There is no doubt that emotions are running high following the New York Giants' brutal 24-21 loss against the Commanders on Thursday. It was a vintage Giants performance; on paper, this is a game they absolutely should've won, but a brutal choke job and bad play-calling sold them in the end.
With a win, New York would have truly been in the driver's seat for the NFC East title, and now the Cowboys are right back on their heels. It's frustrating and hard to find silver linings when we had every chance to win, but there is one standout performer who makes the loss sting a little bit less.
And I'm not referring to Isaiah Likely, but another ex-Raven: Ar'Darius Washington. It may have gotten lost in the shuffle of the end result, but Washington was making plays. He nabbed what should've been the game-sealing interception of Jayden Daniels on fourth down, but on the play before that, he made a nice play to stop Chig Okonkwo short of the line to gain.
He also amassed seven tackles, two PBUs, and that aforementioned pick in Week 10. The guy was straight-up making plays out there. So, as if there was any debate about who deserves to be the second safety next to Jevon Holland for the rest of the year, I think that should be all but over now.
Giants' Ar'Darius Washington confirmed he'll keep starting over Tyler Nubin going forward
There has been a lot of widespread debate about whether Washington or Tyler Nubin should be the starter, and it seems now we have our answer. While Nubin has underperformed and has consistently failed to live up to the billing as a former second-round pick, he's all but lost this job to the veteran.
While the 27-year-old played 54 defensive snaps in the Week 10 loss, Nubin played just one defensive snap. You read that right. This would be one thing if the snaps were relatively even, but he dominated him in snap share to the point where he may not even be in the rotation for much longer.
Nubin saw less snaps than Jason Pinnock, who played 15 snaps in Week 10. But regardless, that doesn't matter, as Washington played 78.2% of the defensive snaps--and after a performance like this, Harbaugh and Dennard Wilson are going to ensure this number is sustained down the stretch.
According to Pro Football Focus, his 89.9 PFF grade in Week 10 led the team. Better than Arvell Reese. Better than Abdul Carter. Even better than his running mate Jevon Holland. So it's safe to say Big Blue has found a gem in this kid--and one they would be foolish to not exploit going forward.
Washington was another one who followed John Harbaugh from Baltimore this offseason, and just like Likely, he had a big game in Week 10--and Big Blue may have found a gem in him too. He pretty much morphed into Ed Reed in the fourth quarter, and it's a shame the Giants couldn't hold on.
The G-Men merely brought in Ar'Darius Washington to compete with Tyler Nubin, not expecting him to run away with the job in the way he has, but I don't think anyone is complaining.
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