New York Giants

With the win, the Giants move up to the sixth seed in the NFC playoff picture and the Commanders drop to seven. Two weeks ago, these two teams played to a 20-20 ...

Not only did New York increases its playoff chances with the win, but for the first time since 2016, it will not have a losing record. The touchdown would have made the score 20-18 with an upcoming two-point conversion attempt. But now, even if they were to lose their remaining three games, the worst that they’ll finish is 8-8-1. Whenever the defense needed to make a play, Thibodeaux was there including late in the game when he kept Heinicke a yard short of the goal line after his scramble. But his two lost fumbles were essentially the difference in the game. Two weeks ago, these two teams played to a 20-20 tie and it seemed destined that this game was heading into overtime as Washington had the ball at Giants’ six-yard line.

On the final defensive play of the game, Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes draped all over Commanders wide receiver Curtis Samuel, causing an incomplete pass and ...

[via The Athletic](https://theathletic.com/3969060/2022/12/04/giants-commanders-tie-brian-daboll/) after that game. The Giants ultimately settled for an overtime tie. That can be seen near the bottom of the above video. But that’s simply not how the cookie crumbled. Not just on his facemask, but through the bars and into his eyes. Many felt as if the Commanders were robbed and the officials were deliberately out to get them.

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."

While Argentina and France were battling to determine who would win the World Cup in Qatar, NFL teams were struggling to make a stand for the playoffs.

Instead, the Raiders picked him off and returned the ball for a TD. They got the ball back and ran it down the field, only to get stopped at the goal line with less than a minute to go. While they were still celebrating the win on Sunday, the Raiders and Pats were giving one of the oddest closing acts of any game. The referees decided he fumbled, and the Giants recovered. They set up a six-play, 91-yard drive that Heinicke capped off with a pass to rookie wide receiver Jahan Dotson in the end zone that put them up 14-9. The

New York Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the ...

Barkley had a number of key runs in the fourth quarter and finished the game with 87 yards on the ground and a touchdown. He showed what he’s capable of doing and the future is really bright for him.” He showed his leadership qualities, showed the type of person he is and it’s every single day. First, Terry McLaurin was called for illegal formation that whipped away a touchdown and it looked as though the Washington receiver had checked in with one of the officials to confirm he was lined up correctly. Thibodeaux finished the night with 12 tackles, three for a loss, a strip sack and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. While Brian Daboll tried to downplay the importance of the game in the lead-up, the Giants’ victory was a significant one.

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.

His 12-tackle (three for loss) game included a strip sack/fumble recovery for a touchdown and a touchdown preventing tackle of Washington quarterback Taylor ...

The Giants surrendered 159 yards rushing on 26 carries, 6.1 yards per rushing attempt. Individually, though, the rookie’s NFL education continued as he had a difficult night against Washington’s Montez Sweat. Darius Slayton — The wide receiver was targeted on Jones’ first two throws, and couldn’t come up with either well-thrown pass. On the Giants’ 97-yard touchdown drive, he had a 10-yard catch on third-and-9 and an 11-yard catch on fourth-and-9. When the Giants needed a ball-control drive to run some clock and put points on the board after Leonard Williams recovered Heinicke’s fumble at the Giants’ 14-yard line, the Giants’ best playmaker delivered. Two Ivy Leaguers, so try to listen to the Ivy Leaguers.” Siam is the Giants’ Director of Football Data & Innovation. Jefferson had two tackles and a pass defensed. There were, of course, some pressures given up but Jones was not under the kind of duress he has often dealt with in recent weeks. Jamie Gillan — The Giants’ punter has been inconsistent all season, but was terrific Sunday night. Daniel Jones went 10 of 12 passing on the drive, converting the previously mentioned completions to James. Most of all, he protected the football.

The New York Giants defeated the Washington Commanders, 20-12, in Week 15 and the Giants Wire team grades reflect that performance.

Daboll’s in-game management definitely could use some work as he needs to improve on managing the clock and made a fourth-down call that looks great in hindsight but was definitely very questionable at the moment. The rest of the Giants’ defense was also getting pressure on Taylor Heinicke as he was sacked a total of three times and hit eight. This showed the heart of this defense as it hopes to continue its season by a week. The fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft had a night as he recorded 12 tackles and three tackles for a loss to go along with his strip sack touchdown. Daniel Jones was not sacked once in this game compared to four times last game which allowed New York to put together long drives that drained the clock and the Washington defense. Jones also passed for only 160 yards on 32 attempts in this match as he failed to really open up this game through the air.

The fifth-overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft is starting to round into the player the Giants hoped to be getting.

For me, I had to say it and believe it, and I was able to do it. I think we were able to execute, and everybody was able to make plays." "It exudes out of how we play. “I was in coverage right there. That 1-yard saved was extremely important, as the Giants defense stood strong and prevented Washington from scoring. An underrated play by Thibodeaux came on the Commanders’ final drive. The former Oregon star suffered a preseason knee injury that forced him to miss the first two games of the regular season. And sometimes, it can take an entire season for a rookie to feel at home. She said it was in her heart to tell me that you can do anything you put your mind to. But with each passing week, Thibodeauz's impact on the games became more evident. It showed in his production. Rookies often have to get used to the game's speed, which many say can take several weeks.

There are a lot of stats you can look at to explain why the Washington Commanders lost to the New York Giants on Sunday night. For me, the following two ...

Each is capable of making game-changing plays – the kind that Kayvon Thibodeaux did to the tune of 12-9-1-3 against the Commanders on Sunday. You can of course point to the two Taylor Heinicke fumbles which more than any other individual plays cost the Commanders the game. Washington went out west and despite being thoroughly outplayed in most aspects of the game, managed a crucial win precisely You can blame the officials for three highly questionable calls, each of which directly resulted in points being scored or being nullified. You can point to Scott Turner’s insistence on running Curtis Samuel out of the backfield when Brian Robinson was chewing up the Giants. For me, the following two sets of numbers are all you really need:

In the Giants Week 15 win over the Commanders, players like Saquon Barkley and Kayvon Thibodeaux were studs while others were duds.

McCloud was primarily responsible for Commanders rookie WR Jahan Dotson in this game, as the young pass-catcher put up four catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. Three seasons removed from his breakout Rookie of the Year campaign, NFL fans — and even some Giants fans — may have forgotten what a difference-make Barkley is when healthy. It’s the fact that every time the Giants needed a first down or big play, Barkley seemed to deliver. The 2022 Giants are a lot different than the previous few seasons’ teams. The Giants walked away with this all-important 20-12 victory, so after that huge win, let’s look at the studs, like [Kayvon Thibodeaux](https://clutchpoints.com/giants-news-f-em-kayvon-thibodeaux-is-tired-of-the-haters-and-disrespect-for-giants) and [Saquon Barkley](https://clutchpoints.com/giants-news-saquon-barkley-breaks-silence-on-contract-extension-talks) (and a few duds) from the Week 15 Giants-Commanders tilt. After missing the first two games of the season with an injury, the former Oregon Duck had 26 tackles, 2.0 sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

The Giants made a few tweaks to what they did the first time against Washington. Coach Gene Clemons has a look at what they did.

The fourth and final stop was the third- and fourth-down incomplete passes on the Giants' 6-yard line. The Giants were not bad on third down in their first matchup with the Commanders. The win gets New York closer to securing their first playoff birth since 2016. In this recent matchup, New York held the Commanders to one-third down conversion on ten attempts. In New York, the Commanders dominated the time of possession 41-29 minutes. The first was after they picked up seven yards on a first-down run. The numbers were very similar to the game in New York. He kicked two field goals and converted two extra points in their first game in New York. At first glance, the only difference was the defensive touchdown scored by rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux on his epic strip sack and fumble recovery. Barkley was able to find the endzone once in both games. That unit played well enough to win both games, so the margins were razor-thin. Kicker Graham Gano, who scored 97 points this season, was also a big factor as he again was the team's leading scorer.