EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Last week, after another frustrating loss, Jayden Daniels didn’t hesitate in calling his team’s Week 10 matchup with the Giants a “must-win.” On Thursday night, the Commanders quarterback helped deliver that win as Washington squeaked out a 24-21 victory on the road.
After throwing two late interceptions — his first of the year — Daniels found a way to keep the Commanders’ hopes for the season alive. Given one final offensive possession, he found receiver Stefon Diggs for a 32-yard touchdown with less than a minute remaining to put them ahead for good.
“When you get the opportunity to go win the game, you just take a deep breathe and go out there and capitalize on the moment,” Daniels said.
The quarterback finished with 249 yards passing and three touchdowns as the Commanders moved to 3-5-1. They now sit just two games behind New York in the NFC East standings.
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The final drive came after linebacker Sonny Styles made a key tackle for loss on Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy on a third-and-3 with just under two minutes left. At that point in the night, after Daniels threw backbreaking interceptions on consecutive possessions, it appeared Washington was headed for another deflating defeat.
“If you just be the player you are, the moment can never be too big,” Styles said of the defensive stop. “I think everyone understood in that moment that we needed to get a stop right there.”
After forcing the punt, Washington got the ball back with 1:49 remaining. Needing to go 71 yards for a touchdown, Daniels immediately threw a bomb to Treylon Burks, who drew a defensive pass interference for 33. Suddenly in business, a Washington offense that had struggled all night perked up. Daniels hit Diggs over the middle a few plays later, and the veteran wide receiver broke a tackle and slipped into the open field. Without no more defenders in sight, he waltzed into the end zone.
"[Daniels is] baby Kobe,” Diggs said. “He does not flinch. He’s going to be the same player at the beginning of the game as he is at the end of the game. Things are going to happen, good and bad — he is not going to change.”
The Giants, needing a field goal to tie, mounted a drive of their own but it ended with Commanders corner Rasul Douglas intercepting a jump ball on third-and-long.
“I always think I’m going to make the play,” Douglas said. “When the ball is in the air, I don’t ever really see the receiver. I just know I’m going to get it. ...Some guys play the [receiver] — that’s not me. I want interceptions, I want the ball.”
It was not the prettiest of victories for Washington. Overall, the offense still looked stagnant, punting on four of its first seven drives. The defense was up and down, limiting New York to seven points in the first half but giving up big plays in key moments. Early in the fourth quarter, the Giants took a 21-17 lead on a 66-yard touchdown by tight end Isaiah Likely. Styles and K’Lavon Chaisson ran into each other in coverage, allowing the Giants’ tight end to break free and sprint to the end zone.
But Washington didn’t quit on the game, and the team will head back to D.C. with a key win in hand. The Commanders welcome the surging Bengals to Northwest Stadium for “Monday Night Football” on Nov. 23.
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