METLIFE STADIUM (East Rutherford, N.J.) â The New York Giants havent won the NFC East in 15 years, and they had a golden opportunity to take a big step towards ending that drought on Thursday night.
But then they blew it.
Despite leading the game with less than two minutes to go, they fell apart in crunch time as Jayden Daniels led the Washington Commanders on a late touchdown drive to pull out a dramatic 24-21 victory. They got the game-winning score on a laser pass through traffic from Daniels to Stefon Diggs that became a 32-yard touchdown with 57 seconds remaining.
The Giants had one last chance to pull it out, but J.J. McCarthys final pass on a solid night was intercepted.
And just like that, the NFC East looks like it might be a race again. The Giants fell to 5-3-1 on the season, closing the gap between them and the second-place Dallas Cowboys (4-5). And the Commanders, at 3-5-1, now hold the tie-breaker advantage over the Giants and are still in the thick of the race.
Here are my takeaways from the game that tightened this division up:
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Over the last few weeks, Commanders QB Jayden Daniels has started to round into form, looking a little more like he did two years ago when he was a rookie sensation. That year, he carried a flawed team all the way to the NFC Championship Game.
This team, as hard as it is to believe, is even more flawed. But on Thursday night, he showed hes capable of carrying them too.
Daniels was a one-man show at times against the Giants, completing 23 of 33 passes for 249 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions, and he ran 10 times for 28 yards, too. He kept the Giants punch-less defense on its heels with his ability to scramble. And when they left him unpressured in the pocket â all too often â he picked them apart with his arm.
Yeah, he threw two fourth-quarter interceptions, and that wasnt good. It was also a product of the startling lack of weapons around him. Both passes were force-fed to TE Chig Okonkwo, who has been a disappointment for most of the season. To that point, it was a sign of how few players he had on the field around him who could make and break big plays.
But in the end, WR Stefon Diggs â the only receiver who can make big plays on the Commanders’ active roster â came through. Diggs took a dart pass over the middle between a couple of Giants defenders, blasted free and ran in for the game-winning score. He finished with six catches for 83 yards.
Daniels has no other reliable weapons and no reliable running game and it just doesnt matter. Hes a weapon all his own. He made it impossible for the Giants pass rush to catch him. He found receivers even when they werent open.
And just like he used to do so often as a rookie, Daniels reminded everyone he has the clutch gene and made the big play when it mattered most.
J.J. McCarthy has been mostly outstanding since the Giants acquired him from the Minnesota Vikings. He was terrific, for the most part, again on Thursday night.
But if he wants to make the Giants even think about choosing him over Jaxson Dart as their quarterback next season, he cant afford to lose too many more games like this.
It wasnt even about his game-ending interception. That was thrown out of desperation. It had more to do with the fact that even though he completed 22 of 36 passes for 294 yards and ran for 34 more yards, the offense shut down under his direction late in the fourth quarter when they could have put the game away. The Giants gave the Commanders life with two three-and-outs in the final 5.5 minutes.
That just wont do.
The Giants are thrilled with McCarthy. They love his mobility. They’re enthralled with his arm strength, as he showed in the fourth quarter with a bullet through double coverage to TE Isaiah Likely, which became a go-ahead, 66-yard touchdown pass. Hes doing most of everything they want.Â
But hes got a huge opportunity.
