Instant analysis: Jayden Daniels’ late touchdown toss keeps Commanders’ season alive

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Washington head coach Dan Quinn doesn’t like to make declarations.

This whole discussion about Thursday night being a “must-win” to save the season, Quinn wasn’t interested in weighing in.

Instead, his quarterback did it for him.

“Yeah,” Jayden Daniels said matter of factly. “Next week is a must-win.”

And if we take Daniels’ word for it, then the Commanders saved their own season late in the fourth quarter.

Down four with two minutes to play, Daniels marched Washington down the field. He hit Stefon Diggs for a 32-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left. It capped off a three-play, 71-yard drive and gave the Commanders a 24-21 win over the NFC East-leading Giants (5-3-1).

With a loss, the Commanders’ playoff odds would have dropped to 1%. Now, they hover at 10%

The Commanders (3-5-1) nearly had their season all but ended in New York after they struggled the entire second half.

After taking a lead in the third quarter, they squandered their next four chances. The offense went three-and-out, had a turnover on downs and then Daniels threw his first two interceptions of the year.

The defense tried to hold on, but let former Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely loose for a 66-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. It looked as though Washington might have to look ahead to the offseason until Daniels’ final sequence.

Here are three takeaways from New York.

A new target

In one game, tight end Ben Sinnott quintupled his catches. The third-string tight end, Sinnott had just two targets resulting in one catch for six yards prior to Thursday.

But after starting tight end Chig Okonkwo left the game in the second quarter with a back injury, Daniels needed another target. After Sinnott reeled in the first catch for a 5-yard gain, Daniels continued to look his way. On the next drive, Sinnott turned a short pass from Daniels into 12 yards after he hurdled linebacker Micah McFadden. He finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown.

Even after Okonkwo returned, Sinnott remained involved. In the third quarter, Daniels found Sinnott deep for a 24-yard completion. It was one of six deep shots Daniels attempted. He completed four and was intercepted on one. Sinnott’s catch was the second-longest.

Prior to Thursday, Sinnott had played 39.4% of the team’s offensive snaps. The Week 2 game against Dallas was the only one he played more than 50% of the team’s offensive snaps.

The injuries take a toll

If there was a bright spot in Washington’s dismal start to 2026, it was the run defense.

Even as the defensive line kept rotating through starters, teams struggled to run the ball. It kept Washington in games, holding firm against teams with signficiantly more talent like the Los Angeles Rams last week.

But in New York, the makeshift line finally gave out.

Down starters Javon Kinlaw and Daron Payne, the Commanders couldn’t account for the duel rushing threat of running back Cam Skattaboo and quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The two routinely broke loose for first downs and Washington didn’t help its cause with missed tackles on the back end of the defense.

Skattaboo had 78 yards and two touchdowns. McCarthy added 34 yards on four carries, averaging 5.7 yards every time he took off.

It helped the Giants stay on the field and sustain drives. That included a 16-play touchdown drive in the second quarter that took 7:48 off the clock. The Giants piled on 20 first downs.

A defensive rerun?

Last week, defensive lineman K’Lavon Chaison stood at his locker and explained the inexplicable part of Washington’s loss to the Rams.

Los Angeles had been methodical. The Rams ran the same play over and over to wide receiver Puka Nacua. Washington just couldn’t adjust or get off the field. Nacua had 150 yards and a touchdown on 20 targets. None of them were particularly explosive. The Rams just methodically beat them down.

It happened again in New York.

The Giants didn’t ask McCarthy to be amazing. He just kept throwing around the field and taking first downs where the Commanders let him. He was an efficient 22-of-32 for 272 yards and kept going to Likely (nine catches, 127 yards) and Malik Nabors (five catches, 44 yards). Outside of Likely’s 66-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, McCarthy was content on making plenty of safe throws.

The issue with defensive coordinator Daronte Jones’ scheme is it relies heavily on zone coverage. When teams find the open gaps, they can sit in them and Washington hasn’t really had an answer. Nacua had no trouble exploiting it. Neither did Likely and Nabors, often open in the middle of the field.

When looking at how New York tallied 20 first downs, this is part of the equation. The Rams, after all, had 22 last week.