and Robinson picked up the first down. Robinson then picked up 10 yards on first down running to the Giants 15 yard line, but Cole Turner was called for holding. With first and 20 at the 35 yard line, Washing only netted 1 yard because of a Heinicke sacked on third down. Slye missed the 52 yard field goal wide right.

Washington then forced another three and out aided by an offensive holding penalty. That was just the start of the flag parade. Washington was called two penalties on the punt return which moved the ball back to the Washington 18 negating a 14 yard return. The Commanders compounded the problem by getting called for holding on the next play, which moved the ball back to the 4 yard line. Heinicke overthrew two receivers and Thomas only picked up 2 yards on his catch, forcing a Way punt.

Not to be outdone, the Giants picked up a first down completion of 12 yards to Slayton, but Jon Feliciano was called for taunting which moved the ball back to midfield. Danny Johnson sacked Jones on a blitz on third and seven to force the punt. Washington started on their own 10 yard line after a fair catch by Alex Erickson.

McLaurin caught a completion for 11 yards and Samuel picked up 6 yards on a reception over the middle. Dotson broke up a near interception on a deep pass to him. Tyler Larsen was injured on the play.  Heinicke missed Dotson on third down due to the pass rush.  Rivera elected to go for it on third down and Heinicke was able to scramble around and hit Samuel for a 20 yard gain. After a short pass to Dotson that gained nothing, Heinicke hit Samuel for 25 yards down to the Giants 28 yard line. Heinicke then hit Dotson and crossing route over the left side and with a spin move he broke free going 28 yards for the score. Slye converted the extra point to tie the game. Giants 20, Commanders 20.

Washington was able to hold the Giants to a three and out again on three straight incompletions including a drop by Slayton that would have put the ball deep in Washington territory. Percy Butler was called for unnecessary roughness during the punt, which cost the Commanders field position from their 48 back to their 24 yard line. With 1:17 left on the clock, the Commanders were only able to move the 26 yards in 6 plays before being forced to punt on fourth down. The Giants took a knee to end regulation play. Giants 20, Commanders 20.

Overtime

The Giants won the overtime coin toss and elected to started on offense. Slayton picked up 11 yards on first down, but the Commanders defense toughened, hitting Barkley for a three yard loss. Daron Payne then sacked Jones on third down.

After the punt, Washington was able to pick up one first down on a 21 yard run by Samuel, but only gained one more yard to force a Way punt.

On the next drive, the Giants moved the ball 36 yards in 7 plays out to the 50 yard line. Jones completed five straight passes during the drive. On fourth and three, the Giants tried to get the Commanders to jump offside; however, when they didn’t the punted the ball away.

The game almost ended in disaster when a line call was incorrect, and Charles Leno Jr. missed blocking Kayvon Thibodeaux, who then sacked Heinicke inside the 1 yard line. Washington ran the ball three times after that and punted it away.

The Giants move the ball out to the Washington 40-yard line and Gano attempted 58 yard field as time expired. It was short.

Final Score: Giants 20, Commanders 20.

Game Thoughts

The adage is that a tie is like kissing your sister. This game was more like getting slugged by your sister.

The game was a tale of inconsistency on offense, defense, and special teams. Heinicke was up and down throughout the game. The offensive line got hit with several injuries (Samuel Cosmi and Tyler Larsen) and underperformed much of the game.

Drives were hindered by penalties and mental mistakes.

The upside is that Washington went to the Giants’ home field and tied them. They usually do not fair so well against them.

Jahan Dotson gave us another glimpse of the type of player he is going to become. The spin more to score the touchdown to enable Washington to tie the game was a thing of beauty.

Washington has a bye week to clean things up and get players healthy, whereas the Giants have a tough division game against the Eagles next Sunday. Hopefully Washington comes away with the win in the next meeting.