Alex Smith Explains What Happened on His Two Late Interceptions

The Giants got their first road win of the season courtesy of a pair of late interceptions by defensive backs Logan Ryan and Jabrill Peppers who took advantage of some rustiness shown by Washington quarterback Alex Smith.

For a moment, the Giants tethered on the brink of blowing yet another lead, this one a 17-point lead that dwindled to just three points with the Washington Football Team driving in Giants territory. 

But just when things looked bleak, the Giants found some late-game resolve courtesy of defensive backs Jabrill Peppers and Logan Ryan, who helped seal the Giants' 23-20 win with a pair of interceptions on Washington quarterback Alex Smith's final two drives. 

Smith, who came into the game after starting quarterback Kyle Allen went down with an ankle injury, nearly led Washington from behind. 

The comeback would have been a special moment for Smith and Washington as he was making only his second appearance since coming back from a life-threatening knee injury in November of 2018. 

But instead, the story was Smith's late-game blunders and the rare timely defense by the Giants who would not be denied their first road victory of the season. 

"We had a chance without those two. The second one is the one that really hurts you know," Smith said. 

"I felt like we were rolling, moving the ball, and had them on their heels. Down three, and then we got into the third-down situation, and they all dropped out. They did a great job all day, disguising. They present a lot to you as a quarterback.

Peppers' interception came ahead of the two-minute warning with Washington driving into Giants territory, when a third-down pass bounced off the hands of Washington running back J.D. McKissic and right into Peppers' grasp. 

" I saw J.D. and kind of escaped there and tried to get it to him as fast as possible and the ball just came out high and just inaccurate."

After the Giants offense forced Washington to burn all three timeouts while only taking 18 seconds off the clock, the Giants needed one more big play on defense. 

It came when Ryan jumped in front of a Smith pass over the middle of the field on a coverage that the Giants installed only the day before the game. 

Smith said he was trying to make a play on that last one but got it out late.

“We had a little high-low going over on the weak side. I had a chance to throw that on time. And you know, if you double clutch it any good defense is going to make you pay. So certainly I either needed to keep moving through my progression or throw that football on time.”