Commanders Report Card: Who Got High Marks After Massive Win Over Giants

The Commanders certainly needed that. 

Washington got a massive 24-21 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday night that essentially saved their season, keeping the Commanders in the NFC East race. A loss would’ve been devastating. 

That win at MetLife Stadium gives them a glimmer of hope. What they do with it remains to be seen, but this game brought some positivity back to Washington after finally coming through in the clutch. 

This one was all about resilience and character in an imperfect game with several big mistakes, but the Commanders never stopped pushing. Not after Jayden Daniels threw two fourth-quarter interceptions. Not after the defense gave up an explosive touchdown to Isaiah Likely. 

Jayden Daniels kept throwing. Daronte Jones kept sending pressure. 

This was the four-quarter game Dan Quinn has been questing for. It was imperfect to say the least, but Washington seemed to understand the moment and never, ever stopped swinging. To see that type of fight in this massive moment, after all the adversity faced, was impressive. 

Let’s take a deeper dive into the Commanders performance in this Week 10 report card: 

Rushing offense

I was fairly critical of the Commanders running game in the takeaways article. I don’t take that back. This running game is not revving at the right RPM, with blocking issues preventing efficiency in the operation. 

The Commanders averaged 3.2 yards per carry, and that included an explosive Rachaad White run that makes his stats look better than they otherwise would have. Even Jayden Daniels wasn’t getting loose on scrambles – the Giants seemed committed to keeping him in the pocket – or getting loose on designed runs that have been increasingly rare this season. 

However, offensive coordinator David Blough’s commitment to the run game was impressive, with 33 carries equal to the number of pass attempts in the game. That helped the play action passing game and kept the Giants defense honest, which was smart. If Washington can get the running game up to 4ish yards per carry in this season, they’ll be feeling good. That didn’t happen on this night. 

Grade: D

Passing offense

Jayden Daniels hadn’t thrown an interception all season. Then he threw two of them in four pass attempts. Late in the fourth quarter. With the game on the line. The Commanders got the ball back and Jayden made the most of it with a dagger 31-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs with a minute left to take a lead that they never surrendered. Daniels completed 23-of-33 passes for 249 yards, and those two picks, for a 96.7 rating. 

A previously-beleaguered offensive line was good in pass protection. Like, really good. 

Washington got vital contributions from Stefon Diggs and tight end Ben Sinnott. Diggs led the team with six catches for 83 yards and that huge victory-sealing score. Sinnott had four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown despite having just one previous catch all season. The protection factor can’t be ignored. Neither can the two picks. The passing game needed some defensive help, but it came through at the end of the half, and, most importantly, at the end of the game. 

Grade: B-plus

Rushing defense

Cam Skattebo is a crazy person, in a super fun way. He was motivated in this one, and had 78 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. J.J. McCarthy averaged 5.7 yards per carry and had some big runs. That’s not ideal. Neither was the 4.3 yards per carry that Washington’s defense allowed. 

Then there was that had-to-have it third-and-1 in the fourth quarter, when Deatrich Wise and the crew shut a quarterback sneak down when the Commanders had to have it. The same is true of Sonny Styles tackling McCarthy for a loss on a key third down late in the game. 

That’s worth something, too. 

Grade: B-minus

Passing defense

The pass rush was active as heck. Maybe not with a four-man rush, but the blitz was largely effective, especially with Nick Cross and Jeremy Reaves coming in from the defensive backfield. Sonny Styles and Frankie Luvu came a ton, too. Frankie Luvu got a huge forced fumble that produced a takeaway. 

The nine catches and 127 yards to tight end Isaiah Likely weren’t great. The Commanders handled Malik Nabers relatively well. Rasul Douglas called game with that fourth-quarter interception. Washington brought it, and stood tall when it mattered most. 

The Commanders had just one sack, but hit McCarthy six times and forced errant throws. They were relentless in pursuit of the quarterback. 

Grade: A-minus

Special teams

It won’t show up in the stat sheet, but Luke McCaffrey’s heads-up play to give Washington the ball at the 40 was such a baller move, a sky-high football IQ play that was crucial to a late-game effort. Drew Stevens made a field goal and vital extra points. 

Tress Way had a 49.0-yard net punt average and Kain Medrano nearly ended the game with a ball punched free on that last Giants kick return. Washington just didn’t recover it. 

Grade: A-minus

Coaching

We’ve passed out lots of Fs in this category. Not tonight. Defensive coordinator Daronte Jones gets a game ball after sending relentless pressure even after his defense allowed some explosives. The game plan was sound and so were the play calls. 

David Blough wasn’t quite as strong – going to the well with the same pass play one too many times led to Daniels’ second pick – but the Commanders got the job done. 

Also, Dan Quinn gets some kudos. His challenge on third-and-short was vital. He managed to keep his team together despite great adversity, and got them to perform well under pressure. 

The Commanders had to win this one, and they did. Quinn deserves credit for that. Jones deserves a game ball. 

Grade: A

How would you grade each phase of the Commanders’ game in a huge win over the Giants? Let us know in the comments below: