Washington settles for a 27-27 stalemate after letting the clock expire before attempting a game-winning field goal.
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The Washington Commanders had already caught all the breaks they needed before kicking off Sunday afternoon at Northwest Stadium.
On Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys (2-3) suffered an embarrassing loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Earlier Sunday in London, the Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) fell in a last-second defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That set the table for the Commanders to be right back in the NFC East mix if they could upend the division-leading New York Giants. While Washington entered the game as the worst team in the division, this was considered a game it should win, given the Giants were without starting quarterback Jaxson Dart and defensive standout Brian Burns because of season-ending knee injuries.
Yet the Commanders still dropped the ball in a calamitous 27-27 tie with the Giants. At 1-3-1, Washington will struggle to play relevant football as the season progresses.
“Leaving tonight with a tie feels like a loss,” Coach Dan Quinn said.
After blowing a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter, the Commanders had a chance to win as overtime wound down. With no timeouts remaining, Washington picked up 53 yards on just five plays and got into field goal range.
Instead of attempting the kick, however, they ran another play to drain the clock. Quarterback Jayden Daniels was sacked after a brief scramble, and time expired before the Commanders could get off another snap — prompting Quinn to spike his headset while the Giants (3-1-1) celebrated the stalemate.
After the game, Quinn explained that Daniels was supposed to throw the ball to stop the clock.
“We got to stop the clock,” Daniels said. “We got to relay that as an offense. It starts from everybody, top down. But, ultimately, it’s on me.”
Asked whether he knew the Commanders were out of timeouts, Daniels said, “Yeah, we just got to communicate that.”
“It just can’t happen,” said wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who wasn’t on the field for the last play. “That’s really unacceptable as an offense.”
While Daniels accepted responsibility for the failure to execute, Quinn took the onus for putting him in that situation.
“The sequencing of that does not fall on him,” Quinn said. “I don’t even have to put him into that spot.”
Quinn explained that, after wide receiver Treylon Burks’s 13-yard catch and run put the Commanders at the Giants 26-yard line, he still wanted to gain more yardage before rookie Drew Stevens attempted a field goal.
They proceeded to hand the ball to running back Rachaad White for a short gain to get the clock running. Then came Daniels’s blunder. In retrospect, Quinn said Washington should’ve just spiked the ball and attempted a field goal after White’s run.
“The right call was, honestly, we can go clock it early and don’t put ourselves in that spot,” Quinn said. “That’s my responsibility. Nobody else’s. I’m gutted for our team. We were given a lot of [opportunities] tonight to go find our win in all three phases and we did not seize them.”
Daniels played his first game since dislocating his left elbow Sept. 20. He wore a large black brace on his left arm but looked comfortable, didn’t appear to be limited and played with no hesitation. Although Daniels was solid in the air — going 17 for 25 for 199 yards — he proved dominant on the ground while rushing for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
In the end, it wasn’t enough.
Coming into Sunday, the Commanders’ offense hadn’t scored a touchdown on its opening drive since Week 3 last season. They finally ended that drought with a four-play, 69-yard march capped by running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s 33-yard touchdown run.
After the strong start, the offense hit a wall and went three-and-out on its next two drives. On both possessions, left tackle Brandon Coleman gave up backbreaking sacks.
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Early in the second quarter, Washington’s offense seemed to snap out of its funk and made its way to the Giants 9-yard line. From there, though, the offense committed back-to-back false starts and settled for a field goal to take a 9-3 lead.
In the first half, Washington’s saving grace was a defense that smothered New York through the air and on the ground. The shorthanded secondary limited quarterback Jameis Winston to just 72 passing yards before halftime.
Given how well the defense was playing, the opportunity was there for Washington to win this one going away. Instead, offensive shortcomings kept it close.
Late in the second quarter, the Commanders’ superb pass coverage forced Winston to hold onto the ball. Eventually, he lost his grip amid the rainy conditions and fumbled. Defensive tackle Tim Settle Jr. recovered the ball at the Giants 27-yard line.
Washington’s offense proceeded to gain just five yards before settling for another field goal to take a 12-3 lead into halftime.
Early in the third quarter, the Commanders looked like they were set to pull away. On a second and six, New York dropped back in man coverage. None of their defensive backs had eyes on Daniels, who looked to throw but took off once he saw a wide-open rushing lane. He went untouched on a 38-yard touchdown scamper.
The 19-6 lead would be short-lived. Just as it seemed the game was slipping away, Winston came alive. The veteran threw three touchdown passes in the second half and finished with 326 passing yards.
As Winston heated up, Washington’s defense went from a strength to a liability. A pass interference penalty on Commanders cornerback Amik Robertson negated his interception, and Winston subsequently found tight end Isaiah Likely (11 catches for 94 yards) on a three-yard touchdown pass to cut Washington’s lead to six.
The Commanders entered the fourth quarter needing an answer from their offense. What followed was their best possession of the game.
Washington orchestrated an eight-play, 81-yard drive with a mix of timely passes and explosive runs. Facing a third and two in Giants territory, the Commanders faced man coverage on a Daniels drop-back. Once he deciphered the scheme, Daniels took off, made a defender miss and scored on a 26-yard run.
The defense had a chance to seal the game on the ensuing drive. But it lost track of Likely on fourth and eight, and the tight end hauled in a 17-yard touchdown pass to make it a seven-point game.
Following a three-and-out from the Commanders’ offense, they found themselves needing a stop. But the bleeding continued. Wide receiver Malik Nabers, who had 11 catches for 121 yards, made a leaping 17-yard touchdown reception to tie things up. Washington’s offense failed to answer and the game went to overtime.
“We [can’t] put ourselves in situations like that,” defensive tackle Daron Payne said. “We had plenty of chances to close that game out.
The Giants got into field goal range on the first possession of overtime, but kicker Dominic Zvada missed wide left to bail out the Commanders. Yet again, Washington failed to capitalize and went three-and-out.
New York proceeded to drive into Commanders territory for a second time and looked set to attempt a game-winning field goal. But Payne knocked the ball away from running back Cam Skattebo, and Settle recovered it.
That set the stage for the would-be winning drive that ended not with a makeable field goal attempt but a clock management fiasco.
“You don’t get those moments back,” Quinn said. “I want to make sure that’s a scar that has to be permanent, and make sure this is a situation and a scenario that will never present itself again.”
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