The Giants and Commanders finished regulation and overtime deadlocked Sunday, settling for a 27-27 tie after a string of late mistakes on both sides.
It was the second tie for the two teams in three seasons. Washington had built a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter before quarterback Jameis Winston led New York back to force overtime.
In the extra period, the Giants appeared poised to run out the clock and attempt a game-winning kick with less than two minutes left, but running back Cam Skattebo fumbled, handing the ball back to Washington.
The Commanders then drove into position for their own potential game-winner. Jayden Daniels, who ran for 103 yards on the day, moved Washington to the Giants’ 24-yard line with 12 seconds remaining. But facing second-and-8 with no timeouts left, Daniels scrambled for no gain, and the Commanders could not get a play off to spike the ball before time expired, eliminating any chance at a field-goal attempt.
Skattebo accepted blame for his fumble after the game. “At the end of the day I have to take care of the ball,” he said. “I gotta hold on to the ball and make sure these guys know that when my name’s called, we’re gonna be okay.”
Washington coach Dan Quinn slammed his headset down in frustration as the clock ran out, and he later took responsibility for the final sequence. “The sequencing of that does not fall on [Jayden] … I haven’t spoken to him but that one’s on me. We don’t need to put him in that space,” Quinn said, adding, “The tie feels like a loss.”
Daniels also took blame for the costly final play. “We gotta relay that as a offense, it starts from everybody top down. Ultimately, it’s on me,” he said.
Commanders part-owner Magic Johnson weighed in on social media afterward. “I’m in total disbelief my Commanders had such poor clock management in today’s overtime game against the Giants. All we had to do was kick the field goal and we would have won the game!” he wrote.
The result capped a rough week for the NFC East, as neither the Cowboys, who lost Thursday, nor the Eagles, who fell earlier Sunday, were able to take advantage of the Giants-Commanders stalemate.
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