The New York Giants had this one. Really. They had it. Like, in the bag, had it.
Two fourth-quarter interceptions, a 66-yard touchdown from J.J. McCarthy to Isaiah Likely, and a four-point lead with less than two minutes to go. Everything was lining up for John Harbaugh's squad to improve to 6-2-1 on Thursday Night Football against the Washington Commanders and put even more distance between themselves and the rest of the NFC East.
Instead, Big Blue found an infuriating way to lose 24-21, with Jayden Daniels finding Stefon Diggs for a 32-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left in the game. The Giants are now 5-3-1, Washington owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, and a game that should've been a win is going to sting for a while.
And the worst part? New York had multiple chances to put this thing away. They just refused to get out of their own way.
Giants' winners and losers from a winnable Thursday night collapse
Half a winner: The Baha Men
Who let the dogs out? Who, who, who, who, who? Apparently, Jameis Winston.
In what might've been the most ridiculous (electric?) moment of Thursday Night Football, Winston tried drawing Washington offsides on fourth-and-1 by barking out the Baha Men's 2000 smash hit. Yes, really. And it was obviously his idea.
The Commanders didn't bite on the bit, which resulted in the G-Men taking a delay-of-game penalty and punting. It was hilarious for about five seconds before everyone remembered MetLife isn't a karaoke bar.
Half a win for the entertainment value. But maybe next time, actually run the play on fourth-and-inches even if it's deep in your own half of the field. Play with conviction. The Baha Men would have wanted Famous Jameis to snap it -- I'm sure of it.
Winner: Cam Skattebo
Cam Skattebo deserved better than whatever that fourth quarter was.
The rookie running back returned from a hamstring injury and picked up right where he left off, finishing with 122 yards from scrimmage and two rushing touchdowns. He carried the ball 18 times for 78 yards and added another 44 through the air on three catches.
And somehow, with the game on the line and the Giants desperately needing a first down, Skattebo wasn't the guy getting the ball on third-and-3. Instead, Matt Nagy dialed up a J.J. McCarthy run that lost two yards.
Skatt did more than enough to help New York win this game. Too bad the coaching staff couldn't return the favor.
Loser: Dominic Zvada
Remember when Dominic Zvada couldn't miss and we gave him that super-cool nickname, Zvada-matic? Good times. Trust me, no one's rooting harder for this guy than me, but it's impossible to ignore what's going on.
The rookie kicker missed a 33-yard field goal wide left Thursday night, and it's getting harder to ignore what's becoming a pretty concerning trend. After starting his NFL career a perfect 9-for-9, Zvada has now made just eight of his last 14 attempts.
That's six misses in 14 tries for anyone keeping score at home. And in a game the Giants lost by three points, leaving an easy field goal on the table looks especially rough. Harbs needs to figure out what's going on with his kicker before it costs them another game.
Winner: Isaiah Likely
Whatever the Giants paid Isaiah Likely this offseason, it's definitely not enough. The former Ravens tight end caught a game-high nine passes for a game-high 127 yards and a touchdown, including a 66-yard catch-and-run that should have been the game-winning score, giving New York a 21-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Likely has been one of, if not the most reliable, pieces of this offense all season, and Thursday was another reminder of why Harbaugh wanted him in New York. It's just a shame his biggest play of the night ended up being a footnote in another late-game collapse.
The 26-year-old has now set career highs across the board with 55 receptions for 575 yards and seven touchdowns, and we still have eight more games to go.
Loser: Giants' fourth-quarter meltdown
How do you intercept Jayden Daniels twice in the fourth quarter with a lead and still lose? Seriously, can someone please explain that twisted joke to me?
Jevón Holland picked him off with 5:31 remaining, and Ar'Darius Washington followed with another interception at 2:19. The Giants had a four-point lead and multiple opportunities to drain the clock. They turned those two takeaways into five offensive yards apiece and two punts (the second punt being one of the ugliest I've ever seen Jordan Stout kick).
Then Deonte Banks committed a 33-yard defensive pass interference penalty on Washington's final drive, and Diggs finished the job three plays later. That's the kind of collapse that makes you want to report the coaching staff to the Better Business Bureau.
Loser: Playing not to lose
Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy are going to have some explaining to do after this one, because the Giants' late-game decision-making was downright baffling.
Following Holland's interception, New York ran the ball three straight times and failed to pick up a first down. The third-down play went to Jameis Winston, who was stopped for no gain before the Giants tried the whole Baha Men routine on fourth down.
Then, after Washington's second interception gave the G-Men the ball near midfield, they faced a third-and-3 with a chance to keep the clock moving. Instead of giving Cam Skattebo another opportunity or two, Nagy dialed up a designed McCarthy QB sweep that lost two yards.
Big Blue had two chances to make Daniels watch the rest of the game from the sideline. They gave him the ball back both times, and eventually he made them pay.
Winner: Ar'Darius Washington
If Washington wasn't already making a case to start over Tyler Nubin, Thursday night's performance should've gotten defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson's attention.
The safety finished with seven tackles, two passes defensed, and an interception, putting together his best performance since arriving in North Jersey. His fourth-quarter pick of Jayden Daniels gave Big Blue a golden opportunity to put the game away.
The small but mighty defensive back has been pushing for a bigger role in the secondary, and after a performance like that, it's getting harder to justify keeping him behind anyone not named Holland on the depth chart. He earned himself a longer look as the starter moving forward.
Loser: Giants' playoff chances
Thursday night's loss drops the Giants to 5-3-1 and keeps Washington hanging around in the NFC East at 3-5-1. Worse yet, the Commies now own the head-to-head tiebreaker after the two teams tied earlier this season.
New York still leads the NFC East, and there's plenty of football left to play. But these are the kinds of losses that you just can't have, especially when the schedule gets infinitely tougher over the next couple of weeks. Up next are the Jaguars, followed by the Colts, 49ers, and Seahawks. That could easily be a 1-3 stretch if they keep screwing up the way they did on Thursday.
They had two interceptions, a late lead, and multiple chances to finish the job. If the playoff race comes down to the wire, this is the game everyone will point to and say, "This is where you blew it."
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