The highlight package will be a little less thrilling than last week’s, but the Commanders will take Sunday’s result over the Giants just the same.
No Hail Marys were needed as Jayden Daniels threw two touchdowns to Terry McLaurin in the first half to stake the Commanders to a 21-7 lead. They couldn’t find their way back to the end zone in the final 30 minutes and they gave the Giants a chance to get back into the game, but they ultimately slammed the door for a 27-22 win.
After a Daniel Jones touchdown run moved the Giants within five points with under three minutes to play, Daniels hit wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus for a 42-yard gain on first down. The Commanders picked up two more first downs from there and then kneeled out the remaining time on the clock.
Daniels was 15-of-22 for 209 yards and the Commanders got 114 yards from Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols, and Chris Rodriguez in a backfield that was missing Brian Robinson. While that didn’t lead to touchdowns after halftime, it did lead to two field goal drives that took up 21 plays and ate up nearly 11 minutes of playing time.
The Giants also had some long drives, but their inability to generate explosive plays continues to be a major issue. They ran for 142 yards in the first half, but Daniel Jones had zero passing yards and lost a fumble to mitigate the positives from the ground game. Jones threw for 174 yards in the second half, but the Giants’ inability to get the ball back to the offense illustrates that they aren’t built to come from behind.
The 2-7 Giants will travel to Germany to face Carolina in Week 10 and that game looks like it will have a lot of impact on the top of the draft order come next April. For the first time in many years, the Commanders have their eyes on bigger things and their bid to get to 8-2 against the Steelers will be a marquee matchup in Week 10.
