Giants beat Commanders, break 7-5-1 tie in the standings

LANDOVER, Md. —  Kayvon Thibodeaux was asked last week if he likes playing in prime time.

“Prime time likes me,” the linebacker replied.

He had no proof of that statement at the time – particularly considering he had only appeared in one in his NFL career and he plays for a team that had lost its last 11 such games — but it certainly sounded confident.

On Sunday night at FedEx Field Thibodeaux was a big part of the reason why he and the Giants have a new comfort level with the biggest stages the NFL has to offer … and they made the case for being on it more often in the not-so-distant future.

The Giants beat Washington, 20-12, to avenge a tie to the Commanders two weeks earlier, significantly bolster their postseason chances, and demonstrate to a national audience they are no longer the same team that had struggled so mightily in such scheduling scenarios.

“Those 11 games we lost, we weren’t as successful,” Saquon Barkley said last week. “We’re a successful team this year. We’re a different team this year than we were in the past. We’re getting that opportunity in another primetime game to go show that, and I feel like if we continue to trust each other, lean on each other, get that power and belief back, go out there, play for each other, anything can happen, right?”

The Giants were ahead 17-12 and almost blew it but came up with two stops inside their own 10 in the final 6:06. After Tyler Heinicke hit Jahan Dotson for a 61-yard pass and the Commanders drove to the 5, but Dexter Lawrence and Azeez Ojulari combined for a sack on third down. Replays showed Lawrence forced a fumble that was recovered by Leonard Williams with 6:06 left and the Giants kept Washington from scoring.

Washington didn’t get the ball back until there was 1:55 left and Graham Gano had kicked a second 50-yard field goal. They drove to the Giants’ 1 with 1:03 left – a tackle by Thibodeaux stopped Heinicke from scoring – and were pushed back on n illegal formation penalty before turning it over on downs at the 6 with :48 left.

The win improved the Giants’ record to 8-5-1 and allowed them to jump ahead of Washington to hold the sixth seed in the current NFC playoff picture. Washington (7-6-1) holds the seventh spot ahead of the Lions and Seahawks who are both 7-7. According to fivethirtyeight.com the Giants have an 87% chance of making the playoffs with three games remaining. Washington’s odds fell to 34%.

The Giants led 14-3 at halftime thanks to a stellar defensive play by Kayvon Thibodeaux and a massive 97-yard touchdown drive.

Thibodeaux, who had already posted three tackles for a loss on the first two possessions, came around the edge to sack Tyler Heinicke and knock the ball from the quarterback’s hand. The rookie linebacker wasn’t finished, though. He quickly spun to his feet, located the ball, scooped it at the 1, and ran it into end zone. It was the first touchdown scored by any Giants unit besides the offense this season and it gave them a 7-3 lead with 13:10 left in the second quarter.

Washington punted on its next possession and downed the ball at the 3, pinning the Giants deep in their own territory. They embarked on the arduous 97-yards to the opposite end zone with an 18-play drive that ate up 8:35 of the second quarter. There were only three plays on the journey that gained more than 10 yards and Jones was 10-for-12 for 91 yards before Barkley ran it in from the 3 off a direct snap with 1:43 left before halftime. It capped the Giants’ longest touchdown drive since 2014.

Unlike two weeks ago when Brian Daboll was criticized for being conservative and seeming as if he lacked confidence in Jones and the offense in the 20-20 tie against Washington, the head coach was back to the brash risk-taking that colored the first parts of this season. The gutsiest call was just prior to the two-minute warning when the Giants could have attempted a 53-yard field goal for a potential 10-3 lead but instead tried to convert a fourth-and-9 from the Washington 35. It stood in stark contrast to the two times earlier in the game Ron Rivera chose to punt from Giants territory (one of them so surprising the 34 yard line that the Giants had to call a timeout because they were not expecting it). The Giants’ gamble worked and Jones threaded a pass to Richie James for a gain of 11 yards and a first down that extended the drive.

Washington opened its second half with a long drive of its own, 91-yards in six plays culminating in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Heinicke to Jahan Dotson. Washington tried for a two-point conversion but was flagged for offensive pass interference and then elected to attempt to kick was became a 43-yard extra point. Joey Slye pushed it wide right and the Giants lead stood at 14-9 midway through the third.

Jones nearly gave the ball and second-half momentum to Washington when he lowered his shoulder and fumbled on a run but replays showed his left elbow grazed the lawn a frame or two before he coughed it up and the Giants retained possession. The drive eventually resulted in a 50-yard field goal that gave the Giants a 17-9 lead with 3:11 left in the third.

Notes & quotes: DL Leonard Williams, who had missed last week’s game and was listed as questionable with a neck injury suffered in the last game against Washington, started on Sunday … Commanders DE Chase Young (knee) was inactive and has yet to play since tearing his ACL in Week 10 last season. He was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Starting CB Benjamin St.-Juste (concussion) was also inactive for Washington … LB Tae Crowder, who was a Giants starter for most of the season, was a healthy scratch … Ben Bredeson (knee) was activated off IR on Saturday and rotated in with Nick Gates at left guard for the Giants … Third-string QB Davis Webb was called up from the practice squad but inactive for the game. The move was a reward for his work this season and essentially gives him a Christmas bonus with a game paycheck for the week.