WFT Score Game-Winning FG Against NFC East Rival Giants, 30-29
Thursday night's NFC East matchup between the New York Giants and Washington Football Team became a tale of two 0-1 squads trading mishaps and costly errors until one team was forced to accept the win. Washington pulled away as the victor, 30-29 — sending the G-Men to 0-2, while WFT improved to .500 (1-1).
Taylor Heinicke played like a franchise quarterback for Washington, with some help from the Giants' porous secondary. WFT offensive coordinator Scott Turner kept the quick releases coming for Heinicke, and the backup-turned-starter kept up with the tempo. He threw for 336 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Heinicke's sole pick of the night came from Big Blue's James Bradberry — whose performance matched the turbulence of the game flow. The corner faced a difficult assignment against WFT's No. 1 receiver, Terry McLaurin, who totaled 11 catches for 107 yards. Frequent separation won by McLaurin diced up the Giants' secondary. Antonio Gibson contributed on the ground with a team-high 69 rushing yards on 13 carries.
The throw of the night came from Heinicke finding a tight window to Ricky Seals-Jones in the right corner of the end zone — a score that put the team up 27-26 with four minutes left in the game.
Daniel Jones had a serviceable performance during the loss, but was tormented by two potential scores in the second quarter undone by team mishaps. Wideout Darius Slayton dropped a deep ball in the end zone, and a holding call negated a 58-yard run for a score by Jones. Jones completed 22-of-32 passes for 249 yards and two total touchdowns. He was sacked four times and gave up zero turnovers — an answered prayer for Giants fans.
Coaching miscues resulted in an offsides penalty by former first-round pick Dexter Lawrence, which gave WFT kicker Dustin Hopkins a second chance to win the game after the first attempt drifted wide right. Hopkins took the second opportunity and knocked the score in to run out the clock — giving Washington the win.
Jason Garrett and the Giants' offense improved over their 13-point calamity against the Denver Broncos in Week One. Aside from ripping off a 41-yard run, Saquon Barkley added 12 more carries for 16 yards, extending Garrett's run game woes. Daniel Jones was the day's leading rusher with 95 yards off a number of successful boot runs.
The team also suffered a big loss on offense when offensive lineman and team captain Nick Gates suffered a gruesome knee injury and was carted off the field.
As for the Giants' first-round rookie receiver Kadarius Toney, his team picture may need to land on the back of a milk carton. He's been absent the past two weeks.
The Washington Football Team improves to 1-1, while the Giants sink to 0-2.
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