Giant Takeaways: Giants Need Overtime to Defeat Redskins

The New York Giants have an official winning streak after Sunday. It took overtime, but the Giants defeated the Washington Redskins 41-35 at FedEx Field in Landover, MD.

The 174th matchup between both teams featured the first official battle between quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Dwayne Haskins. In the first half, both rookies went back and forth, resulting in five touchdowns in the first five drives of the game.

New York found themselves with a 35-21 lead in the third quarter after a touchdown reception by tight end Kaden Smith. Yet, the Redskins offense, thanks to the Giants defense, came back to life. After a one-yard punch in by Adrian Peterson, Washington sent the game to overtime with a Case Keenum scrambling touchdown.

The Giants elected to receive the ball first in overtime, and never gave Washington a chance to have a possession. On an 11 play drive, Jones ended the game by hitting Smith in the end zone once again to give the Giants their fourth win of the year.

Here are some takeaways from New York’s win.

Daniel Jones’ Heroic Return

Daniel Jones missed the past two games due to a high ankle sprain. After going 1-1 with Eli Manning in that span, Jones returned, and his ankle had absolutely no hinderance on him.

Jones held his own against Haskins, who ultimately left in the third quarter with an ankle injury of his own. While yes, the Redskins defense is nothing to write home about, Jones systematically picked them apart on numerous occasions. From his opening drive touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard, to his 33 yard dime to Saquon Barkley on their third drive.

Daniel Jones completed 28-of-42 pass attempts for 352 yards, and five touchdowns, a career-high. More importantly, Jones had just one turnover, which he didn’t lose. Now, Jones owns the record for most touchdown passes thrown by a quarterback in their rookie season with 23, surpassing Charlie Conerly’s 22 recorded back in 1948.

Jones is also the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to record 350+ passing yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Not a bad achievement to add to your resume.

If anyone is to be happier about Daniel Jones’ record-breaking day, it’s general manager Dave Gettleman, who took plenty of flak for selecting the Duke Blue Devil sixth overall in this year’s NFL Draft. The future is bright for Daniel Jones, but he’s not the only offensive youngster to show out in the shadows of Washington DC.

The Saquon Show

There’s been a rough two month stretch for him, but Saquon Barkley is officially back.

Barkley got things going on the opening drive, rushing for 32 yards, eventually setting up the Jones touchdown pass to Shepard. Then, there was the Giants offense’s second possession. The former Penn State Nittany Lion burst up the middle of Washington’s defense, and exploded for a huge 67-yard touchdown run.

The Giants rusher wasn’t done there, as he put pass-catching concerns to rest as he recorded a wide open touchdown reception from Jones to give the Giants the 14-7 lead in the first quarter.

All in all, Barkley rushed for 189 yards on 22 carries (8.6 yard average) and a score, in addition to his four receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. That’s 279 yards from scrimmage in one game, which is a Giants franchise record.

The Giants ownership and fan base got a glimpse of the future, and the offense looks to be in good hands being led by Jones and Barkley.

Defense Falls Flat

Lets’ face it, both New York and Washington’s defenses played like they wanted to lose the game. Yet, the Giants defense couldn’t hold onto a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.

On Washington’s final drive in regulation, the Giants had them set up at their own one-yard line thanks to a perfect punt from Riley Dixon. This would be cake for any other defense in the league..except if you’re the Giants.

On third and nine, the Giants surrendered a 32 yard pass from Case Keenum to receiver Steven Sims Jr. Three plays later, Keenum hit an inexcusably wide open Hale Hentges for a 22 yard gain. Then, there was the impressive sideline catch by rookie Terry McLaurin.

But with 41 seconds remaining on fourth and three, Keenum’s pass intended for Sims was overthrown, which all-but looked to clinch the win for New York. Yet, rookie Corey Ballentine was called for pass interference, due to him shoving Sims before the ball even got in their vicinity. Washington capitalized on the rookie blunder with the game-tying touchdown just one play later.

This was a far cry from the strong defensive performance last week against the Miami Dolphins. There’s still work that needs to be done, especially in the secondary.

Chase for Chase Over

As I’ve written for the past month or so, the Giants were in prime position to select stud Ohio State defensive end Chase Young. Yet, that has all become a dream for the Big Blue faithful.

Sitting at 3-11 entering Week 16, a Giants loss would have all-but clinched the second overall pick. Instead, New York finds themselves at the No. 4 pick, behind the Redskins (No. 2) and Detroit Lions (No. 3). Chase Young looks to be well-out of their periphery.

In that case, the Giants will look at other positional needs, such as offensive tackle and linebacker. Georgia left tackle Andrew Thomas and Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons would be ideal choices. Of course, there’s always the option to trade down to accumulate picks.

Either way, Chase Young looks destined to wear a Redskins or Lions uniform, but that’s only if he doesn’t return for his senior season at Columbus, OH.

What’s Next?

The Giants will close out their season at home against the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. With the Eagles earning a huge victory against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the Giants have the chance to play spoiler and get revenge from Week 14. But if the Eagles win, they are 2019 NFC East Champions.