The Good, Bad and Ugly of Giants’ 29-21 Loss to Commanders

New week, mostly same results as the Giants just have no answers.

New York Giants Interim Head Coach Mike Kafka is shown on the sideline during the first half against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, December 14, 2025. | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York Giants are not only the proud owners (for now) of the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, but they also now own the league’s longest losing streak after the Commanders, who previously held that distinction, snapped their misfortunes with a 29-21 win over the Giants in snowy MetLife Stadium.

The Giants, in looking for a sliver of silver lining in the loss that dropped them to 2-12 with three games left to go, might cite the fact that they stayed competitive, but in reality, there really was very little to like in this one.

Let’s dive into it.

The Good

Dec 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders running back Jeremy McNichols (26) fumbles the ball being tackled by New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter (51) during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Abdul Carter finally got the message after going through two embarrassing benchings that were a result of his own actions. Carter, who decided to grow up and take responsibility for carving his own path to greatness, got the start again with Kayvon Thibodeaux sidelined with a shoulder injury.

The rookie delivered in a big way. Carter finished with seven tackles, third most on the team–his five solo efforts were tied with safety Tyler Nubin for the most in that category.

Carter also delivered one sack, three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in what was clearly his breakout game.

Now it’s up to the rookie to keep it going for the remainder of this dismal season, but still, it was great to see Carter finally grow up right before our frozen eyes.

The Bad

New York Giants interim Head Coach Mike Kafka is shown after losing to the Washington Commanders, 29-21, Sunday, December 14, 2025. | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coaching, coaching, coaching. It started immediately with interim head coach Mike Kafka's decision to challenge the spot on the third play of the game, which he lost (there was no clear evidence that the on-field officials were incorrect, as far as I could tell). The decision cost the Giants a timeout. 

Kafka also decided not to go for it on 4th-and-6 from the Commanders’ 33-yard line, instead sending out Younghoe Koo to try a 52-yard field goal despite the kicker’s pregame warmup struggles from that end of the field. 

At that point in the game, why not just go for it? The worst that happens is you turn the ball over on downs. Instead, the Giants, on the missed field goal, gave the Commanders eight additional yards.

Want more? How about on the final play of the third quarter, on 3rd-and-20, the Giants had running back Tyrone Tracy, Jr., run right up the gut, only to gain 2 yards. 

Koo would then go on to miss his second field goal attempt, this one from yards, and the Commanders, on the ensuing drive, scored another touchdown thanks to the stellar starting field position.

Then there was the decision on 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter when the Giants ran quarterback Jaxson Dart up the middle on a designed run for a loss of a yard. Why not go with a running back there or, at the very least, attempt a pass since the team was down at that point, 29-14, with time ticking away?

And all of that was the in-game decision-making. IF you want to include the decision not to elevate Ihmir Smith-Marsette or Xavier Gipson to handle punt returns, given that Gunner Olszewski didn’t clear the protocol by the roster cutoff on Saturday, or the shoddy special teams showing, go right ahead.

The Ugly

New York Giants General Manager Joe Schoen's record has deteriorated every year since 2023. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The loss dropped the Giants to 2-12 and put them in a race for the first overall pick in the draft, but, more importantly, it underscored just how much this franchise keeps going backwards under general manager Joe Schoen.

The Giants are now 11-37 since 2023 and 5-17-1 against the NFC East. That good young core group of players that ownership might want everyone to believe exists? What good is it if the coaching and the surrounding players don’t live up to their end of the bargain?

The argument that Schoen modernized the draft process? Again, what good is it if you have premium players in the first three rounds who don’t develop? It can’t all be coaching–part of it has to be player evaluation. 

And after almost four seasons, something is clearly off with how the Giants go about evaluating players, because not only are they not getting optimal results from their draft classes, but many of their free-agent acquisitions have been pedestrian, at best.

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