The first meeting of the season between the New York Giants and Washington Commanders ended in bizarre fashion, resulting in the lone tie of the NFL season through nine weeks.
The squads get together for a rematch Thursday night and each will be looking to pick up a victory this time around when the Commanders visit the Giants in East Rutherford, N.J.
The contest on Oct. 11 ended in a 27-27 tie after Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels didn’t throw the ball on a called pass play and was tackled inbounds with eight seconds left and the Commanders in field-goal range. Washington had no timeouts remaining and was unable to line up and spike the ball before time expired.
New York scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to overcome a 14-point deficit and tie the contest, but in overtime, Dominic Zvada missed a 46-yard field goal attempt and Cam Skattebo fumbled at the Washington 24-yard line, with Commanders defensive tackle Shy Tuttle recovering the ball.
Giants receiver Malik Nabers said the missed opportunities have heightened the urgency of the rematch.
“We want to go 1-0 but this game is more than 1-0. It’s 2-0, just because the last game ended out in a tie that we should have had,” he said. “So, both of us are fighting to get this game. We’re trying to go 2-0 since we finished off in a tie last time, which we should have won.”
The Giants (5-2-1) reside in first in the NFC East, while the Commanders (2-5-1) are in third place. The urgency is there for Washington, too; Daniels termed this week’s game as a “must-win.”
Washington is 1-3-1 in its past five games, including Sunday’s 20-13 home loss against the Los Angeles Rams. But Commanders coach Dan Quinn doesn’t want the “must-win” label affixed to the contest.
“I think everyone in this building understands that, so I’m not big on declarations,” Quinn said, “but I think everybody here knows the importance of this game Thursday night and our readiness to go battle the division leaders at their spot. So, yeah, we all know how badly we need this.”
Daniels passed for 274 yards and one touchdown against the Rams. In last month’s game against New York, he passed for 199 yards and rushed for a season-high 103 yards and two touchdowns.
The third-year pro said he learned a lot about the Giants in the first matchup.
“We know the Giants, they have a lot of good athletic players that they like to get in the mix and blitz and try to create mismatches,” Daniels said. “We just have to prepare for that.”
New York is fresh off consecutive road victories over the Houston Texans (27-21 in overtime) and Philadelphia Eagles (19-11) and is beginning a stretch of four games in six at home.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy suffered a hip injury in the win over Philadelphia, but he said Tuesday he will play against the Commanders.
McCarthy also will be making his first home start since being acquired from the Minnesota Vikings in September.
“I haven’t thought about it until now, but I’m just so blessed to be a part of this team,” McCarthy said. “… At the end of the day, it’s running out there to do my job at a high level and go get a win on Thursday night. That’s the only thing I care about.”
Giants coach John Harbaugh said that Skattebo (hamstring) should return for Thursday’s game. Skattebo, McCarthy, Nabers (knee) and left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) were full participants in Tuesday’s walkthrough.
Washington also didn’t practice Tuesday, and its injury report estimated that Tuttle (shoulder) and cornerback Amik Robertson (ankle) were full participants while receiver Treylon Burks (foot) was limited.
The Commanders defeated the Giants four straight times prior to the tie.