One day after the Washington Commanders and New York Giants stumbled to a 27-27 tie, the game’s finish remained the No. 1 talking point across the NFL following Week 5.
How the Commanders got there — a series of mistakes by the coaching staff and quarterback Jayden Daniels — led to an ending it’s likely we’ll all be talking about for a long time.
“It’s in the running for the dumbest ending in sports history,” The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said on Sunday night.
He’s not wrong.
‘Comedy of Errors’ Led to Commanders Tie
Play-by-play announcer Chris Myers called the tie between the Giants and Commanders a “Comedy of Errors” as soon as the clock hit all zeroes.
So, how did they get there?
The Commanders seemed to get the break of a lifetime when New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo fumbled with just under 2 minutes left in overtime.
Washington put together a masterful drive to set up a short field goal to win the game, but instead of throwing the ball away on 2nd-and-2 with 12 seconds left to kick what would have been a 41-yard field goal to win the game, and with no timeouts remaining, quarterback Jayden Daniels scrambled around and was sacked as time ran out and the game ended in a tie.
“I’ve never been so happy to get a tie,” Giants fan The Entertainah wrote on X. “Thank you to Jayden Daniels and Dan Quinn for having the clock management skills of a newborn child.”
“Just gotta be better, just gotta be better,” Daniels said after the game. “Ultimately it’s on me.”
Swift Blowback Against Daniels, Commanders
The end of the game left many aghast — and confused — over exactly how things played out.
“COMMANDERS WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov wrote on his official X account on Sunday. “THE COMMANDERS WERE IN FG RANGE AND RAN THE BALL WITH NO TIMEOUTS AND THE GAME ENDS IN A TIE.”
“Up 2 scores in 4th quarter,” NBC Sports NFL reporter JP Finlay wrote on his official X account. “Blow it. Gifted a missed FG. Gifted a fumble. Convert nothing. Tie that feels like an awful loss.”
“A tie is so fitting for Giants-Commanders,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on his official X accout. “Both actively worked to not win the game late in overtime.”
Daniels seemed confused as the clock ran out. Head coach Dan Quinn took off his headset and slammed it into the ground as the tie sent the Commanders to 1-3-1 and the Giants to 3-1-1.
“What in the world was Dan Quinn thinking?” Colin Cowherd wrote on his official X account. “Or Jayden Daniels? That’s a fireable offense. Completely inexcusable.”
Commanders Called Out for ‘Dumbest Ending in Sports History’