Giants-Redskins final score: New York holds on to defeat Washington, 41-35, in OT

In the battle to avoid finishing in last place in the NFC East the New York Giants held on to defeat the Washington Redskins in overtime on Sunday, 41-35. New York improves to 4-11 on the season while Washington falls to 3-12.

The Giants won on a 3-yard pass from Daniel Jones to tight end Kaden Smith on third-and-goal, polishing off an 11-play, 66-yard drive. By rule, the touchdown on the first possession ended the game with Washington never getting the ball in the extra session.

Jones finished a spectacular day 28 of 42 for 352 yards and five touchdowns. He became the first NFL rookie to have 350+ yards passing, five touchdowns and no interceptions in a game.

Coach Pat Shurmur said he thought Jones “played pretty heroic.”

Here is Jones on the victory:

“You see it as a huge opportunity for the team and you’re excited for that, that’s kinda what you look forward to and what you play for, is an opportunity to do that. To go down and win the game, I think that’s how we all felt. It was the second half, it was kinda up and down. We didn’t make enough plays to hold our lead. So, the opportunity to get the ball first, it was exciting for us and we were ready for it.”

Here is Shurmur’s reaction:

“I told the team, this is the time of year when teams can quit fighting and it’s pretty obvious to me that our guys didn’t. They fought hard,” Shurmur said. “We made enough plays to win – certainly having to do it in overtime – but we fought hard, we made enough plays and I think there were some standout performances that say – and what I’ve been trying to say all along – that the future’s bright with some of these young players. And when they’re involved in games like this, just like when you’re in close games where there’s not a lot of scoring, there’s something to be learned from it.”

The Giants also got a tremendous game from Saquon Barkley, who carried 22 times for a career-best 189 yards including a 67-yard touchdown. Barkley also caught a 33-yard touchdown pass. On the Giants’ game-winning drive, Barkley carried six times for 31 yards.

Haskins vs. Jones

When Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins was asked earlier this week if there was any extra motivation to be playing against Giants QB Daniel Jones, who was drafted above him in the 2019 NFL Draft, Haskins did not hesitate.

“Absolutely not,” Haskins said.

But when both rookie quarterbacks led their teams to touchdowns on their first possessions of the game, the stage was set for a showdown.

Unfortunately, Haskins’ game came to an end when he was sacked on the Redskins’ opening drive of the second half. He had to be carted off the field into the locker room with an apparent ankle injury. QB Case Keenum entered the game in Haskins’ place.

Haskins finished 12 of 15 for 133 yards and two scores. The Redskins trailed by two touchdowns when Haskins exited, but Case Keenum (16 of 22, 158 yards, 1 TD) rallied Washington for three second-half scores.

Keenum picked right up where Haskins left off as he connected with Steven Sims for a 7-yard touchdown at 6:43 in the third quarter to pull the Redskins within eight. The Giants responded by tacking on seven more as Jones threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kaden Smith.

With the touchdown elevating the Giants to 35 points on the day, it marked the second time in two years New York has passed the 30-point mark in back-to-back games.

After the Redskins tacked on another touchdown, they got the ball back with just over six minutes to play. Keenum connected with a 22-yard pass deep middle to Hale Hentges to move up to the Giants 39-yard line. Then, on third-down-and-one, Keenum connected with McLaurin on the sideline for a 5-yard pass that was reviewed but ultimately upheld, giving the Redskins the ball on first-down-and-goal. The Giants forced fourth-and-goal but Corey Ballentine drew a defensive pass interference call to give the Redskins the ball at the 1-yard line with 37 seconds remaining. Keenum rushed for a touchdown from there, completing a 99-yard scoring drive. Washington coach Bill Callahan chose to kick the extra point, which tied the game, rather than go for two points and the win.

“I felt good that we would go into overtime and just thought it was the right decision,” said Washington coach Bill Callahan. “Guys were playing hard and I thought our defense had an opportunity to make a play in the overtime. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that type of stop. I felt confident we could stop it, get the ball back and score.”

With 29 seconds left, Jones moved the Giants to the Washington 45-yard line. Giants’ coach Pat Shurmur eschewed a 63-yard field goal attempt and the Giants tried a Hail Mary that failed.

“It was a 63-yarder and No. 15 was sitting under the goal post and you’ve got a bunch of linemen that would have to cover that, and I didn’t want that to happen,” Shurmur said. “I had a little flashback, didn’t something happen like that in the Alabama-Auburn game or something? As you can imagine, the headsets were blowing up and we just decided that the best thing to do was try a Hail Mary. We had time outs, a lot of smart people trying to advise me. I think we did the right thing there.”

Moments that mattered

WELCOME BACK, DANIEL JONES

Jones came out throwing quick, as if eager to make up for lost time. He connected with wide receiver Sterling Shepard for eight yards on the first play of the game. Then, Jones passed it off to Barkley who rushed for 32 yards in his first run of the game, marking his longest run since a 65-yard rush against the Cowboys in Week 9. Jones didn’t miss a beat, pump faked to Darius Slayton, got Redskins corner Aaron Colvin to come up to play the ball slightly, and then threw a 23-yard touchdown to a wide-open Shepard at 12:21 in the first quarter to give the Giants an early 7-0 lead.

SAQUON RIDES LAST WEEK’S MOMENTUM

After failing to rush for 100 yards since suffering his Week 3 ankle injury, Barkley broke the century mark last Sunday against the Miami Dolphins and rode the momentum into this week when he rushed for a 67-yard touchdown down the sideline on the Giants’ second possession of the game. So after going eight weeks without surpassing 100 yards, Barkley rushed for 108 yards by 6:58 in the first quarter against the Redskins.

Barkley came into Sunday with one 40+ run and four 20+ runs this season. In the second quarter, he had already recorded two runs of 20 or more yards (33 and 67 yards).

Barkley finished the game with season-high numbers in rushing and receiving. He had 22 rushing attempts for 189 yards and one touchdown and four receptions for 90 yards and one touchdown.

THREE POSSESSIONS, THREE SCORES

Barkley added to his strong performance by racking up some receiving yards on the Giants third possession. Jones connected with a wide-open Barkley on a deep 33-yard touchdown pass at 9:23 in the second quarter to take a 21-14 lead.

The receiving TD was only Barkley’s second of the season as the first came against the Detroit Lions on October 27.

After scoring, Barkley also made a young fan’s day...

BREAKING THE MOLD

The Giants came into Sunday’s game averaging 20 points per game, good for 23rd in the league. But New York scored 28 points in the first half alone Sunday when Jones connected with wide receiver Golden Tate for 31 yards to advance to the Washington 22-yard line. Four plays later, with 40 seconds left in the half, Jones thew a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cody Latimer. The Giants headed into the locker room with a 28-14 lead.

GOLDEN SACKS

Linebacker Markus Golden recorded a half-sack and now has 9.5 on the season at the start of the second half, just half a sack shy of double digits. Golden has only recorded double digits in sacks one time in his career back in the 2016 season when he had 12.5.

NATE ORCHARD BLOCK

At the start of the fourth quarter, Riley Dixon’s punt was blocked by Nate Orchard and recovered at the New York 28-yard line. A defensive pass interference call on the following play gave the Redskins the ball on the one-yard line. Then, Adrian Peterson rushed for a 1-yard TD run with 14:34 to play to pull Washington within seven.

MISSED ROSAS FIELD GOAL

The Giants sent Aldrick Rosas out to kick a 53-yard field goal with just over 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter and the kick went wide left, leaving the Redskins trailing by only one touchdown score.

Rosas has been perfect on field goals made the past two weeks, but he missed one today for the first time since Week 12 when he missed two field goals.

Giants Injury updates

Wide receiver Darius Slayton suffered a knee injury in the second quarter. He played briefly after the injury, but missed most of the second half.

Offensive tackle Mike Remmers headed to the locker room in the second quarter. He was ruled out with a concussion.

Linebacker Alec Ogletree sat out with a back injury.

What’s next?

The Giants return home to host the Philadelphia Eagles in their final game of the season on December 29 at 4:25 p.m. at MetLife Stadium. Originally scheduled for 1 p.m. the game has been flexed into the late afternoon national slot. The game will be broadcast on FOX.