Four Plays That Defined the Giants’ Wild 27-27 Tie With the Commanders

The New York Giants and Washington Commanders played to a 27-27 tie in their first division meeting of the season, a wild game that ended with a result neither side wanted.

The Giants were lucky to be in position to win after Washington took control in the first half and looked like it would keep dominating.

New York staged a major comeback in the final two quarters behind an improved passing performance from Jameis Winston, who completed 33 of 54 pass attempts for 326 yards and three touchdowns to force overtime.

After an extra 10 minutes, neither team made enough plays to leave as the victor. Still, these four plays were the most impactful in leading both the Giants and Commanders to a strange finish.

First Down: Washington Strikes First

The last two weeks of the Giants' slate brought plenty of praise for a defense that thwarted two consecutive final opposing drives to seal gritty wins over the Titans and Cardinals.

That same physicality didn't show up when the Commanders took the opening possession of Week 5. Washington came out looking to create chunk plays and found several against the Giants' unprepared unit.

It started with Rachaad White's 27-yard kickoff return, which set the Commanders up at their own 31-yard line. Three plays later, Jayden Daniels connected with tight end Chig Okonkwo for a 23-yard gain to enter New York territory in just over a minute.

Oct 11, 2026; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (22) runs the ball past New York Giants defensive tackle C.J. Okoye (99) during the third quarter at Northwest Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On the next play, the Commanders caught the Giants defense sleeping again, scoring on a huge 33-yard run by running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt that finished in the end zone and gave the home team a fast 6-0 advantage, the extra point attempt being no good.

The drive took four plays and 69 yards, putting the Giants in a hole in exactly two minutes. It also marked the second straight week an opponent scored on its first possession against New York (the Cardinals scored an opening touchdown in eight plays and 58 yards in Week 4).

The score immediately put the heat on Winston and the Giants offense to play catch-up in a game where throwing the ball in the rainy weather wasn't ideal.

Second Down: Isaiah Likely’s Second TD

The Giants got arguably their best effort from the receiving corps this season, and none of it would have been possible without Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely.

While the duo combined for 22 receptions, 215 yards, and three touchdowns, Likely's stat line (11 catches, 94 yards, 2 TDs) mattered more on the scoreboard. In particular, the tight end's second score nearly didn't happen.

On the Giants' second drive of the third quarter, Likely first found pay dirt on a three-yard connection from Winston, capping the team's longest drive of the game (13 plays, 63 yards). It also answered a 38-yard touchdown scramble by Daniels on the preceding Commanders possession that had grown Washington's lead to 19-6.

The Commanders dealt another blow to the comeback effort when Daniels broke free for a 26-yard keeper that found the end zone, and after Washington converted the two-point try, it was back ahead by two scores.

Once again, it was Likely who wouldn't say die on New York's fourth-quarter attempt to rally. No. 9 put his hands all over the Giants' next possession, catching a 10-yard pass to open the drive, then finishing it with a 16-yard catch-and-run that saw the ball come loose near the goal line.

After an officiating review, Likely had the wherewithal to extend the nose of the football over the plane of the end zone before Rasul Douglas punched it loose, nullifying the turnover and cementing his second touchdown, which pulled the Giants within a 27-20 deficit.

Had the ball really been coughed up, it might have been the lasting gut punch that took the wind out of the Giants' comeback sails.

Instead, Likely notched his third and fourth touchdowns of the year, his second game with multiple scores, and reminded everyone why the Giants made sure the rising star followed John Harbaugh from Baltimore to be a key weapon in their offense.

Third Down: Cam Skattebo's Fumble in Field Goal Range

Oct 11, 2026; Landover, Maryland, USA; New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo (44) fumbles the ball during overtime against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Though the Giants didn't lose, the tie was never more frustrating than in the final 3:38 of overtime, when they finally had the field position to attempt a game-winning field goal with Dominic Zvada and put the Commanders to bed.

After Zvada's earlier miss, the Giants defense had to come out with heavy pressure to force Daniels into mistakes and stall any movement toward field-goal range for Stevens.

It worked perfectly, as defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson's group got the Commanders offense off the field in four plays and 13 yards behind a forced fumble Washington recovered and a failed fourth-down conversion attempt that drew a delay-of-game penalty when the Giants couldn't be fooled into going offside.

The biggest stop of the afternoon put the ball back in the Giants' hands with a chance to steal the road win and improve to 4-1, but not before Big Blue's offense offered one more turnover to its count of two.

In eight plays and 67 yards, Winston led the Giants offense with two big completions to Nabers for 36 yards. Skattebo handled the rest of the work on the ground, punishing the Commanders' defense with a 19-yard burst followed by two more carries for a total of 14 yards.

With the Giants at the Washington 24-yard line and in Zvada's range, they tried one more carry to set up the next play, but Skattebo lost control of the ball, and the Commanders recovered it to stall the upset.

The crushing fumble wouldn't be the Giants' death knell, as the Commanders would one-up the mistake with an unfathomable case of time mismanagement that ripped away their own shot at a game-winning Stevens kick in the final seconds of the extra period.

For Skattebo and company, it was a play they'll be thinking about beyond Sunday. There had to be some trepidation given Zvada's shaky outing, but there was no better time to trust their young kicker to convert the one kick that would have wiped away the thought of his earlier misses.

Plus, the Giants' ball control has been an issue. Skattebo's mishap was the team's fifth fumble this season and the third they lost, both marks leading the NFL through five games.

One could also wonder what Harbaugh and the coaches were thinking when they elected to push for a few extra yards instead of shutting the door on the Commanders and leaving with a 2-0 record in the NFC East standings.

A tie is not a loss, but with one foolish handoff, the Giants cost themselves a little extra breathing room from their divisional neighbors.

Fourth Down: Washington’s Final Play in Overtime

Oct 11, 2026; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn reacts after the game against the New York Giants at Northwest Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Facing second-and-8 from the 24-yard line, well within field-goal range, the Commanders had no timeouts left and ran a play with no discernible purpose that ended with Daniels getting sacked.

Maybe they were trying to gain a few yards for a closer game-winning field goal. Maybe they wanted to burn time off the clock so that a miss wouldn't leave the Giants time to drive for a field goal attempt of their own.

Or maybe those involved forgot they had no timeouts. Whatever the reason, it was one of the more bizarre endings to a game, and a big reason the contest finished in a draw that increased the Giants' lead in the NFC East to 1.5 games.

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