The New York Giants could have easily been 3-2 after Week 5 in what could have been the most disastrous loss of the season. Maybe it wouldn't have gone as poorly as one of their many late game collapses from last season, but it would have been up there. Instead, the Giants need to give a massive assist for their 27-27 tie to Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.
So how could Daniels have helped the Giants to a tie, despite accounting for two touchdowns and not recording a single turnover? Well, it was what the third-year quarterback did at the end of overtime.
The Commanders were able to get into prime field goal range a couple of plays after Giants running back Cam Skattebo had a costly fumble. All the Commanders had to do was spike the football to stop the clock and go for the win. Instead, Daniels scrambled up field, only to get tackled by multiple Giants defenders. Then, Daniels took his time getting up with the clock ticking. Sure enough, the Commanders couldn't line up on time to spike the ball. That allowed the Giants to escape with a 27-27 tie.
It was a truly baffling moment, undoubtedly, for Commanders fans. As it turns out, the Giants were just as shocked that Daniels and head coach Dan Quinn botched the end of overtime.
John Harbaugh and Giants were shocked by Commanders end of overtime botch
After the game, Giants head coach John Harbaugh was asked about the Commanders' end-of-overtime botch. Harbaugh admitted that he was surprised by what transpired, and admitted he ran halfway down the field because he was afraid the NFL would take the tie away from them.
"I was surprised," said Harbaugh. "I was surprised, I can't say that I wasn't. It was a pretty shocking ending."
Considering that Harbaugh has been an NFL head coach for nearly 20 years, the fact he was surprised by the end of the game is saying something.
Harbaugh wasn't that exact same sentiment. Giants defensive lineman Abdul Carter, who had another strong outing, said he was "shocked" by the Commanders not realizing they didn't have much time left to line up and try to kick a game-winning field goal.
"I saw the clock wind down, there was like two or three seconds left. I'm like, 'alright, they're going to get a snap.' Then I seen they were still laying on the ground. It was like, 'oh. Game over,'" said Carter, h/t SNY.
Skattebo, whose fumble nearly handed the Commanders a win, admitted that Daniels being unaware of the lack of timeouts remaining was a "sigh of relief" for him.
"I probably won't get reamed as much, but I'm still going to get reamed," said Skattebo. "At the end of the day, my number was called, I gae the ball up. If that happens again this year, I promise you it won't happen."
If Washington had kicked the game-winning field goal, Skattebo would have been the goat of the game, and not the good kind of goat. Considering Skattebo didn't generate much on the ground until the end of the game and in overtime,
Giants bailed out to remain ahead of NFC East foes for first place
If there was one thing the Giants of the past decade knew what to do, it was how to lose games late. If Daniels knew how much time he had left in overtime, clocked the football and allowed the team to kick the field goal, the Giants easily lost that game. Luckily for the Giants, a collective brain fart from the Commanders ensured they remained more than a game ahead of their foes for first place in the NFC East.
Earlier on Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles botched a kickoff late in the fourth quarter after taking a 17-16 lead, and allowed the Jacksonville Jaguars to kick a walk-off, 59-yard field goal. The Eagles are now 2-3 on the season.
Then, there were the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, where they faced a winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers team, and got decisively embarrassed. The Cowboys turned the ball over three times, and lost 24-16 to the Buccaneers to fall to 2-3 on the year.
The Giants are 3-1-1 now, and are officially a game-and-a-half ahead of the Cowboys and Eagles. As for the Commanders, they are 2.5 games back after falling to 1-2-1. Considering how things could have ended, this was a good scenario. Sure, a win would have been better, but considering the circumstances that took place in overtime, a tie is more than fine.
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