‘Kudos and Wet Willies’ review: Giants-Commanders winners and losers

Who played well, who didn’t, and what is next for the 2-7 Giants

What happens now for the 2-7 New York Giants?

First comes a trade deadline that is likely to see the Giants shed at leats one player, Azeez Ojulari, for draft capital. Then a trip to Germany to face the also 2-7 Carolina Panthers, who upset the New Orleans Saints 23-22 on Sunday. Next comes a bye week.

After that?

Maybe a different quarterback. Maybe other changes. What we know for sure is that the next eight games will mark yet another year of the Giants just playing out the string in games that don’t matter in the standings. There was a lot of soul-searching in the locker room after the game, including a quiet pow-wow between defensive stars Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence that both players declined to discuss with media.

What is next for us, of course, is our ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ review of Sunday’s game. Let’s get to it.

Kudos to …

Tyrone Tracy — The rookie continued to impress with 16 carries for 66 yards. The Giants’ running game probably deserves an overall ‘Kudos.’ The Giants ran 21 times for 142 yards, 6.8 yards per attempt. Daniel Jones had seven carries for 54 yards, Devin Singletary seven carries for 33 yards, and Darius Slayton contributed an 11-yard run.

Jude McAtamney — Props to the kid for making all of his kicks in his NFL debut. McAtamney made a 31-yard field goal and three extra points, getting the Giants through the game without a placekicker nightmare. Good for him.

Chris Manhertz — After losing a touchdown Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to an illegal shift penalty on Malik Nabers, Manhertz caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Jones on Sunday. It wasn’t an easy grab, either, with Manhertz having to leap over a defender for it. The touchdown was just the third for Manhertz, a blocking tight end, in his nine-year career.

Malik Nabers — The rookie caught nine passes for 59 yards, all in the second half. Nabers has 55 receptions this season. He is the second player in NFL history with at least 50 receptions in his first seven career games; Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles had 58 in seven games last season.

Daniel Jones — I know, I know, I know, I know. Jones had 0 passing yards in the first half, an oddity that had more to do with the flow of the game than him doing anything wrong. He also had a fumble that led to Washington’s first touchdown. Overall, though, this could be considered Jones’ finest performance of the season.

Jones threw two touchdown passes, his first at MetLife Stadium since Jan. 1 of 2023, the 2022 season finale. He would have had a third if not for a questionable offensive pass interference call on Darius Slayton on a phantom pick.

Jones went just 4 of 6 in the first half as the Giants relied on the ground game. He went 16 of 20 for 174 yards in the second half. He led the Giants on long drives for scores on all three second-half possessions, throwing a touchdown pass and running over two Washington defenders for a rushing touchdown of his own.

Jones ran seven times for 54 yards, displaying his usual toughness. He finished with a season-best 119.7 passer rating. In its initial review, Pro Football Focus gave Jones an elite 90.9 grades.

I fully understand that Jones’ long-term body of work hasn’t been good enough, and that his time as the Giants’ starting quarterback is almost certainly running out. When he plays as well as he did on Sunday, though, he should be recognized for it.

Wet Willies to …

Tae Banks — The 2023 first-round pick did not have the bounce back game the Giants hoped for coming of his Monday night benching. He gave up two touchdown passes to Washington’s Terry McLaurin. The first was a 1-yard slant, a play we have seen Banks beaten on at the goal line before. The second an 18-yard pass on which Banks bit on an inside fake.

Banks is not measuring up as the Giants’ No. 1 cornerback.

Defense — On a day where the offense did enough to give the Giants a chance to win, the defense did not hold up its end of the bargain.

• Three times the defense allowed long drives for points immediately after scores by the offense.
• After a score by the offense pulled the Giants within five points with 2:48 to play, the defense allowed the Commanders to run off the final 2:48.
• There were no sacks of and not much pressure on Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels.
• While Banks earned an individual ‘Wet Willie’, rookie defensive backs Dru Phillips and Tyler Nubin each had critical mistakes. Phillips missed a third-and-18 tackle that led to a first down and Washington touchdown. Nubin admitted responsibility for a wide open Olamide Zaccheaus on a 42-yard catch-and-run on the Commanders’ final possession.
• For the eighth straight game, a franchise record, the Giants did not have an interception. They did not come close to one.

Brian Daboll — I know the analytics say that when you are down two scores and you get a touchdown to cut it for one, going for two points is the smart play because converting cuts the deficit to six points and gives you a chance to win with one more score. Daboll said based on those analytics that is how the Giants are going to approach that situation.

I disagree. Failing that 2-point conversion, which the Giants did Sunday for the second straight week in the same situation, leaves you in a desperate situation where you must convert the second 2-point try if you get that chance. The Giants did on Sunday, and failed both times.

I don’t believe in chasing points. You can’t predict what is going to happen as a game progresses. As this one played out, the Giants would have trailed by just three, 27-24, had they successfully kicked both extra points rather than failing while trying for two. Had they gotten the ball back a game-tying field goal would have been in play, rather a must-have touchdown being their only chance.

Daboll’s clock management on Sunday also falls into question. The Commanders got the ball for the final time with 2:48 to play. The Giants had all three timeouts. After a 1-yard run, Daboll chose to use a timeout. He did not use one until there was 1:46 remaining. Why not use those timeouts before the two-minute warning. Try to get a three-and-out and get the ball back to your offense with more than two minutes to play and the two-minute warning as a timeout?

Kwillies to …

Theo Johnson — The rookie tight end had a 35-yard touchdown catch, the first of his career, and finished with three catches for 51 yards. Not bad. Problem is it looked from press box level like each of the three targets Johnson did not come up with were balls that could have been caught. All were contested or in traffic and none were easy, but if you are going to be a big-time player and your team is going to win close games some of those plays have to get made.