LANDOVER — To understand the letdown that Washington suffered defensively Sunday, realize this about New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones: In the second year of his career, the Duke product is just 5-17 as a starter.
Four of those wins have come against Washington.
In Washington’s 23-20 loss to the Giants, Jones threw for 212 yards and a touchdown. But more importantly for New York, the 23-year-old went without turning the ball over — for only the second time.
The other occasion? Yep. It was against Washington.
“I don’t know if it’s specific to one team,” Jones said. “Each game is separate from the other and you know it just happened that we’ve come ready to play against Washington these last four times and have been able to get wins.”
On Sunday, the Giants helped their young quarterback out with a steady run game that helped put the game out of touch. Washington gave up 166 yards on the ground on 35 attempts, their worst output of the season. The Giants had success despite being without running back Saquon Barkley (ACL) — and his replacement, Devonta Freeman (ankle).
Instead, the Giants relied on two veterans: Wayne Gallman and former Washington starter Alfred Morris. Morris, in particular, carved up Washington for 67 yards on just nine carries. The 31-year-old, who’s on his third NFC East team and been a journeyman in recent years, had his most yards since 2018.
Entering the afternoon, Washington’s defense was ranked as a top-five defense in both total yards (309 per game, fourth) and advanced metrics like Football Outsiders’ DVOA (fourth), which measures efficiency based on the quality of opponent and other factors.
Even then, the unit had shown previous cracks at stopping run plays. Cleveland’s combo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined for 158 yards. Quarterbacks Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson and even Jones had previously gashed Washington with their legs.
What’s the problem? Coach Ron Rivera said it comes down to a matter of not executing the scheme.
“Our gap control wasn’t where we needed to be,” Rivera said. “The nice thing about the style of defense we play is, when we play gap control, you know where the ball’s going. You can basically see who’s not doing their job. It’s a thing that we’ve got to try to get corrected and make sure we’re doing our job.”
Linebacker Jon Bostic also indicated that the Giants also did some things that caught Washington by surprise. He did not elaborate on specifics.
“We still have to go make those plays,” Bostic said. “We’ve got to make those corrections on the sideline. When we make those corrections on the sideline, we have to make sure we go out and execute what we are being coached on.”
Washington’s defense eventually cracked down. In the second half, it surrendered just three points — a 42-yarder from Graham Gano.
The deficit, though, was too much for the offense to fully overcome — even with a solid performance from Alex Smith (325 yards). The team could have badly used a signature Jones turnover. But they didn’t get one, despite what felt like the quarterback’s best efforts to give the ball away.
Jones fumbled twice — though Washington recovered neither. He also had an interception called back when it was discovered on replay that the ball hit the ground before linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis could haul it in.
“We didn’t give our offense any type of momentum,” Bostic said.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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