Giants vs. Commanders Notebook: 3 Takeaways from Washington's Heartbreaking Loss
The Washington Commanders’ playoff hopes were dealt a devastating blow with their 20-12 loss at home to the New York Giants on Sunday.
With a win, Washington’s playoff hopes would have gone up to 91%, but a loss dropped their chances of making it to 38%.
Much like their 20-20 tie against New York on Dec. 4, the Commanders had their chances, but costly mistakes make very well have a ripple effect for the rest of the season.
Here are three takeaways from Washington’s loss to the Giants.
Offensive Miscues:
Between Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Brian Robinson Jr., Washington has a great young core of skill position players.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t matter when your offensive line struggles in pivotal moments, Taylor Heinicke is more up and down than a rollercoaster and penalties that take points off the board.
Washington was in control through the first quarter, then a strip sack by Kayvon Thibodeaux that he subsequently recovered in the end zone gave New York a 7-3 lead in the second quarter.
The Commanders cut into a 14-3 deficit in the third quarter with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Heinicke to Dotson. On the two-point conversion, an offensive pass interference call on Dotson forced Joey Slye to attempt a 43-yard field goal, and he missed.
Trailing 17-12 midway through the fourth quarter, a 61-yard bomb from Heinicke to Dotson gave Washington a chance to reclaim the lead. On third and goal, Dexter Lawrence sacked Heinicke, and the Giants recovered the fumble. New York extended its lead to 20-12 with two minutes left to play on the ensuing drive.
Then as if those mistakes weren’t enough, Robinson scored from a yard out on third and goal with a minute to play, only to get nullified by an illegal formation penalty on McLaurin.
While the missed defensive pass interference against the Giants on fourth and goal will catch the headlines, Washington more than had its chances to avoid that situation.
Jahan Dotson can be a star:
If it weren’t for a hamstring injury earlier in the season, Dotson would be among the top choices for offensive rookie of the year.
He had four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown against the Giants. The 19-yard touchdown made it a one-possession game in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, he leaped over a Giants defender for a 61-yard catch that positioned the Commanders to take the lead.
If Dotson continues to perform like this, Commander opponents will have to pick their poison between him and McLaurin.
The road only gets tougher:
Washington remains in the playoff picture as the seventh seed, but their grip is loosening with the red-hot Detroit Lions nipping on their heels.
To make losing the game and tiebreaker to New York worse, they’ll have to go on the road to face the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. San Francisco has already clinched the NFC West, is on a seven-game winning streak and has extra time to rest after beating the Seattle Seahawks 21-13 on Thursday Night Football.
After San Francisco, the Commanders will finish their season by facing the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys, whereas the Lions face the Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears — all of whom are under .500.
If there’s a situation where the two teams have the same record, the Lions hold the head-to-head advantage with a 36-27 win on Sept. 18.
An opportunity to get breathing room on Sunday slipped by the wayside for Washington. Now with no margin for error, the Commanders’ future for this season and beyond hangs in the balance.
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