Tyrod Taylor throws for 2 TDs as Giants hold off Washington
Darren Waller of the Giants celebrates his second-quarter touchdown against the Commanders with teammates Wan'Dale Robinson and Mark Glowinski at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
On an autumn afternoon at MetLife Stadium, the sun was shining, the clouds were puffy, the sky was a brilliant blue.
And the Giants finally — finally — scored a touchdown. They scored a touchdown!
They actually scored a pair of them on Sunday in a 14-7 win over the Washington Commanders.
Their first touchdown ended a giant — and Giants’ — drought of 220 minutes, 42 seconds of game play without an offensive touchdown.
Seven-nothing never felt so good for the home team.
“We knew we had to get one,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “A big division game for us. And we were able to get it.”
The scoring drive began with 3:51 to play in the first quarter and ended 42 seconds into the second quarter. Tyrod Taylor found tight end Darren Waller on a short pass over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown.
The Giants led 7-0.
A home crowd that booed the Giants’ first play of the game — a handoff to Saquon Barkley that lost a yard — now was euphoric.
The drive went eight plays, covered 88 yards and consumed 4:33 of clock.
After that, anything seemed possible.
“I thought we did a lot of good things, got after the quarterback, put up a fourth-down stop at the end of the game,” coach Brian Daboll said. “They played a good complementary game, had a couple of turnovers which hurt us. Guys were ready to play, the coaching staffs on all three sides did a good job and we made the plays we needed to make. It was a little bit closer than it needed to be, but this is the NFL.”
Taylor connected with Barkley for a 32-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the second quarter as the Giants extended their lead to 14-0.
Two of the biggest plays in the game were made by rookies.
On third-and-9 from the Giants’ 15 at the start of the fourth quarter (with the Giants leading 14-7), cornerback Deonte Banks kept Washington receiver Terry McLaurin from getting a first down after a short catch. Joey Slye then attempted a 27-yard field goal that was blocked by Leonard Williams.
“I was just trying to put hands on him, control the route,” Banks said. “I left a couple plays on the field. But I’m just going to try to get better each week.”
On the eighth play of the ensuing drive, Taylor targeted Jalin Hyatt and found him for 42 yards down the right sideline to the 21. Washington challenged the call, but Hyatt was shown on replay to have gotten both feet inbounds.
Hyatt clearly was paying attention when wide receivers coach Mike Groh was designing toe-tap drills.
“Two feet down,” Hyatt said, smiling. “Yeah, it goes back to practice. We do toe-tap drills, dragging whatever toe it is. I felt like I did it. When they start doing instant replay, that’s where I started to get indecisive. Was I in? But then I looked at it and I knew I was in. It starts with practice habits, with toe-tap drills. That’s a Coach Groh drill. I got to give him credit for that. I have to continue to get better.”
That Barkley fumbled inside the Commanders’ 10-yard line three plays later, with Washington recovering, did not diminish Hyatt’s impact on the game.
“We practice it,” he said of the deep ball. “That’s one thing I think we need to get better at, and today we hit our explosive plays. Really, that changed the whole momentum of the game. That’s what it takes. It just takes that little spark to change the whole outcome of the game.
“I’m just proud of our guys. I’m proud of the offensive line, blocking it, Tyrod slinging it everywhere. This is a great team victory.”
Hyatt is growing into his role. His speed is next level. His self-awareness is impressive for a young player.
“It starts with belief and confidence,” he said. “When Tyrod throws the ball and there are plays where I’m the No. 1 read, I gotta make those plays. Really, the plays Tyrod threw, those are routine plays that I’ve got to make. I’m still kind of down on myself for not making some of them that I had the chance to make.
“We have to continue to get better. It starts day by day. This is a great win for us, a great confidence win for us. We have to continue to get better.”
Washington took over at its 8 with 7:46 to play and methodically marched downfield on a 17-play drive. But the Giants’ defense made the stops it needed to make late as the Commanders turned the ball over on downs at the Giants’ 7 with 56 seconds left.
On Sunday, the Giants won a tough game. They ended their losing streak at four games and improved to 2-5. And if you don’t consider that an improvement, well, consider the alternative.
Turning point
Leonard Williams' block of Washington kicker Joey Slye’s chip shot field-goal attempt with 13:23 to play in the game. The attempt came with the Commanders trailing the Giants 14-7 and one play after rookie cornerback Deonte Banks kept Washington receiver Terry McLaurin from getting a first down.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
