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12/14 18:19 CST Commanders beat the Giants 29-21 to end their losing streak at
8 games
Commanders beat the Giants 29-21 to end their losing streak at 8 games
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) --- Marcus Mariota emerged from the Washington
Commanders' first victory celebration since Oct. 5 with a sense of relief.
Beating the New York Giants 29-21 on Sunday ended their season-derailing skid
at eight games.
"There's nothing like a winning locker room," Mariota said. "It's hard to go
two months without winning a football game."
Now their opponent is stuck with that feeling. The Giants (2-12), who lost
their eighth in a row, have not won since Oct. 9.
The only NFL game this week with no playoff implications had a far bigger
bearing on draft positioning. The Giants in defeat moved a step closer to the
top pick, a last-place finish in the NFC East and potentially front-office
changes, with a coaching search already coming.
"I've never gone this long without a win in my career," said Giants rookie
quarterback Jaxson Dart, who was 20 of 36 for 246 yards with touchdown passes
to Tyrone Tracy and Wan'Dale Robinson and a costly interception. "I know that
this isn't going to be the case for the future, and things are going to
eventually turn around. I definitely have that in my mind. Obviously, as a team
we want to get that switched immediately."
Players in Washington thought last year was evidence of turning that franchise
around, with an improbable run to the conference championship game in
quarterback Jayden Daniels' AP Offensive Rookie of the Year season setting
expectations high. Instead, Daniels has missed significant time, including
sitting out Sunday after aggravating an elbow injury, and the Commanders (4-10)
also are playing out the string.
They responded from getting shut out 31-0 at Minnesota last Sunday by Jacory
Croskey-Merritt running for a TD and fellow rookie Jaylin Lane returning a punt
63 yards to the end zone.
"The guys, it comes down to effort on that," said Lane, who got the game ball
from coach Dan Quinn and carried it around afterward. "It's the longest play in
football, punt returns, so just shoutout to the guys."
Mariota connected with top receiver Terry McLaurin on a 51-yard catch-and-run
touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and that went a long way toward putting
smiles on many faces in the visiting locker room.
"It feels amazing to win a football game," McLaurin said. "It's been a long
season, but you come out here and you get a win and you really appreciate that
feeling."
Mariota completed only 10 passes on 19 attempts for 211 yards, with a fumble,
and Croskey-Merritt had 96 on the ground.
That, along with a defensive effort that included Von Miller sacking Dart to
reach 136 1/2 in his career and pass Jared Allen for 12th on the all-time list,
turned out to be enough.
"It's never easy at this point in time with what's going on in our season, but
those guys continue to fight, continue to battle," Mariota said. "Games like
this are never easy. The weather was tough, windy, cold, snowy: So many
reasons, so many things for guys to not show up and play, and our guys found a
way."
Dart was escorted off the field by trainers to the sideline and went into the
blue medical tent for a concussion evaluation after taking a big hit on a
designed run in the fourth. He missed only two plays while getting cleared but
did not understand why he was pulled.
"I was definitely surprised," Dart said. "I didn't feel like it was that big of
a hit at all."
This was Dart's second game back after missing the previous two from getting
concussed Nov. 9 at Chicago.
Injuries Commanders: WR Noah Brown was initially listed as questionable to return because of a back injury, which was changed to ribs when he was ruled out at halftime. ... LT Laremy Tunsil returned after leaving with a back injury, then exited again with an oblique ailment. ... DT Eddie Goldman was evaluated for a concussion. Giants: Edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux missed a fourth consecutive game because of a shoulder injury. Up next Commanders: Host the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday. Giants: Host the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL |
