EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Notes and statistics from the Giants' 20-20 tie with the Washington Commanders Sunday in MetLife Stadium:
*This was the Giants' first tie in 25 years and their third tie in the last 50 seasons. They had last played a game that ended in a tie on Nov. 23, 1997, a 7-7 deadlock in Washington. That Giants team finished 10-5-1 and won the NFC East title. Their only other tie since regular-season overtime was instituted in 1974 was also a 20-20 finish, against the Cardinals in St. Louis on Monday night, Oct. 24, 1983. Their most recent tie at home had occurred on Sept. 23, 1973, a 23-23 outcome against Philadelphia in the Giants' last ever home game in Yankee Stadium.
*The Giants are winless in their last three games and are 7-4-1 entering their home game next week against 11-1, NFC-leading Philadelphia. Washington is 7-5-1, has a bye next week and hosts the Giants on Dec. 17 or 18.
*The Giants are 4-2-1 at home and 0-2-1 in NFC East games.
*The teams were tied at halftime, 13-13. It was the Giants' second tie after two quarters this season. On Sept. 18, the Giants and Carolina Panthers were tied, 6-6, in a game the Giants won, 19-16.
*The Commanders finished with advantages in total yards (411-316), rushing yards (165-134), net passing yards (246-182), first downs (25-20) and time of possession (41:11-28:49).
*Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley combined for all the Giants' 30 rushing attempts. Jones ran for a team-high 71 yards on 12 carries, while Barkley had 63 yards on 18 attempts.
*The Giants sacked Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke five times, their second-highest total of the season. They recorded six sacks in a victory against Chicago on Oct. 2.
*The Giants' offense had an inauspicious start when Jones lost a fumble on the fourth play of the game. On second-and-five at the Giants' 42, Jones ran for five yards but fumbled as he was tackled by Jonathan Allen. The ball was recovered by linebacker Jamin Davis.
It was the Giants' first opening-possession turnover since Jan. 2, 2022 in Chicago, where Bears linebacker Trevis Gipson sacked Mike Glennon for a seven-yard loss and forced a fumble that was recovered by Bilal Nichols, who returned the ball 12 yards to the Giants' two-yard line.
*Jones completed 80.6 percent of his passes (25 of 31), the second-highest percentage of his career. Late in the fourth quarter, he had completed 16 of 17 throws, and the only incompletion was a pass deliberately thrown into the ground to stop the clock late in the first half.
Jones' four-highest completion-percentage games have been this season: 85% at Tennessee on Sept. 11, 77.8% vs. Green Bay in London on Oct. 9, and 76.5% vs. Houston on Nov. 13.
*The Giants' first touchdown was set up by Jones' 55-yard pass to Darius Slayton, the Giants' third-longest play, second-longest completion and longest play that did not result in a touchdown this season. In the season-opening victory in Tennessee, Saquon Barkley scored on a 68-yard run and Sterling Shepard on a 65-yard catch. Slayton's previous long reception this season was a 54-yard score vs. Houston on Nov. 13.
*Jones' 71 rushing yards increased his season total to 522. He is the first quarterback to rush for more than 500 yards in a season. The 522 yards are 99 more than any Giants quarterback has had in the Super Bowl era – Jones had 423 yards in 2020. Jones is also the all-time leader among Giants quarterbacks. The Elias Sports Bureau had considered the former record to be Harry Newman's 483 yards in 1934. Jones passed Newman with 35 yards in the first quarter.
*Barkley's 71 yards increases his season total to 1,055, his third season with more than 1,000 rushing yards. He is the fourth player in Giants history with at least three 1,000-yard seasons, joining Tiki Barber (6), Rodney Hampton (5) and Joe Morris (3).
*Barkley scored the Giants' first touchdown on a 13-yard run in the second quarter. It was the 27th rushing touchdown of his career, breaking a tie with Bill Paschal and moving Barkley into 10th place on the franchise's career list. Ahmad Bradshaw is ninth with 32 rushing touchdowns.
*Slayton led the Giants with a season high-tying six catches for 90 yards (he had 95 yards vs. Houston).
*Isaiah Hodgins, Daniel Bellinger and Barkley all had five catches. Hodgins caught Jones' only touchdown pass, a six-yarder on the Giants' first possession of the second half.
*Azeez Ojulari – playing his first game since Oct. 2 - had a defensive player's trifecta on the third play of the third quarter, with a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery – but there was a twist. Ojulari sacked Heinicke for a two-yard loss and forced the Washington quarterback to fumble. The ball was initially recovered by Oshane Ximines, but he fumbled – it was forced by Heinicke - and Ojulari got the play's second recovery.
*Nose tackle Justin Ellis was credited with the first full sack of his nine-year career when he tackled Heinicke for an eight-yard loss early in the second quarter. In 114 previous regular-season and postseason games, Ellis had recorded only a half-sack, on Sept. 10, 2017, for the Oakland Raiders at Tennessee.
*Dexter Lawrence tallied his sixth sack of the season, extending his career high, early in the fourth quarter. It was an important tackle, because on the next play Joey Slye missed a 52-yarsd field goal attempt. Lawrence's previous best was 4.0 sacks in 2020.
*Rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux picked up his second sack of the season with an eight-yard takedown of Heinicke with 1:28 remaining in overtime. That backed the Commanders to their two-yard line, but they advanced to the 15 before punting.
*Defensive end Jihad Ward had the Giants' fifth sack, his third of the season.
*Safety Julian Love led the Giants with 12 tackles (11 solo), including one stop for a loss.
*Defensive lineman Leonard Williams left the game in the second half with a neck injury and did not return.
*Graham Gano kicked field goals of 48 and 27 yards but was short on a 58-yard attempt on the final play of overtime.
*The Giants started a different player at left guard for the fourth consecutive game when Nick Gates took the first snap there. He followed Joshua Ezeudu, Shane Lemieux, and Jack Anderson, who started the three previous games. Ben Bredeson started at left guard in each of the first seven games but suffered a knee injury at Jacksonville on Oct. 23 that forced him to go on injured reserve. Bredeson returned to practice last week but had not progressed enough to play in the game.
After Bredeson was hurt, Ezeudu, a rookie third-round draft choice, started two games before he was sidelined with a neck injury. Lemieux started two weeks ago vs. Detroit but reinjured his toe. Anderson played every snap at Dallas on Thanksgiving, a game in which Gates played center. With the return of Jon Feliciano to the middle of the line, Gates moved over to guard.
This was Gates' 24th career start and third this season – at three different positions. He was an extra offensive lineman vs Houston, the center in Dallas and left guard today. It was his second start at left guard. The first was also vs. Washington, on Sept. 16, 2021, when he suffered multiple fractures in his lower left leg, injuries that kept him off the field until Oct. 30 of this year in Seattle.
*Feliciano played the entire game at center after missing the game in Dallas with a neck injury.
*Tight end Nick Vannett started in his Giants debut as the offense opened the game with two tight ends and a fullback. He did not catch a pass. Vannett was signed yesterday off the practice squad, which he joined on Nov. 22. Vannett played in three games for New Orleans this season and in 80 regular-season games with 35 starts for Seattle, Pittsburgh, Denver and the Saints, plus one postseason game for the Seahawks.
*Rookie Zyon Gilbert, elevated yesterday off the practice squad, made his NFL debut as the starting nickel back. He was credited with six tackles (five solo).
*Defensive lineman Vernon Butler had four tackles (two solo) in his Giants debut.
*The Giants' game captains were Jones and special teamers Graham Gano, Casey Kreiter and Cam Brown. Jones was lone captain on the field for the overtime coin toss.
*The Giants' inactive players were wide receiver Kenny Golladay (illness); cornerbacks Adoree' Jackson (knee) and Darnay Holmes (shoulder); offensive linemen Shane Lemieux (toe) and Joshua Ezeudu (neck); tight end Lawrence Cager; and linebacker Elerson Smith.
*Holmes had played in every game this season. He missed the final five games of the 2021 season with a rib injury.
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