Giants-Commanders highlights: 5 plays that led to the loss

Let’s review some of the key plays, sequences

Here are some of the key plays and sequences of plays in the New York Giants’ 27-22 los to the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

Quarterback Daniel Jones finally threw a touchdown pass at home. The recipient was veteran tight end Chris Manhertz. Jones also had a rushing touchdown in the game. However, the Giants had a very run-heavy approach in the first half. Jones finished the first half 4 of 6 with 0 yards and a 1-yard touchdown pass to Manhertz. He finished the game 20 of 26 for 174 yards with two touchdown passes.

Jones also connected with Theo Johnson for a 35-yard touchdown up the seam:

It’s the second week in a row where Jones attacked a middle-of-the-field-open defense with Johnson up the seam. It’s great to see Johnson’s upside receive attention, but he played poorly for much of the game. Johnson’s touchdown came with under three minutes left in the game, and was followed with another failed 2-point conversion attempt.

This is what Pro Football Focus had to say about Daniel Jones’ performance:

Jones was especially effective from a clean pocket, where he completed 18 of 22 attempts for 160 yards and two touchdowns, with one big-time throw and no turnover-worthy plays. Impressively, he didn’t earn a single negative grade on his 25 dropbacks without pressure.

Still, the Giants’ game plan was obvious — run the football and control the clock. The Giants’ second passing attempt was a designed screen that was fumbled by Jones as Dante Fowler Jr. hit him upon his release.

Play 1: Early mistake

This was the Giants second drive after their defense forced a three-and-out from Washington. New York had five consecutive runs to open this drive before the Jones’ fumble. Tyrone Tracy Jr. started the drive with a 4-yard rush that he then followed by a 10-yard rush. Jones then took advantage of an aggressive defense and rushed for 24 yards:

Great read by Jones to get the offense moving. Tracy Jr. then ran 15 yards on the next play, followed by a 10-yard rush. Here is the 15-yard gain:

The Giants have successfully employed screens all season. It was a well-timed play call by Brian Daboll, but the call is precarious if the play side edge defender goes wide around Chris Hubbard. The execution is not crisp, and the Commanders turned this fumble into Terry McLaurin’s first touchdown of the game.

Play(s) 2: Scary Terry

The vendetta between Commanders’ wide receiver Terry McLaurin and Tae Banks went the way of burgundy and gold. McLaurin caught two touchdowns against the struggling and mercurial Banks, who was benched last week. However, the two touchdowns were his only receptions in the game; he was only targeted on three of Jayden Daniels’ 22 passing attempts. Here are his touchdown receptions:

The first touchdown was a slick man beater underneath where McLaurin was able to get inside of Banks to establish leverage. McLaurin got under the fade from the No. 2, and Daniels delivered a strike for six. After the game, rookie Dru Phillips expressed contrition and stated the touchdown was his fault and he should have switched assignments with Banks.

McLaurin scored at the end of the first half on a quick double-move against Cover-4. Banks has deep fourth help inside with Jason Pinnock. Banks’ eagerness to bite on the slant gave McLaurin and Daniels the necessary space outside the numbers. Just a terrible overall rep from Banks, who appeared lethargic with his defense at the catch point. He also seems to have a lack of natural feel when he is in a recovery position.

McLaurin’s second touchdown occured with six seconds left in the game. It was the last shot before Commanders’ kicker Austin Seibert would trot onto the field for three points. Instead, McLaurin gave Washington a 21-7 lead with the second-half kickoff in their back pocket.

Play 3: Another negated touchdown

Down 21-7, the Giants opted to run a rub type of play on fourth-and-1 and the end result was a touchdown to Wan’Dale Robinson:

However, the play was flagged because Darius Slayton acted as a pick when he split the Washington defenders. These calls can be ambiguous — I’ve seen worse not called. Still, Slayton could do a better job acting like he’s an eligible receiver and not just the clear picking option for Robinson. It does seem like these ticky-tack calls have gone against the Giants in recent memory.

The Giants had several touchdowns removed this season. This touchdown forced a 21-10 game and Washington quickly matched with three points on the subsequent drive. The Giants would then go on a 13-play, 80-yard drive that was concluded with a Daniel Jones rushing touchdown.

Play(s) 4: Jones’ shoulder and a failed two-point conversion

Daniel Jones finished with seven carries for 54 yards (7.7 yards per carry) with this physical touchdown run:

The touchdown made the game a one-score affair — 24-16. Like last week, Daboll decided to go for a 2-point conversion after scoring to make it a one possession game early in the fourth quarter. The Giants would need another score no matter what to win; going for two provides them two opportunities to earn two yards to possibly establish a lead or a tie.

Like last game, the Giants did not earn the two yards, albeit this one wasn’t an eyesore or an albatross, just a failure.

The decision has received disapproval from fans due to the offense’s inability to execute. The inefficacious results of the recent 2-point attempts open the Giants up for understandable criticism. However, the Giants offense was driving successfully at the time, even though the momentum gained was lost after the failed attempt.

I like an aggressive offense — one that attempts to dictate — but that requires trust. What about the Giants’ offense inspires trust? New York attempted to dictate the situation, and, like most actions by the Giants over the last two years, it did not work out.

Play 5: Third-and-18

Washington took a terrible holding penalty at around midfield with 51 seconds left in the first half. This backed Washington up and eventually led them to a third-and-18 with 20 seconds left at the Giants’ 42-yard line:

Jayden Daniels checked the football down to Dyami Brown who eluded Dru Phillips and picked up 24 yards before calling their second timeout. On the very next play, McLaurin would beat Banks outside for his second touchdown of the game.

Much of the disdain and negative attention is rightfully oriented at the offense, but these last second touchdown drives at the end of the first half are inexcusable, as is the third-and-long conversions — something we saw too frequently in Week 2 against the Commanders.