Giants vs. Commanders: Washington Falls 20-12

The New York Giants and Washington Commanders are battling for a wild card berth in the NFC.

For the second time in as many weeks, the Washington Commanders will play the New York Giants. This time, it’ll be at Washington in primetime.

In their first meeting on Dec. 4 in New York, the game ended in a 20-20 tie. Since then, the Commanders had a bye week, and the Giants lost 48-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 11.

Both teams currently find themselves in the NFC playoff picture. Regardless of tonight’s result, New York and Washington will still be the sixth and seventh seeds in the NFC. The winner of tonight’s game will determine who has the tiebreaker advantage.

Here's what you need to know:

RECORDS: Washington Commanders (7-5-1) vs. New York Giants (7-5-1)

ODDS: The Commanders are 3.5-point favorites vs. the Giants.

GAME TIME: Sunday, December 18th, 2022, at 8:20 p.m. ET

LOCATION: FedEx Field (Landover, Maryland)

Despite speculation, he would make his debut tonight, Chase Young is out for tonight’s game. Cornerback Benjamin St-Juste is also out for Washington.

Here are the rest of the inactive players for both teams.

Commanders:

QB Sam Howell

CB Benjamin St-Juste (Ankle)

LB De'Jon Harris

OG Chris Paul

Giants:

WR David Sills

CB Adoree' Jackson

CB Rodarius Williams

LB Tae Crowder

OG Shane Lemieux

OG Jack Anderson

Stay with Commander Country throughout the night for live updates, highlights, and drive-by-drive coverage.

First Quarter:

The Giants won the toss and deferred to the second half. Washington will start at its 25-yard line after the touchback. 

Brian Robinson Jr. runs for seven yards on first down. Taylor Heinicke dumps it off to Robinson and he turns it into an 18-yard gain. 

Curtis Samuel gets the carry and loses a yard. Heinicke completes a pass to John Bates for five yards. Defensive holding gives the Commanders a first down. 

Heinicke's pass intended for Logan Thomas is incomplete. Heinicke hands it off to Robinson and he gains five yards. On third and five, Heinicke completes the pass to Terry McLaurin for four yards. On fourth and one, Robinson runs for five yards and a first down at the Giants' 32-yard line. 

Samuel gets another carry and he loses three yards. On second and 13, Heinicke's pass is complete to Antonio Gibson for four yards. On third and nine, Heinicke gets sacked. 

Before fourth and 12, New York takes a timeout. 

Tress Way's punt is fielded by Richie James at New York's seven-yard line and he runs it to the 30-yard line for a 23-yard return.

 Change of possession.

Saquon Barkley gets the carry and gains three yards. Daniel Jones' pass intended for Darius Slayton is broken up. On third and seven, Jones looks for Slayton again but it's also broken up.

Dax Milne calls for a fair catch at Washington's 30-yard line.

Change of possession. 

Kayvon Thibodeaux jumps offsides and makes it first and five for the Commanders. Robinson breaks a big run for 15 yards to midfield. 

Samuel gets another handoff and only gains a yard. On second and nine, Heinicke keeps it and runs for 11 yards before being pushed out of bounds at New York's 38-yard line. 

Gibson gets the handoff and runs for four yards. Gibson gets another carry and gains 10 yards. 

Robinson gets another carry and he loses two yards after getting tackled by Thibodeaux. Heinicke's pass intended for Gibson is incomplete. A delay of game penalty moves Washington back five yards then Jahan Dotson jumps early for a false start. On third and 22, Heinicke's pass is completed to Samuel for 14 yards to the Giants' 23-yard line. 

Joey Slye comes out to kick a 41-yard field goal and it's good with 2:51 left in the first quarter.

Commanders 3, Giants 0

Change of possession.

The Giants start the drive at their 25-yard line after the touchback. 

Jones' pass to Barkley is complete for nine yards before he's pushed out of bounds. Barkley gets the handoff and gains two yards for a first down.

Barkley gets another carry and gains four yards. A false start by Evan Neal moves the Giants back five yards. Jones keeps it and he gains the five yards lost on the penalty. That's the final play of the first quarter.

End of the quarter.

Second Quarter:

On third and six, Jones' pass is complete to Isaiah Hodgins for four yards. 

Milne calls for a fair catch at Washington's 18-yard line.

Change of possession.

Gibson gets a handoff and gains two yards. Gibson gets another carry and runs for 12 yards, but a holding call on Cornelius Lucas moves Washington back 10 yards. On second and 18, Heinicke is sacked by Thibodeaux and he recovers the fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

Graham Gano's extra point is good.

Giants 7, Commanders 3

Change of possession.

Gibson returns the kickoff to Washington's 32-yard line. 

Robinson takes the handoff and runs for 13 yards. 

Robinson gets another carry and just gets back to the line of scrimmage. Robinson gets the handoff again and he gains 12 yards before being pushed out of bounds. 

Heinicke's goes deep, intended for Dyami Brown and the pass is incomplete. Gibson gets a handoff and gains four yards. Heinicke looks for Samuel on third down and the pass is broken up.

Tress Way's punt is downed at New York's three-yard line.

Change of possession. 

Barkley runs for two yards on first down. Jones' pass is caught by Nick Vannett for 15 yards. 

Jones throws a short pass to Barkley and gets three yards. Jones completes another pass to Barkley and it gains seven yards for a first down. 

Barkley gets the handoff and gets tackled by Jonathan Allen for a loss of five yards. Jones completes a pass to James for six yards. On third and nine, Jones completes another pass to James for 10 yards and a first down. 

Matt Brieda gets his first carry of the game and gains five yards. Jones completes a pass to Hodgins for a 21-yard gain to Washington's 33-yard line. After review, Hodgins was ruled down at Washington's 47-yard line, but it's still a first down. 

Jones connects with Hodgins again, this time for seven yards. Barkley gets the handoff and gains four yards for a first down at Washington's 36-yard line. 

Jones' pass is intended for Barkley and he throws it into the dirt. A false start on Neal moves New York back five yards. Jones completes a pass to Brieda for six yards. On third and nine, Jones' pass falls incomplete. New York calls its second timeout with 2:23 left in the first half. The Giants go for it on fourth down and Jones completes the pass to James for 10 yards and a first down. That's the final play before the two-minute warning.

On first and 10 from Washington's 24-yard line, Jones completes a pass to Hodgins for 19 yards. Washington calls a timeout with 1:51 left in the half.

On first and goal from Washington's five-yard line, Jones keeps it on a read-option and runs for two yards. The Commanders call another timeout with 1:44 left in the second quarter. Barkley gets it on a direct snap and he runs it in for a touchdown.

Gano's extra point is good to cap an 18-play 97 yard drive.

Giants 14, Commanders 3

Change of possession.

Gibson returns the kickoff to Washington's 21-yard line. Heinicke is under pressure and forced to throw it into the dirt. Heinicke completes a  pass to McLaurin for 10 yards and a first down. 

Heinicke completes a short pass to Samuel for three yards. Heinicke connects with Gibson for two yards and Washington calls a timeout with 34 seconds left in the half. On third and five, Heinicke is forced to scramble and his pass intended for Gibson is incomplete. 

James fields the punt at New York's 16-yard line and he runs out of bounds after gaining nine yards.

Change of possession. 

Jones takes a knee and that's the final play of the first half.

Halftime.

Third Quarter:

Gary Brightwell returns the kickoff to New York's 26-yard line. Jones completes a pass to Slayton for seven yards before he's pushed out of bounds. Barkley gets the carry on second down and he gains four yards for a first down. 

Jones' pass to Barkley on first down is incomplete. Jones connects with Slayton for a seven-yard gain. On third and three, Jones has to maneuver in the pocket and his pass intended for James falls incomplete. 

Milne calls for a fair catch at Washington's eight-yard line.

Change of possession.

Heinicke connects with McLaurin for a 19-yard gain on first down. 

Heinicke finds McLaurin again, this time for 12 yards and another first down.

Brown gets a handoff on an end around and he turns it into a 15-yard gain to the Giants' 45-yard line before being pushed out of bounds. 

Robinson gets the handoff and he gains two yards. Illegal motion by Thomas moves Washington back five yards. On first and 15, Heinicke's pass is complete to McLaurin on a screen and he turns it into a gain of 20 yards. 

After play action, Heinicke rolls right and completes a pass to Dotson for 13 yards to New York's 19-yard line. 

Heinicke goes to the end zone and finds Dotson for a 19-yard touchdown. 

On the two-point conversion, Heinicke's pass to Samuel is good. Washington is flagged for offensive pass interference and they'll opt for the extra point. 

The 43-yard extra point by Slye is wide right and no good.

Giants 14, Commanders 9

Change of possession.

Slye's kickoff goes through the end zone for a touchback.

Jones' pass to Slayton is complete for six yards. Jones hands it off to Barkley and he gains nine yards for a first down. 

Jones keeps it and he fumbles which is recovered by Washington. The play is under further review. After further review, the call is overturned and New York gets the ball back. 

On second and one, Jones keeps it again and gains three yards. 

Jones dumps it off to Barkley and he gains seven yards before being tackled out of bounds. Jones hands it off to Barkley and he gains seven yards for a first down. 

Brieda gets the handoff and he only gets one yard. Jones rolls to his right and the pass is batted down. Offensive holding moves the Giants back 10 yards. On second and 19, Jones connects with Slayton for four yards. On third and 15, Jones runs for 10 yards to Washington's 32-yard line. 

The 50-yard field goal by Gano is good with 3:11 left in the third quarter.

Giants 17, Commanders 9

Change of possession.

Washington starts the drive at its 25-yard line after the touchback.

Robinson gets the carry and runs for seven yards. Washington runs a flea-flicker and Heinicke goes deep for Brown, but the pass falls incomplete. On third and three, Samuel gets the handoff and only gets two yards. 

Way's punt is a beauty and gets down at the one-yard line. 

Change of possession.

Barkley gets the handoff and gains five yards. Jones' pass is intended for Barkley and falls incomplete. Jones drops back to pass again and it's dropped by Daniel Bellinger.

Milne fields the punt near Washington's 40-yard line and he fumbles the ball. Milne was ruled down by contact at Washington's 42-yard line.

Change of possession.

Robinson gets the carry and runs for four yards on the final play of the third quarter.

End of the quarter.

Fourth Quarter:

Robinson gets another carry and runs for six yards and is just short of a first down. Heinicke keeps it and runs for 15 yards to New York's 34-yard line. 

Heinicke's pass intended for Thomas is incomplete. Gibson gets the carry and only gains a yard. On third and nine, Heinicke is hit as he throws and it's incomplete.

Slye comes out to attempt a 51-yard field goal and it's good.

Giants 17, Commanders 12

Change of possession.

New York will start the drive at its 25-yard line after the touchback. 

Jones' pass is complete to Bellinger for four yards. On second and six, Jones finds James on a screen and he turns it into a 15-yard gain. 

Jones has to scramble then throws it away. Barkley gets the handoff and runs for four yards. On third and six, Jones' pass is complete to Barkley for eight yards to Washington's 44-yard line. 

Jones looks for Bellinger on first down and the pass is batted down. Jones keeps it and only runs for two yards. On third and eight, Jones' pass intended for Barkley is broken up.

Milne calls for a fair catch at Washington's eight-yard line with 9:06 left to play.

Change of possession.  

After a fake handoff, Heinicke goes deep and finds Dotson for a 61-yard pass to New York's 30-yard line.

Heinicke hands it off to Robinson and he runs for 18 yards. 

Samuel gets the handoff and only runs for a yard. On second and nine, Heinicke's pass is complete to McLaurin for four yards. On third and five, Heincke gets sacked by Dexter Lawrence for a loss of four yards. New York is challenging if Heinicke fumbled before he hit the ground. 

After further review, the call is overturned and with a clear recovery by Leonard Williams, it's the Giants' ball at their 14-yard line with 6:16 left in the game. 

Change of possession.

Barkley rushes for 12 yards on first down. 

Barkley gets another carry and he gains 15 yards. 

Barkley gets the ball again and he runs for 14 yards to Washington's 45-yard line. 

Jones hands it off to Barkley once more and he gains three yards. Jones keeps it on second and seven and he gains eight yards. 

Barkley gets the handoff and he runs for a yard. Washington takes a timeout with 2:20 left to play. Barkley gets another carry and gains three yards. The Commanders call their second timeout with 2:15 left. Jones completes the pass to Slayton and he recovers his own fumble after losing a yard. The game has reached the two-minute warning. 

Gano comes out to kick a 50-yard field goal and it's good.

Giants 20, Commanders 12

Change of possession.

Gibson has a big return, taking it back to Washington's 43-yard line. 

Heinicke finds Samuel for a 27-yard gain to New York's 30-yard line before being pushed out of bounds. 

Heinicke connects with Thomas for a six-yard gain and he gets out of bounds. The play is under review to see if Thomas got out of bounds. After review, Thomas was ruled down in bounds and there is a 10-second runoff which moves the time to 1:26 left. Heinicke completes a pass to Dotson for 14 yards to New York's 10-yard line and he gets out of bounds. 

On first and goal, the snap is high and Heinicke's pass is nearly intercepted in the end zone by Nick McCloud but it's dropped. New York calls a timeout with 1:08 left to play. Heinicke scrambles on second down and he's tackled at the one-yard line. The Giants call a timeout with 57 seconds left. The play is under further review to see if Heinicke got out of bounds.  After review, Heinicke was out of bounds with 1:03 left and the Giants get their timeout back. 

On third and goal from the one, Robinson gets in for a touchdown. There's a flag on the play for illegal formation on McLaurin which nullifies the touchdown. That'll move Washington back to the six-yard line. 

On third and goal from the six-yard line, Heinicke is under pressure by Azeez Ojulari and he's forced to throw it away. On fourth and goal, Heinicke's pass to Samuel in the end zone is broken up. 

Change of possession. 

Jones takes two knees and that's the ballgame.

Final: Giants 20, Commanders 12

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