As the remnants of Hurricane Isaias made their way up the East Coast, the 3-1 New York Giants battled the elements in a wet and windy NFC East divisional matchup against the 1-3 Washington Commanders on the road in Landover, Md.
The game was about as ugly as the weather for most of the afternoon, with the G-Men struggling to get much of anything going offensively before Jameis Winston apparently decided he’d had enough. Trailing 27-13 in the fourth quarter, New York scored two unanswered touchdowns to tie things up at 27 with 1:43 remaining and force overtime.
And then things went off the rails like you wouldn't believe.
Rookie kicker Dominic Zvada missed a 46-yard field goal in OT, running back Cam Skattebo lost a fumble, and Commanders QB Jayden Daniels somehow let the clock expire with Washington sitting at the Giants’ 24-yard line and no timeouts remaining. After all of that, the two NFC East rivals walked away with a 27-27 tie.
The result puts New York at 3-1-1, still alone atop the NFC East after Dallas and Philadelphia both lost this weekend. It’s obviously not the 4-1 start Giants fans were hoping for, but considering how close the G-Men came to losing this game on multiple occasions, I guess we'll take the tie and move on.
Here are seven things that stood out from one of the strangest Giants games we’ve watched in a while.
7 instant reactions to Giants’ nutty 27-27 Week 5 tie with the Commanders
John Harbaugh’s Giants apparently don’t know how to quit
In years past, going down 14 points in the fourth quarter would’ve been enough for the G-Men to start packing their bags. But that’s becoming one of the more noticeable differences under John Harbaugh. He’s a 60-minute football guy who’s going to hold everyone accountable, and quitting early isn’t going to fly.
The G-Men had absolutely no business winning this game for most of the afternoon, but they kept fighting long enough to give themselves a chance. After going 0-2 in overtime last season, escaping Sunday with a tie feels like a small step in the right direction under Harbaugh.
Cam Skattebo got his 15 touches, alright
Coming into the game, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy apparently wanted his RB1 to get at least 15 touches against the Commies, according to the broadcast. Before kickoff, Skatt even jokingly told reporters he’d told his offensive coordinator, “Just give me the ball, and we’ll be fine.”
Well, Nagy got his wish, although I’m guessing he had something a little different in mind.
The human-sized fire hydrant got four carries on the opening drive, resulting in a whopping five yards. Things eventually improved, with Skatt finishing with 59 rushing yards on 13 carries and another 12 yards on two receptions.
Unfortunately, his 15th touch came with 1:55 remaining in overtime, when the second-year back coughed up the football at Washington’s 24-yard line and gave the Commies another opportunity to win. So much for “just give me the ball, and we’ll be fine.”
Dominic Zvada is human, after all
After four weeks of flawless play, Big Blue’s undrafted rookie kicker finally missed a kick. And then another. And then one more in overtime, because apparently Sunday wasn’t stressful enough already.
The 22-year-old missed from 50 and 57 yards in regulation before coming up empty on a 46-yarder in OT. He did make two other field goals from 51 and 56 yards, along with all three extra points, adding nine points to his Giants rookie single-season scoring quest.
Zvada-matic is now sitting at 41 points through five games, but this one is going to sting. The Giants fought all the way back from a 14-point deficit, and their previously automatic kicker had a chance to put them ahead in overtime.
I’m not about to turn on the kid after one rough afternoon kicking through this nonsense, but that’s a kick he’d love to have back.
Matt Nagy's play-calling is becoming a problem
When Harbaugh chose Nagy to be his offensive coordinator earlier in the offseason, the decision was met with understandable criticism. He’d struggled as the Bears’ head coach and won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs as their OC, but Andy Reid was calling the plays.
For most of Sunday, Nagy looked determined to establish the run regardless of whether it was actually working.
No one: "It's first-and-10."
Matt Nagy: "Run it up the middle for a two-yard gain."
No one (again): "It's now second-and-eight."
Matt Nagy: "Run it again." Two more yards. "Again!"
It was like instead of watching the game, the broadcast aired Kurt Russell playing Herb Brooks in Miracle:
It’s hard to fault the game plan entirely, considering the Giants were playing through some pretty unruly weather. But committing to a ground game that was going nowhere for the sake of it was clearly the wrong call.
The G-Men eventually figured out how to move the football once Nagy let Winston start throwing it around. And considering Famous Jameis finished with 326 passing yards and three touchdowns, it’s fair to wonder why it took a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to start letting him cook.
Famous Jameis nearly pulled off an all-time comeback
For a guy who spent most of the first half looking like he was playing in a different weather system than everyone else, Winston sure figured things out when it mattered.
The 32-year-old finished 33-of-54 for 326 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions (he did have a fumble). He connected with Isaiah Likely twice for scores before finding Malik Nabers for another, helping New York erase a two-touchdown fourth-quarter deficit.
Nabers continued looking like his old self with 11 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, while Likely hauled in 11 passes for 94 yards and two scores. That’s 22 catches between the two, and the Giants desperately needed every one of them.
For all the criticism Winston gets for his turnovers, he gave New York every opportunity to win Sunday. Unfortunately, the rest of the team couldn’t finish the job.
Giants' J.J. McCarthy package needs some tweaking
McCarthy made his Giants debut Sunday, and let’s just say Nagy has some work to do with whatever he’s cooking up for No. 18:
- A jet sweep to Darnell Mooney went for -5 yards (got bailed out with a 15-yard defensive personal foul facemask penalty).
- A screen pass to Malik Nabers went for 14 yards, but was brought back following an illegal shift penalty on Isaiah Likely and Mooney.
- A designed QB run up the middle for no gain.
The 23-year-old did manage to eke out a two-yard run on his fourth snap under center, so at least there’s progress, right?
Expectations should obviously be managed with the former top-10 pick. He flamed out in Minnesota for a reason, and he’s only been with the G-Men for a couple of weeks. Expecting him to come in and succeed immediately would be horrifically unrealistic, but this wasn’t exactly the most encouraging debut, either.
Giants’ run defense got absolutely worked
For a Giants defense that came into Sunday allowing a respectable 109 rushing yards per game, giving up 202 yards on the ground to Washington wasn’t exactly what anyone had hoped for. The Commies averaged an infuriating 6.7 yards per carry, with quarterback Jayden Daniels doing most of the damage.
The 25-year-old ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries, while Jacory Croskey-Merritt added another 82 yards and a score. Big Blue had no answer for either of them. Fortunately, Daniels' final run of the game ran the clock out before they could attempt a game-winning field goal, so not all of his rushes were tough to watch.
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