Washington Football Team vs. New York Giants Game September 2021

On Thursday, September 16, 2021 the Washington Football Team and New York Giants competed during Week 2 of the 2021 National Football League (NFL) season. The Washington Football Team defeated the New York Giants, 30-29. The two teams were tied at 29-29 at the end of the fourth quarter, and the game ended when Washington Football Team kicker Dustin Hopkins was given the chance to re-take a missed field goal attempt because of a Giants' penalty. The game was played at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, the home stadium of the Washington Football team.
The two teams have the oldest rivalry in the NFC East Division, which also includes the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. Washington's victory over the Giants marked the end of the Giants winning streak against Washington, as the Giants had won the previous five times the teams competed. Both Washington and New York entered the competition with 0-1 records, having been defeated in their Week 1 games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos, respectively. The game determined which team would enter Week 3 with a 0-2 record: essentially a kiss of death for any team seeking to make the playoffs. Since 2007, only 98 teams have started with an 0-2 record, and only 12 of them made it to the playoffs.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The New York Giants won the coin toss and deferred, making Washington the receiving team. Graham Gano made a 63-yard kick that was returned to by DeAndre Carter to the 21 yard line. At the 23-yard-line, quarterback Taylor Heinecke made one incomplete pass intended for Logan Thomas, but was later able to complete a pass to Terry McLaurin for a gain of 7 yards. Heinicke was sacked by Azeez Ojulari for a loss of 16 yards, resulting in a 55-yard punt by Tress Way. The kick was returned by Jabrill Peppers, but the Giants earned a 10-yard penalty for holding.
Giants' quarterback Daniel Jones made a series of complete passes that got the team up to the 46-yard line before he was sacked by Chase Young for a loss of 2 yards. When the Giants reached Washington's 16-yard line, Chase Young earned a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer that resulted in the an automatic first down for the Giants. Daniel Jones ran up the middle for a 6 yard touchdown and Graham Gano made the extra point kick, giving the Giants a 7-0 lead over Washington with 8 minutes left in the first quarter.
The rest of the first quarter consisted of a series of short complete passes, incomplete passes, sacks, and penalties on behalf of both teams. Neither team was able to score a touchdown in the remaining minutes of the quarter and the quarter ended with Heinicke completing a 4-yard pass to Terry Mclaurin at the Giants' 43-yard line.
At the end of the first quarter, the Giants were up 7-0.
Second Quarter
Washington started with the ball in the second quarter at the Giants' 39-yard line. Taylor Heinicke, through a series of short completed passes, got Washington up to the Giants' 27-yard line. With a first down, he threw a complete pass to Terry McLaurin for a gain of 16 yards. McLaurin then scored an 11 yard touchdown and Dustin Hopkins made the extra point kick, tying up the score at 7-7. Unable to get a first down after receiving a 65-yard punt, Daniel Jones was sacked by Jonathan Allen during the first 5 minutes of the quarter. The Giants punted the ball and Washington completed a fair catch at their 33-yard line. After a short complete pass to Logan Thomas for a gain of 3 yards, Heinicke threw two incomplete passes before connecting with J.D. McKissic at the 33-yard line. Also unable to earn a first down, Washington was given a 5-yard penalty for a false start and punted the ball.
With eight minutes left in the first half of the game, Jones completed a series of short passes to Sterling Shepard, Elijhaa Penny, and Saquon Barkley for a total gain of 20 yards. At the Giants' 34-yard line, Giant's wide receiver C.J Board earned a 10-yard penalty for offensive holding. During the next two plays, Jone threw two incomplete passes intended for Kenny Golladay, and Washington cornerback William Jackson received a penalty for a pass interference. Attempting to make it into field goal range, Jones' next two passes were to Sterling Shepard for a total gain of 8 yards. Now at the 23-yard line, Graham Gano was called in to take the kick. The kick was good, and with four minutes left in the quarter, the Giants were up 10-7.
Washington wide receiver DeAndre Carter received the punt from Gano and was tackled by Keion Crossen at the 16-yard line. Heinicke then made a series of complete passes to Antonio Gibson, Logan Thomas, and Adam Humphries for a total gain of 43 yards. Then, Heinicke made a 6-yard pass to J.D. McKissic who was tackled by Tae Crowder and Logan Ryan at the 27-yard line. With only 40 seconds left in the second quarter, Heinicke made two more complete passed to Terry McLaurin and Dyami Brown, getting Washington up to the 11-yard line. Heinicke's next pass to J.D. McKissic was complete and McKissic ran into the end zone, earning Washington their second touchdown of the game. Dustin Hopkins took the kick, and it was good.
At the end of the first half, Washington was up 14-10.
Third Quarter
New York began the third quarter with the ball after a 65-yard kickoff from Washington. At the 25-yard line, Daniel Jones threw a pass to Sterling Shepard for a gain of 17 yards. During the next play, Chase Young earned a neutral zone infraction and a 5-yard penalty. Now at the 50-yard line, Jones completed a pass to Saquon Barkley for a first down. Then, Jones threw another complete pass to Shepard and Washington safety Landon Collins earned a 5-yard penalty fo defensive holding. After a series of short complete passes by Jones, New York determined they were within field goal range at the 47-yard line and brought Graham Gano out to take the kick. Gano's kick was good, and with 9 minutes left in the third quarter, Washington was only up by one point. The score was 14-13.
DeAndre Carter returned Gano's punt and made it to the 19-yard line before he was tackled by New York running back Gary Brightwell. Washington received a 10-yard penalty after running back Jaret Patterson performed an illegal block above the waist. Now back at the 10-yard line, Taylor Heinicke threw a series of complete passes for a total gain of 8 yards. After an incomplete pass intended for Terry McLaurin, Washington was unable to earn a first down. With just over seven minutes led in the third quarter, punter Tress Way punted the ball to wide receiver C.J. Board at the Giants' 35-yard line.
On Daniel Jones' first incomplete pass intended for Kenny Golladay, Giants center Billy Price earned a 5-yard penalty for a false start. Back at the 30-yard line, Jones threw another incomplete pass intended for Sterling Shepard, but Washington cornerback Kendall Fuller interfered with the pass illegally, earning a 13-yard penalty. On the next two plays, Kenny Golladay caught a 12-yard pass and Sterling Shepard caught a 19-yard pass from Jones, advancing the team to the 33-yard line. Then, Daniel Jones threw a 33-yard touchdown to Darius Slayton, putting the Giants ahead for the first time since the end of the second quarter. Graham Gano made the extra point kick, and with less than five minutes in the third quarter, New York was leading 20-14.
Antonio Gibson received the kick from Gano at Washington's 25-yard line and was tackled by James Bradberry after a 7-yard run. Heinicke threw an incomplete pass intended for Adam Humphries and Bradberry earned a penalty on the play for a pass interference. After a series of incomplete and short complete passes from Heinicke, Washington was within field goal range at the 49-yard line. Dustin Hopkins took the kick and it was good. Only two minutes were left in the third quarter and New York was leading by 3 points. The score was 20-17.
After receiving the kick, Daniel Jones made two complete passes to Darius Slayton and Kaden Smith. At the 41-yard line, Jones threw an incomplete pass intended for Kenny Golladay, and Billy Price earned a 5-yard penalty for an ineligible downfield pass. Now back at the 46-yard line, Jones was able to complete a 10-yard pass to Golladay as the time ran out on the clock.
At the end of the third quarter, New York was winning 20-17 and would begin the fourth quarter with possession of the ball.
Fourth Quarter
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Giants were at Washington's 36-yard line with possession of the ball. Daniel Jones was sacked by Kendall Fuller for a loss of 6 yards, but on the next play Jones threw a pass that connected with Sterling Shepard for a gain of 8 yards. At Washington's 34-yard line, New York determined they were within field goal range and brought our Graham Gano to take the kick. Gano made the kick, his fifth of the night, earning the Giants 3 more points and extending their lead.
Taylor Heinicke threw a pass to Terry McLaurin who ran 18 yards before being tackled by Logan Ryan. Heinicke's next pass was also to McLaurin who ran 9 more yards before he was tackled by Jabrill Peppers. Now at New York's 45-yard line, Heinicke completed two passes to Adam Humphries, advancing only 3 yards. During the next play, Heinicke ran the ball one yard before being tackled by Logan Ryan and James Bradberry earned a 5-yard penalty for holding. Two of Heinicke's next three passes were incomplete, but Washington still managed to make it into field goal range at the 37-yard line. Kicker Dustin Hopkins made the kick, and with eight minutes left in the game, Washington was trailing by three points.
During the next possession, the Giants made a series of runs that got them to the 55-yard line. During that time, they earned two more penalties, both for false starts. Wanting to extend the lead before the end of the game, New York brought out kicker Graham Gano to take the field goal. The kick was good, and New York earned three more point, giving them a six point lead with five minutes left in the game. The score was 26-20.
After the Giants' punt, Taylor Heinicke completed a deep 56-yard pass to J.D. McKissic, getting Washington all the way up to the 19-yard line. Heinicke's next pass was to tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, who ran into the end zone and scored a touchdown. Dustin Hopkins' kick was good, giving Washington a one-point lead over New York late in the fourth quarter.
Because of numerous incomplete passes, New York was unable to earn a first down during the next possession. DeAndre Carter received the punt and during the next play, Antonio Gibson gained 11-yards before he was tackled by Blake Martinez and Xavier McKinney. Heinicke then threw a pass intended for Terry McLaurin that was intercepted by Giants' cornerback James Bradberry at the 25-yard line. There were just over two minutes left on the clock, and Washington was only winning by one point. The Giants made two more downs before bringing out Graham Gano to take the kick. Gano made the kick, and New York was now in the lead. The score was 29-27.
Final Play
During the final two minutes of the game, Washington received the ball after a 65 yard kick from Graham Gano. At this point, the New York Giants were winning by only two points. Washington had a chance to win the game, but only if they could score a field goal for three points. Heinicke made a series of plays attempting to make it to the 30-yard line in order to be safely within field goal range. Finally, a short 6-yard pass to Terry McLaurin got Washington to New York's 48-yard line. With only five seconds left on the clock, Dustin Hopkins was called onto the field to take the kick. Hopkins' kick went wide, just missing the gap between the goal posts. While Giants fans celebrated, a flag went down on the play and the Giants were given a 5-penalty because Dexter Lawrence had been offside during the kick. As a result, Hopkins was given the opportunity to re-take the kick from the 43-yard line. With zero seconds left on the clock, Hopkins made the kick, earning the Washington Football Team a victory over the New York Giants by only one point. The final score was 30-29.
Penalties
The Thursday Night Football game between the Washington Football Team and the New York Giants had a total of 20 penalties between the two teams. This is an unusually high number of penalties considering the average number of penalties during an NFL game in 2020 is 11 . New York earned 11 penalties over the course of the game for a total loss of 81 yards. The most significant of these penalties was a 5-yard penalty given to Dexter Lawrence for being offside during the final play of the game. As a result of the penalty, Washington was given the opportunity to re-take the kick, winning the game by only one point. Washington earned 9 penalties for a total loss of 80 yards during the game. Both teams earned criticism for the number of penalties they earned.
Recently, the NFL encouraged referees to cut back on penalty calls giving the players, not the officials, control over the outcome of the game. After referee Carl Cheffers awarded the Kansas City Chiefs eight penalties during the first half of Super Bowl LIV, the NFL organization decided that officials were given too much power to decide the outcome of a game. Still, officials have their own ways of doing things and will decide how they want to call certain illegal plays during games. In the end, they will decide what call to make spontaneously.
See also --
Broadcaster and Team Reactions
* Damien Woody of ESPN: "Scotty, how in the world do you jump offsides and you're right in front of the football? Man, that's gonna be a long flight home and that's a short flight."
* Joe Buck of NFL Network: "That was Dexter Lawrence who came across early, and now a 43-yard drive for the win. Good snap, good hold, kick is good! Washington wins it! And this was some game here in Landover."
See Also
* Washington Football Team
* New York Giants
* Giants-Washington rivalry
* Taylor Heinicke
* Daniel Jones
* Thursday Night Football

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