Commanders rally past Giants 24-21 to keep season alive

The Washington Commanders stunned the New York Giants 24-21 on Thursday night to keep their season alive, according to Sky Sports Rugby Union.

Jayden Daniels threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs with 57 seconds remaining to settle what the Associated Press, via Guardian NFL, described as essentially a must-win game for Washington.

The winning strike came straight after Daniels had thrown his first two interceptions of the season on the Commanders' previous two possessions. He finished 23 of 33 for 249 yards, adding earlier touchdown passes to Ben Sinnott and Antonio Williams.

Washington's defence played a central role in closing out the win. Yahoo Sports reported that defensive coordinator Daronte Jones kept blitzing even after the Commanders had retaken the lead late on, rather than easing into a more conservative scheme.

That approach had not worked in the teams' first meeting of the season, when Jones's unit held up well in the first half before New York offensive coordinator Greg Roman used heavy run looks to pass against the blitz and loaded boxes, allowing quarterback Jameis Winston to pick apart the coverage once pressure failed to arrive.

On Thursday, Jones instead overwhelmed Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy with repeated blitz packages on the final drive, generating two chances for cornerback Rasul Douglas to intercept. Douglas dropped the first opportunity but held on to the second to end the game, Yahoo Sports reported.

Linebackers Sonny Styles and Frankie Luvu were credited for their work at the line of scrimmage, while Yahoo Sports noted that the revamped secondary and defensive advisor Steve Wilks also deserved recognition for supporting those blitz calls.

Not everything went to plan defensively. Safety Nick Cross failed to get home on one blitz that led to a big completion for tight end Isiah Likely. But cornerback Trey Amos and his fellow defensive backs otherwise limited New York's passing game, particularly Pro Bowl receiver Malik Nabers, who was held to 44 yards on five receptions, with most of that total coming on a single 37-yard catch early in the third quarter.

Rookie offensive coordinator David Blough, who has faced scrutiny in recent weeks, called what Yahoo Sports described as his best offensive game plan of the season, moving the pocket, using chip blocks on the edge and mixing under-centre snaps with up-tempo looks to keep New York's defence off balance.

The result extends Washington's season at a point when it was otherwise under serious threat, with the defence's late-game composure against the blitz proving decisive after a difficult second half in the sides' earlier meeting.