Thursday Night Football and the NFC East collided to provide exactly the kind of chaotic, at times hideous, football product you would expect from those two entities combining forces. The Washington Football Team snuck away with a 30-29 win over the New York Giants in what has to be one of the strangest, poorly executed final few minutes from two teams you’ll see all season.
It started with the Giants kicking a field goal to push a three-point lead to a six-point lead on 4th and 1. The Football Team responded with a long drive before kicking their own field goal to cut a one possession deficit to a…one possession deficit on 4th and 3 on the ensuing possession. From there, New York once again kicked a field goal, this time on 4th and 3 as Graham Gano got plenty of work in, drilling a 55-yarder to, once again, go from up three to up six.
Graham Gano drills a 55-yarder to give the @Giants a 26-20 lead with 4:50 remaining. #TogetherBlue
📺: #NYGvsWAS on @NFLNetwork
📱: https://t.co/VR50LZIQwH pic.twitter.com/vjCvdjatJ9— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2021
In two plays, the Football Team erased all of that hard work, as Taylor Heinicke, who had settled for underneath throws almost exclusively up to this point, was suddenly possessed by the ghost of prime Dan Marino and led a swift touchdown drive with two absolute dimes.
Taylor Heinicke ➡️ @JdMckissic. #WashingtonFootball
📺: #NYGvsWAS on @NFLNetwork
📱: https://t.co/VR50LZIQwH pic.twitter.com/cka65MdMky— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2021
Ricky Seals-Jones’ first catch with @WashingtonNFL? Right here. 😱
What a throw by Taylor Heinicke. #WashingtonFootball
📺: #NYGvsWAS on @NFLNetwork
📱: https://t.co/VR50LZIQwH pic.twitter.com/T3nibstjLp— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2021
The Giants would punt it away after a short possession and it seemed for all the world like the Football Team was going to be able to put the game to bed, but Heinicke had other ideas with a rather hideous interception well inside field goal territory for Gano.
PICKED! @Giants get the ball back with 2:16 remaining. @Brad_B21 #TogetherBlue
📺: #NYGvsWAS on @NFLNetwork
📱: https://t.co/VR50LZIQwH pic.twitter.com/BJlH7iujHD— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2021
Naturally, the Giants ran it twice for three yards and then threw an incompletion to kick a field goal before the two-minute warning, somehow, as they took the lead but left a full two minutes for a Football Team drive to win it themselves. Heinicke matriculated the Football Team down the field on a stunningly calm two-minute drill, punctuated by this 3rd and 5 to get into field goal range in which New York, somehow, gladly offers outside releases on a play Washington was desperate to get to the sideline on.
Huge first down for @WashingtonNFL.
📺: #NYGvsWAS on @NFLNetwork
📱: https://t.co/VR50LZIQwH pic.twitter.com/zYWOtuf5fd— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2021
After another slant play picked up six more yards, the Football Team got set to spike the ball and set up a Dustin Hopkins field goal attempt to win it. He missed, pushing the kick wide right, but the Giants jumped offsides, once again refusing to take a win Washington seemed desperate to hand to them. Naturally, Hopkins snuck the next kick inside the right upright for the win, moving New York to 0-2 for the fifth straight year.
Dustin Hopkins wins it for @WashingtonNFL! #WashingtonFootball pic.twitter.com/84Pzzdps2s
— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2021
It was a truly awful effort from the Giants in a game where Daniel Jones was legitimately good, but the defense was incapable of getting stops when needed and Joe Judge made some mind-numbing decisions — and, somehow, the team coached by a special teams guy jumped offsides on a key field goal block situation.