Giants defense gets 20-20 tie against division rival Washington Commanders

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Neither the Giants or the Washington Commanders deserved to win on Sunday. And neither did.

Graham Gano’s 58-yard field goal try fell woefully short at the buzzer of a 20-20 overtime tie between the NFC East rivals that are battling for a playoff spot.

The Giants (7-4-1) and Commanders (7-5-1) will meet in a rematch in two weeks in Landover, Md.

Daniel Jones hit Richie James for a 14-yard completion to Washington’s 43-yard line with 16 seconds to play, but the Giants managed only three more yards the next two plays before Gano’s short kick.

Taylor Heinicke drove Washington 90 yards in eight plays for a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson that tied the game with 1:45 to play in regulation. A wild 20-yard completion to Curtis Samuel on 4th and 4 from the Washington 27 kept the game alive.

The Giants’ offense managed nothing down the stretch of regulation and went 4-and-out on the opening drive of overtime. But the defense held up against Ron Rivera’s conservative play-calling once the Commanders crossed midfield and forced the punt.

The Giants drove to 4th and 3 at the Commanders’ 45-yard line, but rather than kicking a 62-yard field goal or going for it, Daboll took a delay of game penalty and punted.

Daboll was coaching like he was grateful to be tied. Azeez Ojulari sacked Heinicke, forcing a fumble and recovery on Washington’s opening drive of the second half. That set up a Jones 6-yard TD pass to Isaiah Hodgins for the 20-13 lead.

Then the Giants’ offense completely shut down and put all the pressure on the defense. Washington had the ball almost the entire second half. Saquon Barkley mostly was a shell of himself.

Giants D-linemen Jihad Ward and Dexter Lawrence obliged with sacks that snuffed out Commanders drives. Ojulari continued to terrorize Heinicke, and Washington kicker Joey Slye missed a 52-yard field goal wide right in the early fourth.

But the offense could manage nothing, with a Jon Feliciano taunting penalty and a Darius Slayton drop helping to kill their final two meaningful drives of regulation. Daboll actually knelt on the ball with 13 seconds left deep in his own territory with three timeouts to send it to OT.

The Giants will stay at home and host the first-place Philadelphia Eagles next week, then travel south for their rematch with Washington.

They’ll hope to have the ball more next time they play. Washington controlled possession for 41:11 to the Giants’ 28:49.

Sunday’s game was the first tie between the two teams since a 7-7 draw at Washington on Nov. 23, 1997. It was the first tie between the teams in the Giants’ home stadium since a 24-24 draw on Oct. 16, 1960.

The Giants were fortunate to be even with Washington, 13-13, at halftime.

Heinicke overthrew wide open tight end Logan Thomas on a sure touchdown on the Commanders’ first drive after Jones fumbled away his second carry near midfield on the Giants’ game-opening possession.

Washington settled for a Slye field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Then, with Washington up 10-3 after a 19-yard Terry McLaurin TD reception and a 48-yard Gano field goal, Rivera punted on 4th and short from his own 34 yard line with the Giants defense on the ropes.

Slayton promptly hauled in a 55-yard bomb from Jones down the left sideline, and Barkley punched in a 13-yard TD run to tie the game.

Jones was excellent after his early lost fumble. He completed 10-of-11 first-half passes for 97 yards and rushed eight times for 56 yards before halftime.

After Slye put the Commanders back up, 13-10, Jones drove the Giants into the red zone, but Daboll strangely ran the ball on 3rd and 1 at the Washington 11-yard line with 19 seconds remaining and no timeouts.

Without taking a shot at the end zone, Jones gained the first down with a QB run, then spiked the ball for his only first half incompletion to set up Gano’s second field goal for the tie.

The Commanders got a hand on the field goal attempt but it still went through.