The Washington Commanders missed a prime opportunity to improve to 8-5 on the season and move one step closer to their first 10-win season since 2012 on Sunday by tying with the New York Giants 20-20 at the Meadowlands.
The Commanders jumped out to an early lead and looked like they could have a big day, but the Giants quickly tied the game at 10. Each team would exchange field goals to go into halftime deadlocked at 13.
The Giants appeared to take control in the third quarter. Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke was sacked and fumbled, giving the Giants terrific field position. A few plays later, the Giants scored and took a 20-13 lead.
Everything was going against Washington at this point, including running back Antonio Gibson bobbling a kick return giving the Commanders terrible field position. Washington slowly put together a good drive until two penalties, and a sack ended yet another drive.
The Commanders tied the game late in the fourth quarter on a Jahan Dotson touchdown. However, both teams couldn’t put the other away in the final moments of the fourth quarter and overtime.
Here are five takeaways from Washington’s Week 13 tie with the Giants.
Taylor Heinicke's inaccuracy cost the Commanders
When you go back and watch Washington’s tie with the Giants, you’ll see multiple times where the Commanders left points on the field. Most will blame quarterback Taylor Heinicke, but that’s entirely fair. Playcalling, mistakes and officiating hurt Washington’s offense.
Heinicke made some terrific throws in the game, but his inaccuracy hurt Washington on more than one occasion. I counted at least four times where Heinicke overthrew a receiver. He somehow missed tight end Logan Thomas inside the five-yard line by overthrowing the 6-foot-6 Thomas. He had other opportunities in the middle of the field, but the ball sailed over the heads of his wide receivers.
Heinicke was sensational on Washington’s fourth-quarter drive to tie the game.
Pass protection again an issue
Washington’s pass protection had improved in recent weeks but fell apart again on Sunday against the Giants. The offensive line hadn’t given up a sack since Week 10. The Commanders allowed five sacks and Heinicke was hit 10 times. There were times he bailed out the protection by making nice plays, like this one on a touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin.
Heinicke’s mobility often bails out the protection and did at times on Sunday, but the entire line seemed to have issues in protection against the Giants.
Injuries mounting
The Commanders had several players go down with injuries against the Giants. Here’s a list.
- DT Jonathan Allen: He left and returned.
- DE Montez Sweat: Being evaluated for a concussion, did not return
- G Sam Cosmi: Ankle injury, did not return
- C Tyler Larsen: Carted off in the 4th quarter with a leg injury.
The week off comes at the perfect time, but it likely doesn’t help Larsen. Larsen’s injury appears the most serious and is a shame considering his season was cut short due to injury in 2021. Larsen had been playing well at center.
Officiating was horrendous
The Giants can complain about a flag against center Jon Feliciano all they want, but the Commanders received the short end of the stick multiple times Sunday. We’ll have a separate story on that. The missed pass interference on Terry McLaurin inside the five-yard line was a huge miss. It may have cost the Commanders four points. When you watch games like this and see calls and missed calls that are so blatant, it’s no wonder fans are frustrated and complaining about officiating.
Commanders defense shut down the Giants after halftime
Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley combined for 116 rushing yards in the first half. By the end of overtime, Barkley had carried the ball 18 times for 63 yards, and Jones finished with 12 carries for 71 yards. The Giants ran for 18 yards in the second half and overtime. New York was having success picking on rookie cornerback Christian Holmes, who the Commanders benched and replaced with veteran Danny Johnson. Johnson played well.
Washington’s defense gave the team a chance to win in the second half, but unfortunately, the Commanders came up short. Jones literally completed one pass down the field the entire game. A prayer to Darius Slayton with Holmes in coverage. Jones hurts Washington because of his ability to run. Outside of that, there is nothing special about his game.
