Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders remain in the playoff hunt after Sunday's disappointing 20-12 loss to the New York Giants. At 7-6-1, Washington still holds the ...

The New York Giants snapped a winless skid in Washington with a pivotal victory over the Commanders to take a step closer to the playoffs on Sunday night.

Coming into this week at 7-5-1, the Giants and Commanders were holding on to the final Wild Card spots in the NFC. Massive matchup in the NFC East tonight from the nation’s capital as the Washington Commanders host the New York Giants from FedEx Field. As it stands now all four teams in the NFC East would be in the playoffs, with the Eagles leading the conference with just one loss, the Cowboys at four losses after their defeat to the Jags today, and both NY and Washington at 7-5-1. After review the refs rule Jones was down so the gain of 9 will give the Giants 2nd and 1. We have already seen how little seperates these two teams, and I think 4 points is a lot to give in a divisional match with so much on the line. Barkley to the left side and he gets a yard. That will take us to the halftime break as NY head into the locker room up 14-3. NY leads 14-9 with 8:38 to go in the third quarter. From their own 9 yards line, Heinicke started the drive from with a deep shot to Dotson for a 61 yard gain and a long run from Robinson would put Washington in the red zone. They had 6 plays of 10 yards or more and Taylor Heinicke capped the drive off with this 19 yard strike to Jahan Dotson. The Giants defense kept Taylor Heinicke and the Commanders offense quiet for much of the first half, giving up just a field goal on Washington’s second drive of the game. New York and Washington had played just two weeks before their primetime showdown and settled for a tie in the Meadowlands.

The Washington Commanders were left with a bitter taste of defeat after a controversial finish in Sunday night's 20-12 loss to the New York Giants.

"In order to be deemed legal, he needs to break the beltline, the waist of the center, and he was not breaking the waistline of the center. At the end of the day, I'm just trying to take ownership and make sure it's not close, but it's kind of tough sometimes because if your helmet is leaning over, they may call offsides." "I feel like I was on the ball the entire time if you look through the game I lined up there pretty much every play, so I checked to see I was good the first time and he was like I can move up a little bit," McLaurin said. Now they'll have to fend off a late-season surge by Detroit and Seattle to make the postseason. 7 seed](https://www.nfl.com/standings/playoff-picture) in the NFC. "So when I moved up, I was good and he said I was good. As much as a late flag and subsequent non-call hurt, Washington didn't help itself earlier with mistakes. "I just wanted to make sure that I was good and I felt like I was with his confirmation. That's why the penalty was called, because he was not in a legal formation." "To the officials it didn't rise to what they felt was a restriction, thus they didn't call it. The wideout was slightly off the line of scrimmage, and cameras showed him checking with the ref twice before the snap. It's a judgment call and they didn't believe it was pass interference."

The Washington Commanders' playoff hopes dipped considerably with their 20-12 loss to the New York Giants.

[Washington Commanders](https://www.si.com/nfl/team/washington-football)? An opportunity to get breathing room on Sunday slipped by the wayside for Washington. San Francisco has already clinched the NFC West, is on a seven-game winning streak and has extra time to rest after beating the Seattle Seahawks 21-13 on Thursday Night Football. The 19-yard touchdown made it a one-possession game in the third quarter. On third and goal, Dexter Lawrence sacked Heinicke, and the Giants recovered the fumble. On the two-point conversion, an offensive pass interference call on Dotson forced Joey Slye to attempt a 43-yard field goal, and he missed.

Dotson, who also had a 19-yard touchdown catch, finished with four receptions for a career-high 105 yards. His six receiving touchdowns trail Terry McLaurin (7) ...

Heinicke lost a second fumble in the red zone in the fourth quarter. Rookie edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux gave the Giants a 7-3 lead in the second quarter with a strip sack and fumble recovery for a touchdown. [performed ](https://twitter.com/Sam4TR/status/1604625844936314882)their [“Commanders Song”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/commanders-song-left-hand-up/?itid=lk_inline_manual_16) on the concourse before kickoff. In the second quarter, as part of its 18-play, 97-yard touchdown drive, the Giants converted on fourth and nine from the Washington 35-yard line. “The Giants should’ve won the first game.” Washington had a week off after its tie with the Giants at MetLife Stadium two weeks ago, while New York got walloped by the division-leading Philadelphia Eagles. Way led all punters in Pro Bowl fan voting, and for good reason. That said, Curtis Samuel was absolutely mauled by Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes on the fourth-down incompletion by Heinicke that sealed Washington’s fate. It was the Giants’ first double-digit halftime lead in 30 games, which was In a ceremony shown on the video board between the first and second quarters, a group of local teenagers representing the Chabad Teen Network [lit a football-themed menorah](https://www.instagram.com/p/CmVaEicvZyl/) at the stadium to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. Washington advanced as far as the New York 31-yard line on its opening drive, a methodical 10-play march that featured a heavy dose of rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. The Commanders crossed midfield three of the first four times they touched the ball, but managed only three points on those possessions.