We saw Week 10 of the NFL schedule get underway on Thursday night in the Garden State with a battle of NFC East squads trying to pick up a division win. We saw these teams battle to a 27-27 tie back on October 11 in a contest where both teams blew chances to win the game in overtime. With a change in venue and with the Commanders trying to keep themselves in the division race, there was plenty at stake in this one.
In a game that featured moments of good defensive play, some explosive offensive moments and of course, some botched special teams execution, the game went down to the final minute. In the end, it was Washington pulling out a 24-21 victory to improve to 3-5-1 with their first road victory of the season. Meanwhile, New York dropped to 5-3-1, though they still hold the top spot in the NFC East. Let’s take a look at what went down in the contest.
QUARTERBACKS
Jayden Daniels came into this game having yet to throw an interception on the season. In the fourth quarter, Washington saw their offense sputter as they turned the ball over on downs near midfield. Daniels was picked off in the red zone on a spectacular play by Jevon Holland with 5:27 remaining. On the ensuing drive, he threw another pick on 4th and 2 with 2:15 remaining. After Washington’s defense came up with a stop to get the ball back, Daniels drove the Commanders 71 yards in three plays, including a 33-yard pass interference penalty. That was capped by a 32-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs with 57 seconds remaining to give the Commanders the lead for good. Daniels finished 23 of 33 passing for 249 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He added 28 yards on the ground in the contest.
JJ McCarthy did his part to keep the Giants in the game as he carved up the Washington defense for long stretches. There were a couple of missed opportunities in the game that ended up costing the Giants in the end. He was stopped for a two-yard loss on 3rd and 3 from the Commanders’ 39 with under two minutes to play that would have sealed the win. On the final drive, instead of trying to just move the ball into field goal range, he tried going deep. Washington pressured him and his pass on second down was nearly intercepted. Meanwhile, his third down pass to Malik Nabers down the field was intercepted by Rasul Douglas to send the Giants to defeat. McCarthy finished 23 of 36 passing for 293 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He added 34 yards on six carries on the ground. Jameis Winston missed a chance to help secure the win for the Giants as he couldn’t convert a 3rd and 1 sneak attempt with 3:56 remaining.
RUNNING BACKS
Washington has been going with a running back by committee since Jacory Croskey-Merritt went down with a groin injury. Rachaad White led the way for the Commanders with 36 snaps in the game. He finished with 11 carries for 47 yards and caught one pass (on two targets) for five yards. Austin Ekeler (30 snaps, nine carries, 26 yards, four receptions on four targets, 26 yards) saw his share of work in the contest as well. Robert Henry Jr. saw three snaps and managed to carry the ball twice (for four yards) in that limited window of work.
For the Giants, this was the Cam Skattebo show. He missed last week’s game against the Eagles and the team saw Devin Singletary run the ball 21 times for 31 yards in the contest. This week, he was on the field for 58 snaps. He carried the ball 18 times for 78 yards and two scores in the contest while adding three receptions for another 44 yards on four targets. Singletary was on the field for just five snaps in the contest. He finished with one carry for three yards without being targeted. Patrick Ricard was on the field for 13 snaps as a fullback but didn’t touch the ball at all in the contest.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Washington was happy to welcome Treylon Burks back to the mix after he missed last week’s contest. Still, it was rookie Antonio Williams that saw the most snaps for the Commanders as he was on the field for 59 snaps in the game. He was targeted just twice in the game, catching them both for 42 yards and a touchdown, so it was at least a productive night from a fantasy perspective. Stefon Diggs was on the field for 44 snaps. He caught six passes (on 10 targets) for 83 yards and a score in the game. Burks (42 snaps, three targets, two catches, 27 yards) saw his fair share of work. Meanwhile, Van Jefferson (24 snaps, no targets) and Luke McCaffrey (14 snaps, no targets) also saw work offensively but weren’t looked at in the passing attack.
The Giants pretty much went with just three different wide receivers in the contest. Rookie Malachi Fields saw the most snaps at the position for New York, as he was on the field for 58 offensive snaps. He caught three passes (on four targets) for 62 yards in the game. Malik Nabers (52 snaps, five catches on seven targets, 44 yards) saw plenty of work but also lost a fumble inside the red zone. Darnell Mooney (46 snaps, four targets, two catches, eight yards) was the #3 receiver for the Giants. Meanwhile, Jalin Hyatt saw a grand total of three snaps and didn’t get targeted in the contest.
TIGHT ENDS
Both teams utilized their tight ends rather heavily in this contest as each squad saw three tight ends see the field with varying levels of success. Chig Okonkwo saw the most snaps for the Commanders at the position. He was on the field for 41 snaps for Washington. Okonkwo was targeted eight times in the game and caught four passes for 24 yards. John Bates saw 28 snaps but didn’t draw a target as he’s normally a blocking tight end. Meanwhile, the big surprise was Ben Sinnott, who had all of one catch on the season. He played 24 snaps, was targeted four times and turned them into four catches for 42 yards plus a score. His play proved to be a giant unknown X factor in the game.
The Giants saw Isaiah Likely carve up this Washington defense to the tune of 11 catches for 94 yards and two scores in the first meeting last month. He went right back to slicing and dicing the Washington defense in this game. Likely played 57 snaps and hauled in nine passes (on 11 targets) for 127 yards and a score. That touchdown, which came from 66 yards, gave the Giants a 21-17 lead in the fourth quarter. Theo Johnson was on the field for 18 snaps and caught one of three targets for eight yards in the game. He also dropped a pass that would have picked up a first down late in the game. Chris Manhertz saw 14 snaps for the Giants but wasn’t targeted in the contest.
MISCELLANEOUS
This game saw six lead changes as neither side led by more than one score in the game. Washington’s biggest lead in the game was three, while the Giants never led by more than four. For that matter, neither team recorded consecutive scoring drives in the contest. Each time that the team with the lead had a chance to put points on the board and extend their advantage, something inevitably went wrong. New York held a 399-340 advantage in total offense and recorded 21 first downs while allowing 20 in the game. Washington owned a narrow 30:22 to 29:38 margin in time of possession while both teams turned the ball over twice. Three of the four turnovers came in the final six minutes of play.
In a game that was decided by three points, special teams was a major factor in this game. Drew Stevens connected on all three of his extra point attempts in the contest. He also hit his lone field goal attempt, nailing a 46-yard kick that opened the scoring in the first quarter. On the flip side, Dominic Zvada converted his three extra point attempts. However, in a play that ended up haunting the Giants dearly as the game wore on, he missed a 33-yard field goal attempt in the opening quarter wide left. New York could have used those three points as it turned out.
There’s still plenty of action left on the week 10 schedule, kicking off at 9:30 am ET in Munich when the Patriots take on the Lions. In the early window, the marquee matchup is a NFC North tilt between the Vikings and Packers. The 4 pm ET window features the nationally televised clash between the 49ers and the Cowboys. The Sunday night game features an AFC North matchup between the Steelers and Bengals while the week closes Monday night with the Chargers taking on the Ravens in Charm City.
Week 11 gets underway next Thursday night in the Lone Star State with a battle of AFC South teams trying to pick up a critical victory. The Indianapolis Colts are on the road as they travel to take on the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. Indianapolis enters the week trying to right a sinking ship while the Texans try to gain ground in the AFC playoff picture after a rough start to the season. Kickoff will be at 8:15 and as always, the game will be televised on Prime Video.
