Giants lose fourth straight, fall to Commanders, 27-22, despite three Daniel Jones TDs

NEW YORK — Daniel Jones threw his first touchdown pass at MetLife Stadium in 672 calendar days and scored three total TDs Sunday. But a late surge wasn’t enough to change the Giants’ fortunes in their fourth straight loss, a 27-22 division defeat to the Washington Commanders.

Washington rookie phenom quarterback Jayden Daniels led five scoring drives in seven possessions before kneeling out the clock on his eighth drive at the Giants’ 1-yard line instead of scoring.

It was pulling teeth for Brian Daboll’s Giants offense to throw the ball in the first half, meanwhile, Malik Nabers didn’t make a catch until the second half.

Jones mounted a fourth quarter comeback on a 2-yard touchdown run with 9:25 to play and a 35-yard TD pass to tight end Theo Johnson with 2:48 remaining.

But Daboll unsuccessfully went for the two-point conversion after both scores, and the Giants’ defense couldn’t get a stop due to a non-existent pass rush and poor tackling.

Washington swept the season series for the first time since 2021. The Giants fell to 2-7 this season, 0-5 at home and 0-4 in the NFC East. And Joe Schoen’s and Daboll’s record dropped to 4-12-1 in NFC East games since they took over in 2022.

The Commanders only scored six second-half points on two Austin Seibert field goals, while Giants rookie kicker Jude McAtamney of Derry, Ireland, made his first career field goal from 31 yards in the third quarter.

Washington’s offense still controlled the ball and clock enough, however, to stiff-arm the Giants’ late push away.

The Giants now will travel to Munich, Germany, to face the lowly Carolina Panthers before their bye week.

Two Daniels touchdown passes to McLaurin buried the Giants in a 21-7 hole by halftime. Jones, meanwhile, had zero passing yards, a 2-yard TD pass to tight end Chris Manhertz and 50 yards rushing at half.

McLaurin’s 18-yard TD catch with six seconds remaining in the half was a killer.

Rookies Dru Phillips and Tyler Nubin missed tackles on a back-breaking 24-yard Dyami Brown catch and run on third-and-18 from the Giants’ 42-yard line to set it up.

That was McLaurin’s second touchdown on corner Deonte Banks, but there was also no pressure on Daniels from the Giants’ four-man rush.

There was a gaping hole on the Giants’ D-line on Austin Ekeler’s 20-yard run to pace Washington’s second scoring drive, as well.

That run and a Daniels fourth-down conversion scramble set up an Ekeler 1-yard TD run for a 14-7 Washington lead with 6:21 remaining in the half.

Daboll, meanwhile, didn’t even feel confident enough in his offense to throw a pass with Jones.

The Giants’ coach called 16 running plays to three pass plays in the first quarter, evoking memories of last season’s loss in the rain to the Jets with Tommy DeVito at QB.

Rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Jones both gained chunks on the ground early, gaining 63 combined rushing yards on the Giants’ first five plays.

But when Daboll dropped Jones back to pass for the first time on the Giants’ sixth snap, left tackle Chris Hubbard got smoked by Commanders pass rusher Dante Fowler to force a Jones fumble.

Officials blew the play dead as incomplete, which negated Washington’s touchdown return. But the play was overturned to a fumble upon review, and it only took Daniels four plays to punch it in from 31 yards out.

A Cor’Dale Flott pass interference penalty gave Washington the ball at the 1, and Daniels hit McLaurin for a 1-yard TD on Banks for a 7-0 Commanders lead with 7:04 to play in the first quarter.

Jones and the Giants offense answered with a 16-play, 73-yard drive capped by Jones’ two-yard TD pass to Manhertz. It marked Jones’ first touchdown pass at MetLife Stadium in 672 days, a span of six consecutive games without throwing one between the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

The drive was paced by two Jones runs of 11 and 12 yards, plus an 11-yard rush by wide receiver Darius Slayton on a Chiefs-like gadget play dialed up by Daboll in the red zone.

McAtamney then made his first career NFL kick on the extra point. He got the start because Greg Joseph became the second Giants kicker to go on injured reserve this season with an oblique injury.

Those were the Giants’ only points of the first half, though. Nabers was held to no catches on one target in the first half, as Commanders coach Dan Quinn came out with a targeted plan and double teams for the rookie receiver — and Daboll clammed up and refused to throw it until the second half.

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