New York Giants Hold on in 20-19 Thriller Over Washington Football Team

The Giants finally got head coach Joe Judge his first win.

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The New York Giants finally got their first win of the Joe Judge era thanks to one too many gambles by Washington head coach Ron Rivera.

Nicknamed “Riverboat Ron” for his propensity to take gambles, Rivera’s Washington team pulled to within one after quarterback Kyle Allen completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to receiver Cam Sims with 43 seconds left.

But rather than kick the extra point and force the game into overtime, Rivera decided to go for the two-point conversion, which the Giants defense snuffed out to preserve their fourth straight win over Washington.

Earlier in the game, the Giants defense came up big on a turnover with about three minutes remaining.

Edge rusher Kyler Fackrell recorded his third sack of the season, knocking the ball loose from Allen’s grasp. Rookie inside linebacker Tae Crowder alertly scooped up the ball and returned it 43-yard unabated for the touchdown to make it a 20-13 game.

The defensive turnover and score, the Giants' second in as many weeks, made up for an earlier Giants gaffe in which quarterback Daniel Jones committed his 23rd career turnover in 18 starts, this one coming in the red zone which set up a kicker Dustin Hopkins’ 28-yard game-tying field goal to make it a 13-13 game.

The Giants jumped out to a 13-10 halftime lead on two field goals by Graham Gano sandwiched around a 23-yard touchdown pass by Jones to receiver Darius Slayton, the Giants’ first passing touchdown since Week 1 against the Steelers.

The Giants defense couldn’t hold against the opponent in the final two minutes of the half.

The latest failure happened after Washington head coach Ron Rivera decided to decline the “running into the kicker” penalty against the Giants Austin Johnson despite Washington having pinned the Giants at their 1-yard line.

Washington went for it on fourth down and converted. The drive continued to churn along thanks to a defensive holding penalty against Blake Martinez and was capped when Kyle Allen connected with tight end Logan Thomas for a 5-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left to make it a 13-10 game.

Left Tackle Rotation

The long-awaited matchup between Andrew Thomas, the fourth overall pick in the draft, and Chase Young, the second overall pick, lost a little luster when the Giants benched Thomas for the first quarter in favor of third-round pick Matt Peart.

Thomas relieved Peart in the second quarter and was also on the field for the start of the third quarter until he whiffed against Montez Sweat on a 3rd-and-1, which Sweat stopped for a loss.

Coming into this game, Thomas, according to PFF, led all offensive linemen in pressures allowed. He has had some ups and downs but has struggled to find consistency with his technique.

Injury Update: C.J. Board Suffers Neck Injury

The Giants, already thin at receiver, suffered a big hit at the start of the third quarter when they lost receiver C.J. Board after a big hit from Washington safety Deshazor Everett.

Board lay motionless on the field for several minutes until a cart came out to get him. He had his neck immobilized and was ruled out of the rest of the game. Board later was transported to the hospital for further evaluation.

Cornerback Darnay Holmes also suffered a neck injury in the first quarter. He was initially listed as questionable to return, but he later returned from the locker room without his helmet and was finished for the rest of the day.

Inside linebacker Blake Martinez and Dexter Lawrence were evaluated for head injuries after taking hits in the first quarter, but both were cleared to return.