Giants Edge Washington in Overtime, 41-35

Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, and Kaden Smith have career games for Big Blue.

Landover, MD -- Daniel Jones threw five touchdown passes and running back Saquon Barkley recorded a career-high 189 yards rushing as the New York Giants defeated Washington 41-35 in overtime for the first regular-season sweep of their rivals since the 2015 season.

The win gives the Giants four victories on the year, one shy of matching their 2018 total.

Jones, making his first start after missing two games with a high ankle sprain, was brilliant. 

He completed 28 of 42 pass attempts for 352 yards and the five touchdown passes, including a pair to rookie tight end Kaden Smith, who, in addition to catching the 3-yard game-winner in overtime, also had a 9-yarder in regulation.

Jones' other touchdown passes included a23-yard strike to Sterling Shepard on their opening drive, a 33-yarder to Barkley and a 10-yarder to Cody Latimer,

Barkley, whose 189 rushing yards (on 22 carries) is a new career-high, added four receptions for 90 yards and scored a 67-yard touchdown run on the Giants' second possession of the game, giving them a 14-7 lead.

Early Game Scorefest

The start of the game looked like it might reach epic proportions from a scoring standpoint as both Washington and the Giants exchanged touchdowns into the second quarter.

The back and forth ended when Washington failed to match the Giants' third score of the game on a drive that ended in a punt with 5:48 left in the half and the Giants winning 21-14.

Jones and his Washington counterpart, Dayne Haskins, each were perfect in the first quarter, Jones going 3 of 3 and Haskins 8 of 8. By the end of the half, Jones was 11 of 15 for 123 yards while Haskins went 4 of 7 for 28 yards.

Haskins suffered an ankle injury early in the second half and did not return. But Case Keenum managed to keep Washington in reach when he connected with Steven Sims on a 7-yard touchdown pass with 6:43 left to make it 28-21 Giants.

The Giants responded with the first of Jones' touchdown passes to Smith, the rookie tight end the team acquired earlier in the year who has been solidifying his case for a more prominent role on offense in the future. Smith's 9-yard catch capped a 5-play, 73-yard scoring drive.

Smith also had a key block on Barkley's 67-yard touchdown run at the point of attack. 

Barkley's lone rushing touchdown, the Giants' second score of the game, put him over 100 yards rushing about midway through the first quarter, and it was his longest run from scrimmage since he recorded a 65-yard rush in Week 9 against Dallas. 

A Wild Fourth Quarter

With the Giants up 35-21 at the end of the third quarter, things got very interesting in the final 15 minutes of regulation starting with a significant error on special teams captain Michael Thomas, flagged for offensive holding on a Riley Dixon punt that Cody Core had downed inside of the 5-yard line.

Ont he re-kick, Nate Orchard blocked Dixon's punt to set Washington up with 1st-and-10 on the Giants 17.

On the very next play, rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, setting up running back Adrian Peterson's 1-yard touchdown run. That score put Peterson ahead of Walter Payton for fourth in all-time rushing touchdowns scored.

With the score 35-28, the Giants tried to extend their lead on the ensuing possession. But kicker Aldrick Rosas' 53-yard field goal from 4th-and-4 from Washington's 35-yard line went wide left.

Washington would then tie it thanks to a little help from the Giants defense. Facing 4th-and-3 with 41 seconds remaining in regulation, Keenum attempted a pass for Sims, which fell incomplete.

However, Corey Ballentine committed a foolish pass interference penalty when he pushed a receiver in the end zone, the penalty giving Washington a fresh set of downs.

With the Giants winning the coin toss in overtime, Washington never saw the ball again as Jones marched the offense 11 plays and 66 yards, the capper being the 3-yard catch by Smith for the win.

By the Numbers

Receiver Golden Tate now has at least one catch in 144 consecutive games played. That’s the third-longest active streak behind Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals and Julio Jones of the Falcons.

Barkley now has a reception in all 28 career games, extending his Giants record to start a career.

Markus Golden was credited with a half-sack this week, which boosts his total to 9.5, which matches defensive end Robert Ayers' team-high set in 2015.

Golden is a half-sack away from being the first Giants player to record double-digit sacks since 2014 when Jason Pierre-Paul recorded 12.5 that season. Golden would also become the first Giants linebacker to have double-digit sacks since Lawrence Taylor did it in 1990.

Draft Order Update

By winning, the Giants dropped from No. 2 to No. 4 int eh draft order, pending the completion of the rest of this week's games. 

Injury Updates

Inside linebacker Alec Ogletree was active but didn’t play, as he apparently suffered a back injury during pregame warmups. Deone Bucannon replaced Ogletree.

Right tackle Mike Remmers left the game in the second quarter with a concussion and was replaced by Nick Gates. Receiver Darius Slayton banged his knee. He tried to return to the game, but he was limited the rest of the way, which opened up more opportunities for Cody Latimer.

Up Next

The Giants will conclude their 2019 season at home against Philadelphia. With a win, the Giants will match their 2018 season total.