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Major Takeaways
- Jayden Daniels threw his first two interceptions of the season in the final six minutes, then threw the winning touchdown with 57 seconds left.
- Stefon Diggs caught the winning score, the 80th touchdown reception of his career, and finished with six catches for 83 yards.
- Washington improved to three wins, five losses and one tie, moved two games behind the Giants, and now owns the season tiebreaker.
- Rasul Douglas intercepted J.J. McCarthy in the final minute to seal the 24 to 21 win at MetLife Stadium.
Jayden Daniels gave the game away twice in the final six minutes on Thursday night. Then he took it back.
The Washington quarterback hit Stefon Diggs for a 32 yard touchdown with 57 seconds left, and the Commanders beat the New York Giants 24 to 21 at MetLife Stadium.
The win was close to a season saver for Washington. The Commanders improved to three wins, five losses and one tie.
They now sit two games behind the first place Giants in the NFC East. They also own the tiebreaker after the teams tied 27 all last month.
Jayden Daniels on the move in a Washington road game. Photo: All Pro Reels via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY SA 4.0
Two Interceptions Nearly Ended the Night
Daniels had protected the ball all season. His first interception of the year came on his 208th pass attempt.
Jevon Holland picked him off at the two yard line with 5:31 left. The play ended a drive that had reached the Giants 24.
The next possession ended the same way. Daniels forced a fourth and two throw toward Chig Okonkwo, and Ar’Darius Washington intercepted it near midfield.
Two straight drives with the game on the line had produced two turnovers. The season was sliding away in real time.
Daniels refused to carry the mistakes into the final drive. “You could mess up the whole game but still have a chance to win,” he said.
Tight end Ben Sinnott said the moment felt familiar. “We felt it,” Sinnott said.
“Being able to get another opportunity with the ball in our hands to go win it, it definitely took me back to that season,” Sinnott said. He was remembering the comeback magic of the Daniels rookie season in 2024.
The Defense Kept Handing Him Chances
Twice, the Giants needed one first down to end the conversation. Twice, the Washington defense refused to allow it.
Rookie linebacker Sonny Styles led Washington with 13 tackles. His most valuable work came after the turnovers.
With New York backed up at its own 11, Styles and Deatrich Wise stopped a Jameis Winston sneak on third and one. The first down ruling on the field was reversed after a Washington challenge.
Wise kept his explanation short. “Because I stopped him,” he said.
After the second interception, Styles dropped J.J. McCarthy for a two yard loss on third and three. Daniels got the ball back at his own 29 with 1:46 left.
The defense had already stolen one scoring chance earlier. Late in the third quarter, Malik Nabers reached the Washington 16 before Frankie Luvu punched the ball out and Jeremy Reaves recovered it.
Diggs Delivers the Moment Washington Paid For
A pass interference call on a throw toward Treylon Burks moved Washington into Giants territory and set up the finish.
On third and four from the Giants 32, Diggs beat his man at the line. Daniels found him, and Diggs fell backward into the end zone with the lead.
The catch was the 80th touchdown reception of his career. Diggs is only the 30th player in league history to reach that mark.
Stefon Diggs in an earlier season file photo. Photo: Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY SA 2.0
Diggs finished with six catches for 83 yards on ten targets. One week after Washington struggled to find him, the season turned on him.
Rasul Douglas finished the job on defense. He intercepted McCarthy in the final minute on a deep throw toward Nabers, and the home fans headed for the exits.
Rasul Douglas, right, in an earlier season file photo. Photo: All Pro Reels via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY SA 2.0
McCarthy Played Well Enough to Win
J.J. McCarthy threw for a career high 293 yards. It was his first home start for New York since arriving in a late September trade from Minnesota.
Isaiah Likely caught nine passes for 127 yards. His 66 yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter gave the Giants a 21 to 17 lead.
Cam Skattebo ran into the end zone twice. New York outgained Washington 399 yards to 340 on the night.
None of it held up. Rookie kicker Dominic Zvada missed a 33 yard field goal wide left, his sixth miss in nine games.
Coach John Harbaugh stood by his kicker afterward. “You can’t start firing guys left and right,” Harbaugh said. “I believe in him. He’s going to make kicks for us.”
Harbaugh called the loss a missed opportunity for his team. He also said a lot of football remains, and he is right on both counts.
A Young Black Quarterback Refused to Fold
This is the part the box score cannot hold. A young Black franchise quarterback threw the two worst passes of his season with everything on the line, on the road, in the biggest media market in the league.
Then he asked for the ball again and won the game.
Black quarterbacks have always been judged on a shorter leash in this league. One bad night in primetime can follow a man for years and shape how a city talks about him.
Daniels answered that pressure with the drive of his season. He gave Washington the lead three different times on Thursday night, and the last one counted.
“It just gives you confidence we can go out there and compete and we can close out a game versus the top dog,” Daniels said.
The decisive plays kept coming from Black players on both rosters. Diggs caught the winner, and Douglas sealed it.
Holland and Ar’Darius Washington forced the turnovers that nearly flipped the night the other way. The biggest moments in the NFC East belong to the brothers now, and the standard they are held to keeps rising with them.
Daniels is unbeaten against the Giants in his career, with four wins and one tie in five meetings. Thursday was the hardest one yet, and it may end up meaning the most.
What Comes Next
Washington also found answers it has needed for weeks. Sinnott entered the night with one catch all season and caught four passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Antonio Williams caught two passes for 42 yards and a score of his own. Drew Stevens added a 46 yard field goal.
Washington tight end Chig Okonkwo left in the second quarter with a back injury and returned after halftime. Giants safety Jason Pinnock left with a back injury early in the third quarter.
Washington hosts the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, November 23. The Giants stay home to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, November 22.
The division race is suddenly alive. The Giants still lead it, but they let a chance to bury Washington slip away in their own building.
More football coverage lives in our Sports section and our Football section, including the Daiyan Henley trade collapse from earlier this week.
For one night, the Commanders season is alive because their quarterback refused to let his worst six minutes become the story.
