The New York Giants and Washington Redskins squared off in a Week 16 game they both needed to lose in order to have a shot at edge rusher Chase Young in the 2020 NFL Draft, so naturally, both teams came out on fire.
Rookie quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Dwayne Haskins were nearly flawless out of the gate, lighting up the opposing defense in an early tit-for-tat that was unusually exciting for two bottom dwellers.
The Giants struck first, scoring on their opening series of the game when Jones hit wide receiver Sterling Shepard from 23 yards out. They then went on to score on their next two series — a 67-yard rushing touchdown by Saquon Barkley and a 33-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Barkley — before finally being forced to punt late in the second quarter.
Then, just prior to halftime, the Giants scored again, this time on a 10-yard touchdown from Jones to wide receiver Cody Latimer.
But Haskins and the Redskins certainly weren’t shut out. Like the Giants, they scored on their opening series of the game when Haskins hit wide receiver Steven Sims Jr. from 10 yards out.
The Redskins also scored on their second series of the game — a six-yard pass from Haskins to tight end Hale Hentges — but that would be all she wrote in the first half.
Washington couldn’t get anything else going on their final three offensive drives and went into halftime trailing the Giants, 28-14.
Thing noticeably slowed down in the third quarter as Haskins and offensive tackle Morgan Moses went down with what appeared to be serious injuries for the Redskins. However, after the two teams exchanged punts and Case Keenum came on to replace Haskins, the brief stalemate was broken.
Keenum connected with Sims Jr. on a seven-yard pass with 6:38 remaining in the quarter to pull Washington within one score, but Jones, who had arguably his best performance of the season, quickly got those points back with a nine-yard pass to tight end Kaden Smith.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Giants led 35-21.
The Redskins refused to fade however, blocking a Riley Dixon punt to open the fourth quarter and immediately capitalized on it, benefiting from a DeAndre Baker pass interference penalty and riding Adrian Peterson in from one-yard out.
After a missed Aldrick Rosas field goal and and a series of exchanged punts, the Redskins were watching time slowly tick away and their chances at Chase Young improve. It was a precarious position for both teams, but they were clearly playing to win.
Despite being pinned at the one-yard line with 6:41 remaining, Keenum turned things up a notch and seemingly willed the Redskins back into the game, driving them all the way to the opposing three-yard line and a fourth-and-goal with just seconds remaining.
Although the final pass fell incomplete, rookie cornerback Corey Ballentine was called for pass interference, giving the Redskins new life and putting the ball at the one-yard line with :37 remaining.
Keenum, who had been a magician on the drive, fumbled at the goal line, but it was recovered by a Redskins teammate. After a review, the ruling of a touchdown was upheld. And with the score sitting at 35-34, Washington gave thought to going for a two-point conversation, but instead opted for a PAT and a tie with :29 remaining.
The Giants positioned themselves for a 61-yard field goal or hail mary with one two ticks on the clock remaining, ultimately deciding for the latter. The Jones chuck-and-duck fell short, sending a wild game into overtime.
After winning the toss, Jones & Co. wasted little time driving the ball back down the field and putting themselves into scoring position within the blink of an eye. And rather than settling for a field goal and hoping for the best, they punched it in — a three-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Smith — and walked away victorious, 41-35.
With the win, the Giants improve to 4-11 on the season and potentially put themselves out of range to select Chase Young in the 2020 NFL Draft. They will close out their season at home against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17.
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