Commanders save season with victory Giants let slip away: TNF winners and losers - USA Today

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — The New York Giants were in the NFC East driver's seat entering their "Thursday Night Football" matchup against the Washington Commanders.

They went on cruise control a little too early in this one.

The Commanders stunned the Giants 24-21 on Nov. 12 to keep their season alive and move within two games of the Giants in the loss column. The game turned from a boring, weather-effected affair into more pleasant conditions with better football. And in the end, it was the Commanders who made more plays.

As always, there were winners and losers within the final result. Let's break it down.

The quarterback made plenty of plays, but the current version of this Commanders team needs him to be Superman to win. He missed Stefon Diggs on a crucial fourth down with nine minutes to play in regulation. He made up for it later.

Daniels wants to win above all. Another loss, effectively ending the Commanders’ chances of contention in 2026 – although anything is possible in the NFL – would not sit well with the franchise QB who is eligible for an extension this offseason.

The Washington quarterback did all he could to keep his team competitive despite being the less-talented roster, completing plays like a 30-yard strike to Diggs while rolling to his right and the 1-yard touchdown throw to tight end Ben Sinnott in the second quarter.

Daniels finished 23-of-33 passing for 249 yards and three touchdowns. He began running more in the fourth quarter to pick up yardage and rushed 11 times for 28 yards.

For the duration of the game, Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy peppered Likely with targets. But it was the 11th time he sought his tight end’s services that the magic happened. On third-and-8 with less than nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, McCarthy fired a bullet over the middle. Likely reached behind himself to catch the ball with both hands but somehow didn’t break stride and turned the corner with only the MetLife Stadium turf in front of him.

Likely’s 66-yard touchdown gave the Giants a 21-17 lead, and he finished with nine catches (11 targets) for 127 yards.

The second-year pro showed up to MetLife wearing an “Iron Man” helmet for no apparent reason. That rules. He then ran like he had a rocket suit on, with 60 yards from scrimmage in the first quarter, his first action back since injuring his hamstring Week 7 against the Houston Texans.

Prime Video reported that he threw up on the bench early in the game and was evaluated by the team’s medical staff. He still scored the game’s first touchdown with 2:35 to go before halftime on a 1-yard rush that capped a 16-play drive. In typical Skattebo fashion, he absorbed contact at the line of scrimmage before falling forward and extending the ball over the goal line for the score.

Beyond winning a staring contest with the sky camera, Skattebo scored again in the third quarter on a 13-yard pitch play to the right. He was also a factor in the passing game, with three catches for 44 yards. Skattebo averaged 4.3 yards (18 rushes, 78 yards) per carry and was New York’s primary back as that role continues to revolve week-to-week.

The Commanders kicker started the season 3-for-5 but is since 13-for-14. He opened the game’s scoring with a 46-yard field goal in the second quarter, Stevens’ lone attempt of the game.  

The hurdle over a defender’s outstretched arms is reason enough for the Commanders’ third-year tight end to appear in the winners’ column. But the career night is the real motivation. Sinnott came into the game with one catch for 6 yards this season but finished with four for 42 yards. He caught Daniels’ touchdown pass with five seconds remaining in the first half as the quarterback fell to the ground. 

Sinnott had never had more than 3 catches or 36 receiving yards in a game.

Holland, now in his second season with the Giants, hauled in his career-best fourth interception of the season as Daniels attempted to find Chig Okonkwo for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth.

Washington had a key pass breakup earlier in the game. He finished with six tackles and picked off Daniels with 2:15 remaining and the Giants leading by four.

“Who Let The Dogs Out?” Indeed, Jameis. The backup QB also barked in an effort to get the Commanders to jump offside during a faux fourth-down cadence.

The more severe issue for the Commanders has been the optics. In three games, there have been questionable – at best – game- and clock-management issues. As a head coach that does not call plays on either side of the ball, Quinn has to be more on top of it. He’s dealing with a pair of first-time coordinators, to be fair ... but he also hired them.

Still, Quinn's team had struggled to execute in late-game scenarios all season but found a way to get it done.

For a brief 15-minute window, fall thunderstorms in northern New Jersey almost threatened to push back the 8:15 p.m. local kickoff time. But the storms passed with enough time to spare and players warmed up amid a light rain before it went away for most of the game.

The Giants' offensive coordinator dialed up a run play on third-and-3 when a first down would have iced the game. Instead of running with Skattebo and having fullback Patrick Ricard lead the way, Nagy called on quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was denied a positive rush by Commanders rookie linebacker Sonny Styles. Nagy called a solid game to keep Washington out of its base defense, but being unable to put the Commanders away falls on him.

Not that throwing for a career-high 293 yards deserves to land him here, but he did lose and snapped a six-game winning streak as a starting QB.

Thirty-seven of Nabers’ 44 yards came on one play. His fumble in the third quarter killed a potential scoring drive and he could not come down with a jump ball in the red zone that would have set up a game-tying field goal that was instead intercepted by Rasul Douglas.

The pair of interceptions at the end of the game nearly doomed his team.

Zvada, the Giants’ rookie kicker, may not have his job for long as the team will have a mini-bye to try out potential replacements. The Michigan product started the season 9-for-9 on field goals but has missed six of his last 14 attempts. He was 2-for-5 against Washington during the teams’ first meeting.

After Likely’s go-ahead touchdown, Zvada booted the kickoff out of bounds – although that was also a heads-up play by returner Luke McCaffrey.

Zvada's fellow specialist, punter Jordan Stout, shanked a punt that set up the Commanders’ game-winning touchdown drive.

We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Our editorial recommendations are made independently of that compensation.