All that for a freaking tie?! I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or ask for those four hours of my life back after watching the New York Giants and Washington Commanders stumble their way into a 27-27 Week 5 tie in a rain-soaked Landover, MD.
For most of Sunday afternoon, the G-Men looked well on their way to a second loss, falling behind 27-13 late in the fourth quarter before remembering they knew how to play football. 14 unanswered points in the final eight minutes sent the game into overtime, and what had been an otherwise miserable afternoon suddenly had the makings of an all-time comeback.
Instead, we got whatever that overtime period was. Both teams had chances to win and apparently wanted nothing to do with them, leaving Big Blue at 3-1-1 and still alone atop the NFC East.
With Dallas losing at home to the at-the-time winless Buccaneers and Philadelphia blowing a last-second game in London against the Jaguars, the G-Men had a golden opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the division. They also came dangerously close to losing, so I guess we’ll take the tie and try to figure out how to feel about everything later in therapy.
3 winners and 4 losers from Giants’ Week 5 overtime circus
Winner: Second half Jameis Winston
First-half Jameis was bad. Borderline unwatchable. Second-half Jameis was absolutely electric and almost pulled off one of the greatest fourth-quarter comebacks in team history. The G-Men were 0-230 since 1970 when trailing by 14-plus points with under eight minutes remaining. Not anymore -- they left Washington 0-230-1.
After completing just 7 of 17 passes for 72 yards in the first half, the former first overall pick spent the next 40 minutes throwing for 254 yards and three touchdowns, finishing 33-of-54 for 326 yards without an interception.
It’s always you take the good and the bad with Winston, but if he can play more like second-half Jamo for the rest of the season, the 3-1-1 Giants just might be able to steal a pretty wide-open NFC East.
Winner: Giants' pass rush (shout out Dru Phillips)
Coming into the game, Big Blue was dead last in sacks through four weeks, with an underwhelming three total. They came correct on Sunday with a season-high five QB takedowns, nearly tripling their season total in one afternoon.
Tremaine Edmunds, rookie Arvell Reese, and Abdul Carter each finished with a sack, while cornerback Dru Phillips led the charge with two of his own and four QB hits. DC Dennard Wilson clearly wasn’t afraid to send the second-year corner after Daniels, and considering how little pressure the Giants have generated this season, maybe we’ll see a little more of that moving forward.
Winner: Isaiah Likely
If there were ever a time for Isaiah Likely to remind everyone why head coach John Harbaugh brought him over from Baltimore, Sunday was it. The 26-year-old caught 11 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first tight end in Giants history to record at least nine receptions and two scores in the same game.
His first touchdown came on third-and-goal from the three-yard line, while his second was a 17-yard catch-and-run on fourth-and-eight that helped spark New York’s late comeback. Likely now has 33 receptions through five games, the most ever by a Giants tight end in his first five games with the team.
Loser: My sanity
I genuinely don’t know how anyone watched that overtime period without questioning their decision to become a Giants fan. Zvada misses from 46 yards on the opening possession. New York gets the ball back and drives into field-goal range again, and Skattebo coughs it up with less than two minutes remaining.
And just when it looked like Washington was about to finish the job, Jayden Daniels decided to scramble with 12 seconds left and no timeouts, letting the clock expire before the Commies could even attempt a game-winning field goal.
I went from thinking the Giants were going to lose to celebrating an impossible comeback to wondering how both teams managed to screw up so badly. A tie. After all of that. I need a minute.
Loser: Cam Skattebo
Remember when Skatt told reporters he told offensive coordinator Matt Nagy to “just give me the ball, and we’ll be fine”? Well, according to the broadcast, Nagy wanted to get his RB1 at least 15 touches Sunday.
Unfortunately, touch No. 15 ended with the football on the ground at Washington’s 24-yard line and 1:55 remaining in overtime, with a win out the window.
The second-year back finished with 59 rushing yards on 13 carries and another 12 through the air, but his fumble overshadowed anything good he did. It was also his fourth fumble in five games this season, which is becoming a problem Harbs and Co. can't ignore.
Skatt admitted afterward that he needed to do a better job of protecting the football. Duh. Thanks, Captain Obvious. Now do it.
Loser: Dominic Zvada
Well, Zvada-matic finally malfunctioned. After starting his career a perfect 9-for-9 on field goals, the undrafted rookie missed three of his five tries Sunday, including a 46-yarder in OT that would’ve given New York the lead.
The 22-year-old drilled kicks from 51 and 56 yards in miserable conditions, so it wasn’t all bad. Harbaugh even acknowledged afterward that another attempt from 41 yards wasn’t necessarily a gimme after Zvada’s earlier misses. It’s a rough afternoon for a kid who’s been automatic through four weeks, but I’m not about to panic over one bad game battling the elements.
Loser: Giants' run defense
The G-Men came into Sunday allowing a very league-average 109 rushing yards per game, so naturally, Washington decided to almost double it.
The Commanders finished with 202 yards on 30 carries, averaging a ridiculous 6.7 yards per attempt. Daniels did most of the damage with 103 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt added another 82 yards and a score of his own.
And with the weather practically begging both teams to run the football, you’d think Big Blue would’ve been a little more prepared for what Washington was going to throw at them.
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