Game Recap Week 1 – New York Giants at Washington Commanders

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September 8, 2025

By Noonefromtampa

Commanders Defeat Giants 21-6

First Quarter

Washington started first on offense and they started out running the ball. Austin Ekeler and Jayden Daniels both had carries, with Daniels picking up a first down. They made mistakes to end the drive, with a false start and a dropped ball on third down, both by Zach Ertz. Tress Way drove a 52 yard punt to the Giants 12 but it was returned 11 yards.

On the first defensive play, Javon Kinlaw blew up a run, tackling Tyrone Tracy for a one yard loss. Good coverage by Marshon Lattimore and Michael Sainristil and a decent pass rush forced an incompletion on second down. Daron Payne made a good tackle on a screen to Wan’Dale Robinson limiting it to a 4 yard gain.

The Commanders’ second drive resulted in a touchdown. The Giants did not have an answer to the misdirection runs from Washington, which also opened up the passing game. Daniels was able to complete passes of 34 yards to Chris Moore, 8 yards to Samuel, and 18 yards to Noah Brown. The Commanders picked up 16 yards rushing on three plays before Daniels hit Ertz for a 7 yard touchdown. Matt Gay converted the extra point giving the Commanders a 7-0 lead.

The Giants’ second drive was much better than the first one. They were able to convert several third down situations and pick up good yardage on first down, including a 25 yard pass to Malik Nabers. Will Harris was able to stop Russell Wilson at the 2 on third down to end the quarter.

Second Quarter

The fourth down throw was incomplete, but Deatrich Wise was called for hands to the face, giving the Giants a first and goal from the one. Washington’s defense held, though, forcing two incompletions and stopping Cam Skattebo for a one yard loss. The Giants elected to settle for a field goal the second time around, which cut the lead to 7-3.

Washington’s next series was a three and out after one yard run by Jacory Croskey-Merritt, a drop by Samuel on a high throw, and Daniels missing a wide-open Terry McLaurin deep down the left sideline.

The Giants went three and out on their next drive, with a key stop on second down by Harris short of the first down and a blitz on third down to force a poor throw by Wilson.

Croskey-Merritt ripped off an 11 yard run on first down to start the drive. The offense made mistakes, including two sacks and an offside penalty. However, Daniels was able to lead the team through each setback and get a first down. Sometimes he ran for it and sometimes he threw for it. The drive ended with consecutive runs by Croskey-Merritt, both for six yards and the second one scoring his first NFL touchdown. Gay converted the extra point to give Washington a 14-3 lead.

The Giants had an 11 play drive that went nowhere. After gaining a first down, they had a penalty and sack which forced them to punt after netting a 1 yard gain on the drive.

Washington continued to make mistakes on offense, with more penalties and sacks. Daniels was able to overcome all but one of them. A 21 yard completion to Samuel on third and 11 put them deep into Giants’ territory. A 12 yard pass to Ekeler and a 9 yard run by Daniels got Washington down to the Giants 4 yard line. Without timeouts remaining, Daniel tried to throw the ball away to set up the field goal attempt, but was called for intentional grounding, which necessitated a 10 second runoff which ended the half.

Third Quarter

The Giants started with the ball in the second half. Nabers caught an 11 yard pass, but the Giants sputtered after that with Wilson being sacked again by Payne and Dorance Armstrong.

After the punt, the Commanders picked up a first down with a 12 yard run by Croskey-Merritt. After that, a holding penalty set them back. Daniels was unable to convert this time and Way punted it away. Abdul Carter tipped the punt, getting around Ben Sinnott, limiting the punt to 31 yards.

The Giants went three and out with a no gain running play and two incompletions.

Washington picked up one first down on a 14 yard completion to McLaurin, Croskey-Merritt picked up 5 yards, but they were unable to convert after that. Way punted the ball for a touchback.

The Giants were able to move the ball on their next drive, converting a fourth and one with a quarterback sneak. Robinson caught an 11 yard pass and Nabers had a reception for 21 yards. The drive fizzled out at the Washington 37 yard line and Graham Gano kicked a 55 yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-6.

The next Washington drive started off with a 4 yard loss, but the Giants were called for defensive holding. Washington picked up 8 yards, but Samuel was tackled for no gain on third down forcing a punt.

Fourth Quarter

The Giants gained 37 yards on their next possession with 15 yards coming on a Wilson scramble and a 16 yard pass to Nabers. Jeremy Reaves forced an incompletion on third down and the punt was another touchback.

Washington’s next drive started with a 13 yard scramble by Daniels. Ertz picked up another first down with an 11 yard catch. After a holding penalty, Daniels ran a draw for 12 yards and hit Samuel for 19 yards for the first down. After Ekeler committed a false start penalty, he took a swing pass, broke multiple tackles and got the first down. Samuel took a misdirection end-around for 19 yards and the touchdown, diving for the end zone. Gay converted the extra point to give Washington a 21-6 lead.

The Giants string a drive together helped by Washington miscues. Noah Igbinoghene got tangled up with Lattimore leading to a 20 yard completion to Robinson. A Quan Martin interception was reversed due to a penalty against Bobby Wagner for roughing the passer. Daniel Bellinger caught a 14 yard completion to put the Giants back into the red zone. Washington’s defense denied them again and forced a turnover on downs.

On Washington’s next drive, Croskey-Merritt bounced a run to the outside and ran for 42 yards from the Washington 5 yard line. Jeremy McNichols then picked up 23 yards on three carries to take the ball down to the Giants 30, with a first down and the two-minute warning. Washington then went into victory formation to end the game.

Thoughts

There were too many mistakes in all three phases of the game, which let the Giants hang around much longer than they deserved.

The defense looks like it will be able to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Kinlaw, Wise, and Jacob Martin were all good additions to the defense. Payne, who is playing for his next contract, was a force all game long, putting pressure on Wilson, tackling runners and batting down passes.

Even more important;y, Washington’s defense was able to stop the run, only allowing with the three Giants running backs to gain 30 yards. Wilson had 44 yards on scrambles. The red zone defense was excellent, stopping the run and forcing incompletions.

Deebo Samuel lived up to expectations, catching and running the ball and getting key first downs and a touchdown to seal the game.

Bill (or Jacory, he’ll answer to both) Croskey-Merritt gained 82 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown. Even without the long 42 yard run, he averaged 4.4 yards per carry.

Josh Conerly Jr. was up and down during the game, facing an excellent player in Brian Burns. He gave up a one sack, one pressure and was also called for holding. He’s a rookie and will only get better as the season progresses. Overall, the offensive line is going to be strong.

Trey Amos had two tackles and one pass defended. He was called for defensive holding but that was declined on Naber’s 16 yard reception in the fourth quarter. He did not give up any big plays and appeared solid in coverage. That is a huge improvement over the cornerbacks from last year.

Daniels went 19 for 30 and 233 yards having one passing touchdown with a 98.3 QB rating. He was sacked three times but gained 68 yards on 11 rushes. There were several drops on misplaced throws but the timing will improve the more they play together.

Interesting fact: the Commanders have now defeated the Giants three consecutive times for the first time since the 1999-2000 seasons.