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NY Giants vs. Washington Commanders — Scoring Updates, Highlight Reels & Reactions

The Giants are looking to avoid a second consecutive season sweep by the Commanders.
Patricia Traina|
Can the Giants avoid a fourth straight loss to the Commanders?
Can the Giants avoid a fourth straight loss to the Commanders? | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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New York Giants

The New York Giants are out of the postseason, facing an uncertain future. So too are the Washington Commanders, who have a little more certainty regarding their future.

But until the future rolls around, exactly what is there for these two teams to play for in this Week 15 tilt other than pride?

For the Giants, there is something, and with all apologies, that something isn’t the first overall pick in the 2026 draft order. 

For those expecting or hoping for the Giants to tank, it’s not going to happen, though, by their own natural shortcomings, they do have something of an uphill battle as they come out of the bye, of which their post-bye record all-time is 19-25.

There are actually two things the Giants can play for this week. The first is the draft order. With a win over the Commanders, the Giants improve to 3-11, which would be the same record the Commanders would have with a loss.

Assuming both teams finish with identical records, the draft priority would be based on head-to-head (which would be tied) and then best won-loss record in divisional games, of which the Giants have one remaining and the Commanders, three after this week.

But if the Giants lose, then if the two teams finish with an identical record, the Commanders would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Speaking of divisional games, the Giants can aim for a .500 record against their division opponents, something they last accomplished in 2020 (4-2), if they take care of business against Washington today and then Dallas in the regular-season finale at home.

All this might not seem like much for Giants fans who once again have been left disappointed by Big Blue, but for those who want other reasons to stay tuned in besides quarterback Jaxson Dart, this is really the best that the Giants can offer at this point.

Follow along with our live blog as we bring you play highlights, injury and statistical notes, and more from the Giants’ Week 15 game against the Washington Commanders.

Jump to a section

  1. Fourth Quarter
  2. Third Quarter
  3. Second Quarter
  4. First Quarter
  5. Pregame
  6. More New York Giants Coverage

Fourth Quarter

FINAL: WAS 29, NYG 21. Washington ends its losing streak, and the Giants now see their losing streak go to eight, the longest of the season. Washington sweeps the Giant for the second year in a row.

1:43: And that will do it for the Giants as Dart can't connect with Robinson on fourth down. Turnover on downs. And the Giants are out of timeouts.

TWO MINUTE WARNING

2:42: Abdul Carter forces a fumble and goes on to initiate a chain of laterals. However, he was ruled down by contact. Still a heads-up play by the rookie who has had a pretty good day today.

2:51: Mariota to TE Ben Sinnott, who beats Jevon Holland. 36-yard gain.

3:49: Giants get the touchdown in garbage time. Dart on fourth down hits Wan'Dale Robinson for 16 yards. One score game. WAS 29, NYG 21

5:50: Hey-oh. Mariota fumbles after being sacked by Dane Belton, and Brian Burns scoops it up and returns it 23 yards. Can the Giants cash in with a garbage-time score?

⏹COMMANDERS INJURY UPDATE: DT Eddie Goldman is being evaluated for a concussion.

10:22: Flott gets called for DPI. Remember, this is the same officiating crew that called that penalty fest in the Giants' Week 2 loss to Dallas.

10:26: And Dart, who returns to the game, can't hit Robinson on 4th down. Giants come up empty.

⏹GIANTS INJURY ALERT: Dart gets walked off the field by the trainers after what looked like a hit to the head. And then he protested having to go into the tent before doing so. Why are they calling a designed run there on 4th-and-1 and not handing off to the running back?

12:29: Gorgeous pass from Dart to Johnson for 42 yards.

13:56: Terry McLaurin avoids two tackles and scores on a 51-yard touchdown. WAS 29, NYG 14

15:00: And Younghoe Koo's 51-yard field goal attempt is no good. Second miss today, and the Commanders get the ball at midfield. That JMS penalty and drop by Slayton are HUGE.

Third Quarter

END OF QUARTER

0:12: Great call there on 3rd-and-20, a run up the gut. (I kid, I kid.)

⏹GIANTS INJURY ALERT: Darius Slayton's return is questionable.

0:20: Ugh, Slayton couldn't come down with a deep pass to the end zone. I think that will count as a drop, but it also looked like the defender hooked his arm.

0:51: Bad penalty on John Michael Schmitz, who draws a 15-yard penalty. Stupid penalty.

2:44: Giants go for it on fourth down. Dart to Bellinger for 12 yards. Huge play!

⏹COMMANDERS INJURY UPDATE: T Laremy Tunsil (oblique) is questionable to return.

⏹COMMANDERS INJURY UPDATE:  TE Colson Yankoff (ankle) is questionable to return.

9:21 Textbook PBU by Dru Phillips on that Mariota pass intended for McLaurin.

⏹COMMANDERS INJURY UPDATE: LT Laremy Tunsil (shoulder) is back in the lineup. 

⏹GIANTS STAT NOTE: Tyrone Tracy is the first Giants player to have a rushing and receiving touchdown since 2023, when Saquon Barkley did so. 

11:55: Tyrone Tracy beats Bobby Wagner for the 18-yard touchdown. One score game. WAS 22, NYG 14

And the Giants draw another special teams penalty, this one on Neville Hewitt, which wipes out a 29-yard Banks kickoff return.

⏹COMMANDERS INJURY UPDATE: WR Noah Brown (rib) is OUT.

Second Quarter

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart
Dec 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) hands off the ball to running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) who scores a touchdown during the second quarter against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

HALFTIME

:04: Jake Moody hits his third field goal of the day, this one from 42 yards. WAS 22, NYG 7

0:26: This is just comical now. Dart gets picked off on a late pass to a double-covered Jalin Hyatt. It gets picked off by Mike Sainristil, who returns it 55 yards and puts Washington in FG territory.

Ensuing kickoff goes out of bounds.

1:20: Jalen Lane returns the punt 63 yards for a touchdown. Zaire Barnes called for ineligible downfield. The PAT attempt was no good. WAS 19, NYG 7

1:26: And now Eluemunor gets called for a false start.  

1:33: Von Miller beats Jermaine Eluemunor for an 8-yard sack of Jaxson Dart.

1:54: Jevon Holland loses three yards on the punt return. SMH

TWO MINUTE WARNING

2:32: Carter with another TFL. That's three on the day to go with his sack.

3:43: Giants are on the board! Tyrone Tracy stays on his feet for the 12-yard touchdown. WAS 13, NYG 7

5:19: Dart with a 29-yard scramble up the middle. Gets to the Commanders' 12-yard line.

8:30: Jake Moody converts his second field goal of the day, this one from 39 yards. WAS 13, NYG 0

⏹COMMANDERS INJURY ALERT: CB Darius Rush (groin) is questionable to return

10:07: Bobby Okereke looked like the one who missed the tackle on McNichols's 16-yard gain.

⏹COMMANDERS INJURY ALERT: LT Laremy Tunsil (shoulder) is questionable to return.

11:28: Dane Belton forces a fumble, but it bounces right back to Conerly as Washington maintains possession.

Nice 31-yard kickoff return by Devin Singletary, but a penalty flag there on Chauncey Golston brings it back.

13:44: Giants run defense strikes again. 16-yard touchdown run by Jacory Croskey-Merritt up the middle. Commanders ran three times for 33 yards on that drive. WAS 10, NYG 0

First Quarter

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart
Dec 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) awaits the snap from center John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61) during the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

END OF THE QUARTER: WAS 3, NYG 0

⏹COMMANDERS INJURY ALERT: WR Noah Brown (back) is questionable to return.

2:20: Jevon Holland back there on punt returns. As I suspected, he called for a fair catch. Expecting to see a lot of those from the Giants in this game.

3:10: Sack, Abdul Carter. Also caused a fumble, but Washington recovered. Good start for Carter in this game, so far. Has 2 TFL and a sack in the first quarter.

3:15: Giants nearly picked that pass to Deebo Samuel off. Darius Muasau, who was just activated, had a chance

7:01: Oh, jeeze. Younghoe Koo misses a 52-yard field goal that is wide left. Keep in mind, he has a new holder today with Jamie Gillam inactive. Holder is Cameron Johnston. WAS 3, NYG 0

Banks and Singletary back deep for the kickoff.

9:26: Jake Moody gets the Commanders on the board with a 46-yard field goal. WAS 3, NYG 0

11:46: Mariota hits Noah Brown for 28 yards. Commanders in plus territory.  

13:34: Giants challenge that spot on the McLaurin reception. The call was upheld. Giants lose a timeout. Bad challenge there this early in the game.

14:55: Giants OLB Abdul Carter gets the start, so no benching. Progress. Makes a TFL on the first play.

Pregame

The Giants won the toss and deferred. Game on!

The stadium is virtually empty. You could probably fit everyone in the stands into the lower bowl and still have room left over.

GIANTS INACTIVES

Russell Wilson (QB3), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux, WR Ryan Miller, P Jamie Gillan, OL James Hudson III, WR Gunner Olszewski, and DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches.

Simply mind blowing that the Giants, knowing that Olszewski had a 50-50 chance of being cleared from the protocol, didn't bother to add one of two return specialists (Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Xavier Gipson) to the game-day roster.

So now that means on punts, the likely returner will be Jevon Holland the starting safety, and on kickoffs, the combo of Jalin Hyatt and Deonte Banks on kickoff returns.

COMMANDERS INACTIVES

QB Jayden Daniels, CB Jonathan Jones, RB Chris Rodriguez, Jr., T Trent Scott, T George Fant, and DE Drake Jackson

Rodriguez is a key loss for Washington, who in the first meeting against the Giants shredded the Big Blue run defense.

Eh, not really.

Statistical Notes

Per NFL+, Giants QB Jaxson Dart has a 90+ passer rating in 7 of his eight career starts. That is tied for the most such games with a rookie's first eight career games since 1950, tied with Dan Marino in 1983.

The Giants have allowed the 6th-most yards per play (6.3) and the 4th-highest explosive play rate (17.2%) against 11 personnel this season. The Commanders have used 11 personnel on 57% of their offensive snaps, per SIS, which is 21st in the NFL. They have a 48% success rate, 13th in the NFL.

The Giants have struggled in particular against the run when facing 11 personnel. Per NFL+, they have allowed 6.9 yards per carry (most), a 51.9% success rate (second-highest), and 20.3% of these carries gaining 10+ yards (highest).

The Commanders have averaged 5.4 yards per carry (8th-most) and a 50.0% success rate (fourth-highest) when rushing out of 11 personnel this season.

With the weather set to feature cold and blustery conditions, figure the run game to be a key for the Commanders.

Notables

QB Jaxson Dart is one of only four rookie QBs since 2000 to total 18+ touchdowns in his first eight career starts (Deshaun Watson, Justin Herbert, Cam Newton). His 18 touchdowns are the most by a Giants QB in their first eight career starts since at least 1950.

S Jevón Holland has totaled 46 tackles, five passes defensed, and one interception in 11 games as a Giant. He owns a 50.0% completion percentage when targeted, tied for the 3rd-best mark in the NFL among safeties who have been targeted at least 20 times this season.

According to Next Gen Stats, LB Abdul Carter leads all rookies with 47 quarterback pressures and 13 QB hits. His 13 QB hits are tied with Kayvon Thibodeaux (2022) and Azeez Ojulari (2021) for the most by a Giants rookie since QB hits became an official stat in 2006.

In 13 starts this season, ILB Bobby Okereke has recorded 110 tackles, the 10th-most in the NFL. Since Okereke joined the Giants in 2023, he has totaled 13 games with 10+ tackles, the 3rd-most by a Giants player since 1970.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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