Commanders and Giants Tie 27-27 in Week 5 as Jayden Daniels' Return Ends in Overtime Clock Chaos

Twelve seconds. Ball at the New York 24. No timeouts. The obvious move was to spike it and send Drew Stevens out to win the game. Instead, Jayden Daniels took the snap, held the ball, got pulled down by Tremaine Edmunds for no gain and watched the clock bleed out in the rain.

That is how the Washington Commanders and New York Giants ended up in a 27-27 tie on Sunday in Week 5, a result neither locker room will be framing. Daniels' return from a dislocated left elbow was electric for nearly the whole afternoon, the Giants erased a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit behind Jameis Winston, and both teams blew clean chances to win it in overtime. Washington sits at 1-3-1. The Giants, at 3-1-1, still lead the NFC East.

Rain, Misses and the Old Jayden

Washington needed four plays to remind everybody what Daniels looks like at full speed. He hit Chig Okonkwo twice for 34 yards, scrambled once, and Jacory Croskey-Merritt ripped off a 33-yard touchdown run. Per Giants.com, that snapped the league's longest active streak of 18 straight games without an opening-drive touchdown. Stevens then missed the extra point in the rain, an omen nobody noticed at the time.

The first half belonged to the kickers and the pass rushers. Giants undrafted rookie Dominic Zvada missed from 50, hit from 51 and later missed a 57-yarder just before halftime. Stevens hit from 28 and 40, the second set up when K'Lavon Chaisson strip-sacked Winston and Tim Settle recovered. Washington led 12-3 at the break.

Zvada opened the third quarter with a 56-yarder, which per Giants.com tied Ali Haji-Sheikh's 1983 mark for the longest field goal by a Giants rookie. Daniels answered by scrambling 38 yards for a touchdown, the longest rushing score of his career according to Giants.com. New York chipped back with a 13-play drive that included a 21-yard Tyrone Tracy Jr. catch on fourth-and-4 and an Amik Robertson interception at the 1 that was wiped out by his own pass interference. Isaiah Likely caught a 3-yard score, and it was 19-13.

Then Daniels did it again, a 26-yard touchdown run on third-and-2, followed by a two-point toss to Terry McLaurin. Washington led 27-13 with 11:05 left and the building exhaled way too early.

Winston, Nabers and Likely Flip the Script

The Giants faced fourth-and-8 at the Washington 17 on the next drive. Winston found Likely, who was initially ruled short of the goal line with the ball punched loose for a touchback, until replay reversed it to a 17-yard touchdown. Washington went three-and-out. Winston then marched 72 yards in 10 plays and Malik Nabers high-pointed a 17-yard touchdown with 1:43 left to tie it.

Per Commanders.com, Winston completed 10 of his final 13 passes in regulation. He finished 33 of 54 for 326 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, and Giants coach John Harbaugh had the perfect summary of his day. "I thought he was amazing in the fourth quarter, I thought he was amazing in the second half," Harbaugh said. "First half, he wasn't, and he'll be the first to tell you that."

Nabers caught 11 passes for 121 yards on 20 targets, and Likely caught 11 for 94 and two scores. Giants.com noted Likely is the first tight end in franchise history with at least nine catches and two touchdown grabs in a game.

Daniels, wearing a brace on his left arm, went 17 of 25 for 199 yards and ran nine times for 103 yards and both touchdowns. "Man coverage and no spy," Daniels explained. "So, try to make them pay for it." McLaurin, back from a hamstring injury, caught four balls for 62 yards. Dru Phillips sacked Daniels twice as the Giants piled up five sacks.

Overtime, or How to Not Win Twice

Zvada got the first crack in overtime and pushed a 46-yarder wide left, his third miss. After a Washington punt, the Giants drove from their own 9 to the Washington 24, with Cam Skattebo running hard and Nabers adding a 28-yard catch. The plan, per Harbaugh, was to run twice and kick. On the first carry after the two-minute warning, Daron Payne ripped the ball loose and Shy Tuttle recovered.

"I've got to hold onto the ball, and make sure that these guys know that when my name is called, that we're going to be OK," Skattebo said.

Washington moved from its own 23 to the New York 26 in four quick snaps, then Rachaad White ran for two more yards on a snap with 55 seconds left. The next snap did not come until 12 seconds remained, and you know the rest. Commanders coach Dan Quinn took the hit. "The sequencing of that does not fall on (Daniels)," he said. "That has to come from me. I have to put him in that spot."

Daniels did not dodge it either. "Situational football. Starts with me," he said.

Numbers From a Game Nobody Won

• 302: Daniels' combined passing and rushing yards in his first game back.
• 2-for-5: Zvada on field goals. Per Giants.com, he is the only NFL rookie since at least 1983 to attempt four 50-plus-yarders in one game.
• 5: Giants sacks, after New York entered with a league-low three, per Giants.com.
• 202: Washington rushing yards, at 6.7 per carry.
• 3: Overtime games between these franchises that ended in a tie, tied with Packers vs. Vikings for the most since overtime arrived in 1974, per Giants.com.

Half a Point in a Wide-Open NFC East

For the Giants, half a point beats zero, and Giants.com noted they would lead the division entering Week 6 regardless after the Eagles and Cowboys both lost to fall to 2-3. Winston was making his third straight start for the injured Jaxson Dart, and his late surge buys some breathing room. Harbaugh still had notes: "We should never be down 14. We let the quarterback run too much." New Orleans visits next.

For Washington, the headline should have been a healthy Daniels. Instead it is clock management, and Quinn, who told reporters it "feels like a loss," now carries a 1-3-1 record to San Francisco for a Monday game on Oct. 19. A franchise quarterback who can do this with a brace on his arm deserves a cleaner final minute.

A Season Finale Nobody Asked For

Ties are the NFL's version of a TV finale that cuts to black mid-scene: you sit through every twist, and the credits roll before anybody gets closure. Harbaugh at least found the honest middle ground.

"It's a heck of a lot better than a loss, but it's not as good as a win," he said. "We'll take it, we'll take it right now."

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press, Giants.com and Commanders.com.