Jayden Daniels Finds Stefon Diggs Late and Rasul Douglas Seals It as the Commanders Stun the Giants on Thursday Night Football

For most of a soaked Thursday night in East Rutherford, the Giants did what a first-place team is supposed to do at home. They outgained their division rival, they ran Cam Skattebo into the end zone twice, and they intercepted Jayden Daniels on back-to-back fourth-quarter possessions, the first picks he had thrown all season. Then they gave the ball back one time too many.

The Washington Commanders beat the New York Giants 24-21 at MetLife Stadium when Daniels found Stefon Diggs for a 32-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left and Rasul Douglas intercepted J.J. McCarthy on the final drive. Washington is 3-5-1 and still breathing. New York arrived as the only NFC East team with a winning record and still leads the division at 5-3-1, but the cushion is a lot thinner than it was at kickoff.

A Wet First Half Tilts Late

Severe storms briefly cleared fans from their seats before kickoff, and the rain hung around all night. The Giants moved the ball on their first two possessions and had nothing to show for either. The opener reached the Washington 37 before a punt. The second stalled at the 15, and Dominic Zvada pushed a 33-yard field goal wide left. Zvada made the first nine kicks of his NFL career, according to the Associated Press, and is 8 of 14 since.

Washington struck first with an 11-play, 49-yard drive that ended in a 46-yard field goal from Drew Stevens. New York answered with its most patient football of the night, a 16-play, 72-yard march that finished with Skattebo scoring from a yard out with 2:35 left in the half. The 7-3 lead nearly made it to the locker room. Daniels responded by hitting Diggs for 30 yards, and with 5 seconds left he found tight end Ben Sinnott for a 1-yard touchdown. Washington led 10-7 at the break despite trailing in total yards, 152 to 143, and in time of possession, 17:18 to 12:42.

Six Lead Changes and a Red-Zone Gift

The second half opened badly for the Commanders. Rachaad White lost a yard, Shelby Harris sacked Daniels for a 14-yard loss and a false start left Washington facing third-and-28. After the punt, the Giants needed five plays to cover 55 yards, and Skattebo finished it with a 13-yard touchdown run, his second score of the night, for a 14-10 lead.

Washington's reply was its sharpest drive of the game. Daniels opened it with a 24-yard throw to Sinnott, and five plays later rookie receiver Antonio Williams caught a 31-yard touchdown on third-and-1, the second score of his career. That made it 17-14, and the Washington defense followed with a takeaway. On the next Giants series, which included a 34-yard connection from McCarthy to Malik Nabers, linebacker Frankie Luvu forced Nabers to fumble after a catch in the red zone and the threat was gone.

Washington could not cash in, and the Giants defense later stopped the Commanders on fourth down. McCarthy made them pay. He hit Isaiah Likely on a catch-and-run that went 66 yards for a touchdown with 8:13 to play, and New York led 21-17. It was the sixth lead change of the night. It would not be the last.

Two Interceptions and a Second Chance

Daniels had not thrown an interception all season. He threw two in a little more than three minutes of game time. With Washington at the Giants 24, safety Jevon Holland came away with a pass intended for Chig Okonkwo at the 2-yard line with 5:27 left. Okonkwo had left in the second quarter with a back injury and returned after halftime. According to the AP, the two picks came on Daniels' 208th and 211th pass attempts of the season.

In between came the oddest sequence of the night. Facing fourth-and-1 at their own 11 with 3:27 to go, the Giants sent backup quarterback Jameis Winston under center to try to pull Washington offside with a hard count, and the Prime Video cameras caught Winston singing "Who Let the Dogs Out" at the line. Nobody jumped. The Giants took a delay of game, and Jordan Stout boomed a 68-yard punt. Washington could not do much with it, and on fourth-and-2 from its own 45 with 2:15 remaining, safety Ar'Darius Washington picked off Daniels again.

That should have been the ballgame. New York had a four-point lead, the ball in Washington territory and a chance to run out the clock. It went three-and-out. The Commanders then covered 71 yards in three plays, the biggest of them a 33-yard pass interference penalty on Deonte Banks while covering Treylon Burks, a flag ProFootball Talk called questionable. Then Daniels found Diggs, who caught it and ran the rest of the way for a 32-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left.

The Giants still had time. McCarthy moved them to the Washington 48 and then took a deep shot for Nabers. Nabers could not come down with it. Douglas did, intercepting the pass with 25 seconds left to finish it.

Star Turns

Daniels finished 23 of 33 for 249 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, and he added 28 yards on 10 carries. He is now 4-0-1 in his career against the Giants, per NorthJersey.com. Diggs caught six passes for 83 yards, and his winner was the 80th touchdown catch of his career, making him the 30th player in league history to reach that mark, according to the AP.

McCarthy was better than his last throw. He completed 23 of 36 passes for a career-high 293 yards in his first home start since the Giants acquired him from Minnesota in late September, per the AP, with one touchdown and one interception. Likely was his go-to target with nine catches for 127 yards. Skattebo ran 18 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 44 more, and Washington never fully solved him.

Arvell Reese, coming off a three-sack day in Philadelphia that earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors, reached double-digit tackles for the second straight game, according to NorthJersey.com. For Washington, Odafe Oweh registered a sack, and Luvu's forced fumble was the defensive play of the night until Douglas topped it.

The Numbers Behind It

• 399 total yards for the Giants, against 340 for Washington.
• 0 points for New York off Daniels' two fourth-quarter interceptions.
• 6 lead changes, the last with 57 seconds left.
• 71 yards in three plays on the winning drive, 33 of them on one penalty.
• 293 passing yards for McCarthy, a career high.

What It Means

Washington needed this one badly. The Commanders came in at 2-5-1 after a 20-13 loss to the Rams, playing without Terry McLaurin, who is out with a knee injury, and with pregame talk about whether Dan Quinn's job was in danger. At 3-5-1, they sit two games behind New York and own the head-to-head edge after October's 27-27 overtime tie. Washington gets a long break before it hosts the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, Nov. 23.

The Giants are still in first place at 5-3-1, but this is the kind of loss that lingers. They outgained Washington by 59 yards, led until the final minute and had the ball in Commanders territory with a chance to close it out. Instead, Washington is back within two games, and Dallas sits at 4-5. New York also lost safety Jason Pinnock to a back injury early in the third quarter. The Giants host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Nov. 22.

One Answer Was Enough

Nothing about this one was tidy. It was two division rivals sliding around in the rain, one trying to protect first place and one trying to keep its season from slipping away. Daniels handed the Giants two chances to bury Washington, and they could not finish either one. He needed only one chance to answer, and in the NFC East that was enough.

Stats and scoring details as reported by the Associated Press, NFL.com, ProFootball Talk, Yahoo Sports, NorthJersey.com, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Yardbarker, ESPN, Giants.com and Commanders.com.