The Washington Commanders turned a chance to escape Week 5 with a win into a tie instead, finishing a chaotic Sunday with a final sequence that left Dan Quinn standing stupefied near the sideline.
The game mattered beyond the result itself because Washington had built a 14-point fourth-quarter lead and then reached field-goal range late in overtime, only to come away with nothing. In a short, tightly packed NFL Sunday slate, a missed win can echo quickly in the NFC West standings race and the broader playoff picture.
How Washington lost control
Before Week 5 of the 2026 season, Jayden Daniels had missed two games because of a dislocated left elbow, so Washington was still trying to regain its footing with him back in the lineup. Against the Giants, the Commanders did enough late to put themselves in position to win, then unraveled at the worst possible time.
With less than two minutes left in overtime, Washington stripped Cam Skattebo while New York was in field-goal range. That should have been the break that ended the game in the Commanders’ favor. Instead, the final possession became the story.
With 55 seconds remaining, Daniels hit Treylon Burks for a 13-yard gain to the New York 26-yard line. But with zero timeouts left, Washington then ran Rachaad White into the pile. After that, the Commanders hiked the ball with 12 seconds left, Daniels took a sack and the clock expired before a spike could be run.
The game ended in a tie, and the final sequence invited immediate blame for a finish that never should have happened after Washington had already done the hard part by forcing overtime and creating a late chance to win.
What it means going forward
For Washington, the tie will feel especially costly because it came after a fourth-quarter lead and a late overtime turnover that should have set up a clean closing drive. Instead, the Commanders leave Week 5 with questions about execution, game management and how a team with a returning quarterback closes out games it is in position to win.
In a crowded standings race, that kind of missed opportunity can linger. The Commanders did not lose, but they also did not finish the job, and that can be almost as damaging when the margin for error is already small.
