The Giants’ defense played well the entirety of Sunday’s game, but as a unit they came up huge twice in the fourth quarter, stopping two Commanders drives inside their own five-yard-line with a sack fumble and then a turnover on downs.
Those two big moments held a 17-12 and then 20-12 lead, and the flow of the game meant the first big stop made the second drive harder for the Commanders by nature.
But it doesn’t start without Azeez Ojulari and Dexter Lawrence combining to crush Heinicke, forcing a fumble in a spot were even just a sack still would’ve left the Commanders in prime position for a short field goal to cut their deficit to two.
“I made the sack and felt it come out, but I just tried to get back to the line,” Lawrence said. “I didn't really think about the review. I was just trying to hurry up and play the next play, because I know how critical the red area is, but I saw the red flag, and that was a good review.”
Thankfully, Leonard Williams was the Johnny on the Spot who recovered the fumble, and thought he could’ve done more with it.
“I saw the ball and a lot of space, and I actually tried to pick it up and run, but I tripped somehow,” Williams smiled. “Big feet, something, I don't know. I was able to recover the ball and get on it, and they reviewed and gave it to us and you know, it was a big-time play."
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Originally, Heinicke was ruled down before the fumble, but as Lawrence and Williams alluded to, the Giants challenged – and when the replays showed it was a fumble, because there was a clear recovery by Williams, Big Blue got the ball.
Credit two guys not on the field for that?
“I say all the time, but (offensive assistant) Cade Knox and (director of football data and innovation Ty Siam) are really two guys that I lean on a lot during the week in terms of clock management and decisions,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “Those two guys were certainly a big part of it. Two Ivy Leaguers, so try to listen to the Ivy Leaguers."
The Giants were able to take four minutes off the clock and get a field goal just inside the two-minute warning, but it was still a one-score game and the Commanders had a chance – one that became more realistic when a 14-yard pass to Jahan Dotson gave Washington first and goal with 1:14 to go.
“We knew how much was on the line. We knew that we still had time left on the clock and a lot of field left to go,” Williams said. “They didn't score yet, so the job wasn't finished. And we finished the job. We were bending. We didn't fold though."
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Heinicke almost got the Commanders in the end zone on second down, but Kayvon Thibodeaux, whose strip sack and fumble recovery in the second gave the Giants their first lead, made a great play coming out of coverage to stop the QB just short of the goal line.
A controversial penalty on Terry McLaurin nullified a TD on third down, and on fourth down, an even more controversial no call on potential pass interference on Darnay Holmes ostensibly ended the game – but that’s the game, and the Giants had held.
“They had that penalty and I think we took advantage of that,” Williams said. “Azeez got a hit on the quarterback, then Dex got a hit on the quarterback, so the D-line was doing a good job of just pressuring them, then Darnay made that big play to end the game. I think the defense showed up big-time today."
“This defensive backfield, everybody in our mind they're like, 'I want them to throw to my guy.' That's the kind of guys we have in the locker room,” safety Julian Love added of that final play. “Yeah, it was a tough situation. I was in coverage just trying to stay on my guy, and you see the ball, and you see an aggressive finish on the play. That's a great stop. That's what you've got to do."
They did it, and now, with three games left, the Giants are 8-5-1, have a one-game lead with the tiebreak over Washington for the sixth spot in the NFC, and a 1 ½ game lead (but no tiebreak) over the Lions and Seahawks – so there’s nothing left to it but to do it again.
“It’s a good feeling, because this was a big game, on the road, against a division opponent; winning this game or losing this game didn't mean anything guaranteed for the playoffs, but it gives us an opportunity, and that's all you want,” said Love. “A 91 percent chance (of making the playoffs) is better than zero, I'll tell you that much. And so, we're going to stay consistent. We are going stay locked in. We've got a big game next week, but we are going to enjoy this and analyze what we did right and what we did wrong and correct things."
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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