5 Winners, 5 Losers From the Commanders’ Frustrating 27

The Washington Commanders led the New York Giants 12-3 at halftime and 27-13 with 11:05 left. The Giants scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to force overtime. The game's final play was a comedy of errors as the team reached the Giants’ 24-yard line, but time expired before a field-goal attempt. Washington is now 1-3-1 as they will face the undefeated San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 6.

Winners

Oct 11, 2026; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs the ball past New York Giants linebacker Arvell Reese (52) during overtime at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jayden Daniels’ playmaking

Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was back to his old self, going 17-of-25 for 199 yards and no turnovers, along with nine carries for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Daniels is the first QB with multiple 25+ yard rushing touchdowns in the same game since Michael Vick in Week 13, 2002, vs. the Vikings. Daniels' runs went for 38 and 26 yards, and the second touchdown and ensuing two-point conversion established the 14-point lead.

Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt

Croskey-Merritt gave Washington something it hasn't gotten nearly enough of from its running backs through the first month of the season, finishing with 82 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. His 7.5 yards per carry were impressive enough, but it was how he got those yards that made the difference.

On Washington's opening possession, Croskey-Merritt broke loose for a 33-yard touchdown run that gave the Commanders an early lead. He wasn't finished making plays, either, adding a 22-yard run late in the third quarter that helped get another touchdown drive going.

We've spent plenty of time discussing Washington's problems running the football this season, and for good reason. Croskey-Merritt finally gave the offense some explosive production from the position, and it's difficult to look at what he did against New York without wondering why Washington hasn't gotten more of that through the first five games.

Chig Okonkwo

After a disappointing injury-filled first month, Okonkwo finally gave Washington something to work with in the passing game, catching four of his six targets for 60 yards.

His first three receptions went for 11, 23, and 25 yards., which is exactly the kind of production the Commanders were hoping to get when they added him to the tight end room. The problem is that all four of his catches came before halftime, and he wasn't able to build on that production in the second half.

Still, considering how little Washington has gotten out of its tight ends as receivers this season, Okonkwo's first-half performance was a welcome change. Now they need to find a way to get that kind of production for an entire game.

Terry McLaurin

McLaurin returned to the lineup and reminded everyone how important he is to Washington's offense, catching all four of his targets for a team-leading 62 yards. It wasn't a huge afternoon statistically, but several of his catches came when the Commanders needed somebody to make a play.

He caught the two-point conversion that put Washington ahead 27-13, then added a 22-yard reception to open the team's final possession of regulation. When the Commanders got the ball back for their last opportunity in overtime, McLaurin was there again with a 16-yard catch to get things moving.

With the injuries Washington has dealt with at receiver, having McLaurin back gives Daniels a dependable option in situations where he needs somebody to make a catch. McLaurin did his part Sunday, even if the Commanders couldn't turn those late opportunities into a win.

Daron Payne and the Takeaway Makers

Washington's defense certainly deserves plenty of criticism for what happened in the second half, but there were still players making the kinds of plays that should've helped the Commanders win this game.

Daron Payne finished with a 13-yard sack and forced a fumble by Cam Skattebo in overtime, with Shy Tuttle recovering the football to give Washington possession with 1:55 remaining. Earlier in the game, K'Lavon Chaisson recorded a strip-sack that Tim Settle recovered at the Giants' 28-yard line, putting the Commanders in excellent field position.

The first takeaway resulted in a field goal, while the second gave Washington the opportunity to end the game with a win. Neither produced the result the defense would've wanted, but that's not on the players who created those opportunities in the first place.

Losers

Dan Quinn and the Overtime Operation

This one is pretty difficult to explain away, and Quinn didn't try to do that after the game.

Washington had the football with 1:55 remaining in overtime after Payne forced the fumble, and the Commanders worked their way into position to attempt a game-winning field goal. Unfortunately, they never actually got around to kicking it.

The Commanders had already used both of their overtime timeouts before getting the ball back. With 55 seconds remaining, Rachaad White ran for two yards to the Giants' 24, leaving Washington facing second-and-eight. The next snap didn't come until there were 12 seconds left, and Daniels was credited with a zero-yard sack as the clock eventually expired without another play being run.

That's a pretty terrible way to finish a football game when you have a chance to win it.

Quinn made it clear afterward that the responsibility belonged to him, not Daniels.

"The sequencing of that, um, does not fall on him," Quinn said. "It's an outside throw or a clock. You know, those are the two, you know, out-of-bounds throw or a clock. And, um, that has to come from me. I don't have to put him into that spot. I can do that earlier. And, uh, we can finish, you know, the kick early. We don't need to gain more yards. So, that's on me."

Taking responsibility is one thing, but Washington still had a chance to win a game it had already allowed to slip away, and poor clock management kept the Commanders from even attempting the field goal. There's no way Quinn doesn't belong on the losing side of this one.

Daronte Jones' Second-Half Defense

For the second time in three weeks, Washington's defense couldn't get out of its own way in the second half, and this time it cost the Commanders a win.

The Giants had just 77 yards of total offense and three points at halftime, which should've put Washington in an excellent position to finish the game. Instead, Jameis Winston completed 21 of 28 second-half passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns, and New York scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions.

Isaiah Likely's second touchdown came on fourth-and-eight, which is the kind of play a defense simply has to stop when trying to protect a lead. Then Malik Nabers caught the tying touchdown with 1:43 remaining, completing a comeback that never should've gotten that far.

New York also finished three-for-three in the red zone, another indication of just how little resistance Washington provided once the Giants started moving the football.

Quinn acknowledged afterward that the defense had a significant role in what happened during the fourth quarter.

"You have to go shut the door in that spot, and we did not," Quinn said.

The defense deserves credit for forcing the turnover in overtime, but that doesn't erase everything that happened before it. Jones has been trying to get his unit to finish games since the season started, and five games in, Washington is still having the same problems.

Pass Protection

Daniels made plenty of plays with his legs Sunday, but some of that scrambling came because Washington couldn't keep the Giants out of the backfield.

New York finished with five sacks, including the zero-yard sack on the final overtime play. Dru Phillips had two, while Abdul Carter and Arvell Reese also got to Daniels during the game. The protection problems became particularly costly when Washington was trying to finish things off, with Phillips recording a fourth-quarter sack that helped force a three-and-out after the Giants had cut the lead to seven.

Reese also came up with a sack during Washington's final possession of regulation, another opportunity where the Commanders had a chance to do something and couldn't keep the offense moving.

Nobody should expect an offensive line to keep defenders away from the quarterback on every play, but there were too many important situations where Washington didn't have an answer for New York's pressure. Daniels managed to overcome some of those problems with his athletic ability, but asking him to do that every time isn't going to work.

Penalties

Here we go again.

Washington finished with nine accepted penalties for 69 yards, and the Giants picked up five first downs because of them. Considering how much Dan Quinn talked about cleaning up the mistakes during the week, Sunday's performance certainly didn't look like a team that had gotten the message.

John Bates and Rachaad White committed back-to-back false starts that moved Washington from second-and-goal at the Giants' 9-yard line to second-and-goal at the 19, and the Commanders eventually settled for a field goal. Rasul Douglas had a defensive holding penalty that erased a Payne sack, while Amik Robertson had an interception wiped out by pass interference.

Then came overtime, when Odafe Oweh was flagged for a 15-yard facemask penalty, and Washington later committed a delay of game before punting.

These aren't just meaningless penalties that happen somewhere in the middle of a football game. They're costing Washington scoring opportunities, giving opponents extra chances, and making it more difficult to win games this team already has enough trouble finishing.

Rachaad White and Austin Ekeler

Washington finished with 202 rushing yards against the Giants, which looks pretty impressive until you start separating where those yards actually came from.

Daniels and Croskey-Merritt accounted for 185 of them.

White finished with seven carries for 18 yards, while Ekeler managed minus-one yard on three attempts. That's 17 yards on 10 carries between two running backs Washington expected to provide considerably more than that when the season started.

Croskey-Merritt proved there were yards available against New York, and Daniels was able to create plenty of his own opportunities, but Washington still isn't getting consistent production throughout the running back room. It's becoming difficult to overlook how much of the rushing attack depends on the quarterback making something happen or Croskey-Merritt breaking loose.

Washington Still Can't Finish

Oct 11, 2026; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders fan reacts during the game against the New York Giants at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The most frustrating part of Sunday's tie is that Washington did enough good things to win the game. Daniels looked like himself again, Croskey-Merritt provided explosive plays, and the defense created two takeaways that should've given the Commanders enough opportunities to put New York away.

Instead, after building a 27-13 lead, Washington's final four possessions ended with three punts and the clock running out in overtime.

The Commanders have spent the first five games talking about fixing mistakes and learning how to finish, but at some point those conversations have to start producing results. Washington had a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, got another opportunity to win in overtime, and still walked away without a victory.

Now the Commanders have to figure out how to correct those problems before facing an undefeated San Francisco team on Monday night, because playing well for stretches of a game clearly hasn't been enough.

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