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riverside commander vs. giants big plays breakdown josh upton's studio: Yeah. In to the Washington Football Podcast. I'm your host, Josh Upton. Today on the show, we are recapping a win. The Commanders save their season by all accounts. According to themselves, according to the local and national media, maybe according to the standings themselves, they've saved their season with a thrilling 24-21 win over the Giants. In this episode, we're gonna have plenty of time. Throughout the next week and a half or so before Washington plays their next game. So we'll have plenty of time to talk about this game from all kinds of different angles next week. In this episode, I want to break down some of the key plays from this game. I have some theories about how and why some of the key plays went down the way they did. I also have updates from people like Sonny Styles, Jaden Daniels, Stephon Diggs, John Harbaugh. About some of the big plays in the game, what they were thinking, and how it all happened. So we'll break that down down today, and then I'll talk a little bit about the momentum, the chance for momentum that I think it gives Washington. Before we get into that, looking back on Wednesday's episode, I made a critical error. If you are if you watch the show on YouTube, welcome to the show. We've been on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all that for a while. Just now getting started on YouTube. It's been really fun to make videos. Welcome to the show. If you're listening on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts, we're on YouTube now. So you can find us there as well. Wednesday's episode was very blue. Blue sweater, blue background. This is a Washington podcast. It it definitely presented like a giant's. Podcast, so that's my bad. There's no decoration on the walls back here. The only way to do something that looks somewhat interesting is with color. And blue for whatever reason is the color that comes through the best. So it was very gianty on Wednesday. we're back. We got the commander's gear on today. Still blue, but hopefully looking a little bit more Washington football than Giants football. I was looking like a giant myself on Wednesday. Anyway, the Commanders get a huge win. Jaden Daniels remains undefeated against the Giant, of course, once tied. JJ McCarthy loses his first game against Washington, beat them last year in Minnesota, got the infamous tie about a month ago with the Giants in Landover. And what a huge game for Washington. It was really fun to watch. A couple Of the familiar false starts early, but a relatively clean game for Washington. The defense continued to force turnovers, and it was just a good, solid, fun game all around. I'm not sure if I've been more stressed in a game, period. Definitely not more stressed at a game this season. What a thrill that was. So let's talk about some of the big plays in the game, starting with the Frankie Louvu forced fumble. On Malik neighbors early in the second half. The first half, Washington and New York trade touchdowns at the end. Washington comes into the second half with a lead. That first drive of the second half was a disaster. Don't know. It seemed like there was some sort of miscommunication on the Jaden sack. That basically blows up the whole drive. The commanders punt, they give up a touchdown. All of a sudden, Washington is down again. Course, the offense is able to answer, and then the Giants go marching right down the field. And I'm thinking at that point, can we come up with a turnover? Can we find a way? Maybe if we can hold them to a field goal try, they'll miss again. they had missed previously from 33 yards and missed several in landover about a month ago. And Frankie Louvu comes up with a huge forced fumble. Like, I'm thinking at that point. In the game. The next the team that comes up with the next stop is gonna have a chance to change this game. And Frankie Louvu did that, punching it out of Malik Neighbor's hands. And I thought for sure that that was not gonna uphold as a catch. It was close. I don't think they necessarily got it right or wrong, but they made that call so fast. It was as stress-free as it could have possibly been. When they went to commercial saying, Yep, that's a turnover, I was stunned. I'm like saying to myself, is that real? That's really our ball? And it really was Washington's ball. And it felt like at that point, Washington had a chance to make it a two-score game. Really changed the complexity of the game, and they went three and out. That was brutal. The team talked so much about complimentary football. And Dan Quinn said they got some of that in this game. I did think. There were times where the offense was picking up the defense, and there were other times where the defense was picking up the offense, certainly at the end of the game, which Dan Quinn talked about in his press conference after the game yesterday. But it felt like that was the time for the offense to lift up the defense, and they just couldn't do it. They go three and out and give the ball back to the Giants. Still huge for the defense to get that sack, but that was a tough moment in the game. The next big play I want to talk about is the Isaiah Likely touchdown. 21 now, 17, Giants lead. And the thing, you know, the big, you know, Sonny Styles tries to make a big play there, can't quite knock it away. Event because of that, misses the tackle, likely takes off, ends up scoring. JJ McCarthy's athleticism came up. Big throughout the game. He rushed for more yards than Jaden Daniels did in this game. He rushed for 34, take two off for the great Sonny Styles play at the end of the game, and we'll talk about that one as well. but J.J. McCarthy's athleticism was sh shining really throughout the game. He had the gr awesome underhanded pitch to Scataboo. That one really hurt. Dorrance Armstrong was wrapped all over him and McCarthy made a great play to get it to Scataboo. I wouldn't be able to talk about it like this
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if Washington had lost the game, but it was a great play. He got around Frankie Louvu for a first down. he nearly got away from Sonny Styles on a drive where Washington ended up forcing a punt. Sonny Styles is spying him and JJ McCarthy still gets five or six yards off of him. It was a great play by Sonny to hang in there, ride the stiff arm, and push McCarthy out of bounds. But he was showing how athletic he was. And so the big piece of that Isaiah likely touchdown is Nick Cross breaking down when it looked like he had a clear path at JJ McCarthy was going to bring him down, and Washington was actually going to get off the field. I've heard some theories about, maybe he was worried about a roughing the passer call. I think my theory on why Nick Cross did not end up finishing that sack, I think he was worried about McCarthy's athleticism. I think really on top of that, that he didn't think McCarthy was going to be able to cut it loose in that spot. That he thought with Nick Cross bearing down on him that McCarthy was going to hang on to it and become a runner. And then he was gonna make Nick Cross miss. So he slowed down. And to JJ McCarthy's credit, he hung in there through a great ball. Again, one that it would be a lot harder to talk about if Washington had lost the game. through a great ball, Sonny Styles isn't able to get there and likely takes it for a score. So, my theory on why Nick Cross did not end up finishing that play. Maybe one day somebody will get to ask him. I thought he I think that he thought that McCarthy was going to become a runner. And basically, if Cross was going at him full speed, that McCarthy was going to be able to get away. That was a painful moment in the game and even in real time. Nick Cross had made a play blitzing earlier in the game, a very similar play. And as he's coming, I'm like, they got him. They're going to get off the field. And to have it not only McCarthy get rid of it. Make a nice throw. They pick up the first down, but to also score on that play was a painful moment in the game. Of which there were plenty. That Washington ended up winning this game is a testament to them hanging in there. A testament to some of the decisions that the Giants made as well. To some really good decisions by Dan Quinn. Good timeout usage. Good use of a challenge on third and one. We'll talk about that here in a second. The next play. I want to talk about now we're in the fourth quarter. We're coming down the stretch, and you can probably guess the plays that we're going to be talking about now. The first interception, bad throw by Jaden. Just horrible throw. It's first down in that situation, throw it as far as you can. if Chig is able to reach out and get his fingertips on it, great. If not, like ball falls to the ground, we come back, it's second down. we're still rolling. Everything is good. We've seen Jaden run that play before last season against Chicago, and it was an easy, wide open touchdown to Luke McCaffrey. That is a Cliff Kingsbury play. We've also seen Caleb Williams run that play. Longtime listeners of the show will know this. Caleb Williams and the Bears. Ben Johnson ran that play against the Packers in the playoff. Wide open DJ Moore. Game-winning touchdown. So When Jaden pumps the screen, I'm like, here we go. They're running that play. Somebody's gonna be wide open. And when Jaden throws it, I'm like, okay, touchdown. They're about to score. But Holland, played, defended the play as well as I've ever seen anybody do it. I don't think Jaden was really expecting somebody to be step for step with Chigo Conquo on that play. So bad throw by Jaden. But I don't think he was expecting that to be played as well as it was. So another one, you tip your cap to the Giants there. It was really well defended. It would have taken an incredible throw to complete it. Doesn't excuse throwing an interception there. Again, it was first down. There's no need to throw a pick there, but it was really well defended. And I, you tip your cap to the Giants. I don't think Jaden thought that Chig would be essentially blanketed. Down the field on that play. Luckily, after that interception, the Giants are called down at the two. I was expecting that that was going to be a touchback. They say his momentum took him into the end zone. So the Giants pick it up at the two. Huge for Washington. And the Giants find themselves at third and one. What a huge stop there. And I've never seen two different angles look so different. When the play happened live, I thought they had to stop. I thought he was short. Then the first angles that we were seeing, and you might be saying that I'm blind, on the first ang angles they were showing horizontally down the sideline, I'm like, dang, I maybe he actually got it. And then they go above and it doesn't even look close at all. It was a great challenge by Dan Quinn and Sonny Styles said you could see on TV that Dietrich Wise was like emphatic. That he had not gotten there. And so Sonny after the game is like, I didn't really know, but Dietrich was emphatic that he had not reached it. And Wise was right. You could see him being very animated on the field. Sonny confirmed that like Wise was like, no, there's no way that he got there. Dan Quinn was right. Wise was right. A great stop. And then on fourth and one. They run Jameis Winston back out. I don't know. If I was if I'm Barbaugh, he said after the game that, yeah, just trying to get him to jump offside. Sometimes you're able to do that. The Who Let the Dogs out, the Hut 1, Hut 2, Hut Three, I I'm furious about that if I'm Barbaugh. Maybe their first fakes were jokes. at that point, once you start joking, Nobody on Washington nobody on the commanders is gonna jump off sides at the point where you start joking. So you're doing the who let the dogs out and all that. It lets Washington off the hook, in my opinion. At that point, they were in no danger. As soon as Jameis Winston said Hut one, Hut
Two, in my mind, they were in no danger of jumping off sides. why are you joking up there? I will say to that point, if they do run out there. And go on Hut 2 or go on Who Let the Dogs Out and the First Wolf. that's they're gonna pick that up at some point if they do, if they do allow Jameis to keep doing that. Because at the time he stopped, he starts joking, you're like, okay, they're just messing around, they're not gonna do it. And Harbaugh was asked after the game if he was serious, if he ever really thought about going for it, and he said no. And what's interesting about that. I think we all think that if he would have gone for it, he would have picked it up. They g they gained some on third down, although they came up short. And they probably could have gained an equal distance had they done it again. Of course, if you come up short on basically the slim chance that you come up short, that that sucks. That hurts. You're getting you're giving Washington the ball with great field position. Of course, there's plenty of time left. At that point, so if Washington does end up scoring, it's not the end of the world. but he said he didn't consider it. Dan Quinn after the game called that a critical moment. Not anything that Washington did, just that the Giants decided not to go for it. They really let Washington off of the hook there. Of course, you don't know. I mean, the Giants could have fumbled, they could have fall started, they c anything could have happened. But The Commanders breathed a huge sigh of relief when they heard Jameis Winston go Hut 1, Hut 2. And the Giants end up punting. The Commanders get a three and out there. Of course, that is followed up by a second Jaden Daniels interception. I think that play is really interesting. Of course, the fact it was fourth down. So the fact that it was picked off. doesn't really kill you. Obviously you would have liked Jaden to throw to somebody who was actually open, somebody he may have actually been able to complete the pass to, who on that play, based on what we're able to see on TV, would have been Stefan Diggs, who he had just gone to on fourth and one over the middle, wasn't able to complete it. They threw a slant to him on third and one earlier in the game, the one that bounced up in the air and was nearly caught by Traylon Burks. So I think it's interesting they had gone over the middle to Diggs a couple times in short yardage situations. And the first one on the third and five it was, I thought that could have very easily been pass interference. Diggs, the defender gets there early, digs is kind of run through, it bounces up in the air, and Traylon Burks does catch it until he basically rolls over on the ball. and then they go to him on fourth and one, and it's a similar play, whether it's good defense, whether it's just digs not being able to be physical enough, like they're just not able to complete that play. So here they are again in short yarded situations. Diggs is coming open over the middle, and Jaden is staring down Chig Oconquell on the sideline. Things have been a little clunky with Chig all night. So interesting that they were looking to go to him there. But I also get that they had gone to that digs over the middle well a couple times. And so, you know, they were thinking maybe they needed something different. Jaden ends up throwing the pick there. Again, pick doesn't kill you, but digs was open. Would have been nice to have hit him and picked up the first down. And then Sonny Styles comes up the defense as a whole. Sonny Styles included comes up with a great stop. Sonny Styles, one of the plays of the game, to throw those back to back picks and after the terrible punt, get the ball back in good field position with a minute 45 ish to go and a timeout. You're like, wow, they're gonna have another chance at doing this. Sonny Styles makes a great play on third. And three. And after the game, he said he knew that he had it coming. He knew that he had it coming. He knew what was coming from the Giants. He said the Giants in a similar situation in the previous game had run a toss crack. So in a similar position of the field. So that's kind of what he was expecting. And then the back left the backfield. So He's saying looking at the tight end, it looked like he was gonna crack. So at that point, they're thinking QB run. Him and Charles Amenihu agreed that it was gonna be QB run. Sonny Styles plays it perfectly, makes a great tackle. We talked about JJ McCarthy's athleticism. It was showing up in this game, but not able to get away from Sonny Styles in that moment. A fantastic play. And even more interesting. Harbaugh was thinking about going for it on fourth down there. And that Sonny Styles tackle pushing the Giants back two yards took that off the table. A no gain there, a gain of one or two, and the Giants very likely would have gone for it on fourth down and had a chance to end the game right there. So an incredible play by Styles. And actually, as a matter of fact, when Harbaugh was asked after the game, you know, were you thinking about going for it on fourth down? That was the one that he went to more than the who let the dogs out fourth down. So they were seriously considering that fourth down. Sonny makes a great play, pushes them back, they have to punt. It's a terrible punt. And now Washington has basically as good of a chance as you could ever imagine after everything that had happened in the previous eight minutes. That they have the ball, they still have a timeout, they got pretty good field position, and it's time to go down there and score and win the game. And that's you know what Jaden Daniels and Stephon Diggs and the offense was thinking. You don't typically see Jaden make mistakes like that to have them happen. you don't typically see him. Those were his first two interceptions of the season. But he still has a chance and he makes the play to Diggs. They knew, so talking about that play, Jaden knew
that it was going to be an all-out blitz. He said he gave a signal to Diggs to run the slant. Diggs did. Great pass, missed tackle, and all of a sudden Diggs is falling backwards into the end zone. So that's another play where, you know, quarterback, receiver, recognizing tendencies, knowing what was coming, having an answer for it, and being able to hook up for the touchdown. A crazy sequence. And speaking of, Diggs running that slant there and Diggs earlier, going across the middle, not being not being able to make the play, whether it's physicality, whether it's fast interference, you know, those are plays where you really miss Terry McLaurin. Like he has been unstoppable with those plays, especially with Jaden Daniels, those short yardage, short yardage needed slants. Jaden has been so great at. Diggs was effective there. Obviously, he scored the touchdown. Diggs made some big plays in this game. but it's plays like that where you really miss Terry McLaurin. It was what a thrilling game. Coming down the stretch, it felt like Washington lost that game several times over. You know, we talked about them having to prove to themselves that they could do that. They did that. You know, Sonny Styles said. We know now that we can do it. The defense, them holding up throughout that sequence, just gigantic. It really does not get any better than that. Three and out, three and out, interception by Rasul Douglas there at the end. Just really incredible stuff from the defense. And coming out of this game, look, I've been as down on this team as anybody. And this one game is not gonna be enough to turn their season around. I felt like after the Seahawks win, maybe that gives them the juice. You know, this same thing that we're talking about, the proof that they can do it. And that didn't really turn out to be the case. It got worse after that. So, you know, they have to build on this, but I think there is a real opportunity in this momentum, obviously having to win the game. And they'll talk about silencing the outside noise, when it's bad. You would hope they'll do the same thing when it's good. But just everything that happened for them last night, between the questions that they were asked, Jaden Daniels is up there with the primetime broadcast crew. The amount of primetime games this team has lost over the past two seasons, now they're the ones who are up there at the desk after the game. And he's up there with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Richard Sherman. And they're saying, you just saved your season. You're just two games back. You're in the hunt for the playoffs. You're in the hunt to win the division. they're enforcing you. They're telling him you have the tiebreaker in the division. You just beat the division leaders. Those people are telling them not that they're bad and they don't know how to manage the clock, not that their head coach is about to be fired any day now. Not that they should have been sellers at the trade deadline, which we were just talking about a couple days ago, which it will take more than this win, to prove that right or wrong. But anyway, the desk is telling them you're a playoff contender. You just beat the division leaders. those types of things to go from basically being clowned nationally whenever anybody talks to you, to people telling you, no, you're in the playoff hunt. you're you're good. I think. Those things really mean something. The media can really shape narratives with the questions they ask. You'll see this all the time in the locker room. They'll ask them questions. before the Seahawks game, people are like, Do you believe turnovers come in bunches? People say turnovers come in bunches. People say turnovers come in bunches. And the team is just like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. And then that is what has happened. So people telling them, you saved your season. you have a shot at the playoffs. I think it's just a different feel than what this team has had in a while. And Jaden Daniels press conference after the game, maybe there's some New York media in there or something. It was packed, and they were throwing him. The Washington media are very John Kaim go, Nikki Javala, go, JP Finley, go. This was just people launching questions at him from a crowd. And he was like taken aback at the end of every question when people were throwing just launching questions at him. So, you know, he eventually like thanked the Commander's Media guy for like calming it down and starting to call on people. So like it's just it's just different how that night went for them, the things that people are saying to them after a win like that. So, you know, on top of The main thing is that they won the game, that they didn't make fools of themselves. Although it wasn't always pretty down the stretch, they hung in there, they did it. They did it smartly. if it was gonna be going that way, the decisions that they made were decisions like were needed to get them out of it. And they were able to do it. But, along with that, you get some of these things that I just I hope and think can help. This team feels like, yeah, we are in this. We we have something to play for now. That was a big win. There's more to do, but we can do this now. We are a playoff contender. We will see. Still a long way to go, but at least, I talk about this a lot. It's a short season. Enjoy it as much as you can. This gives you a chance to enjoy it for at least a little while longer. It's gonna be a while before their next game. Monday night football. So we get to take two Sundays off. And we'll get to watch Dallas play a couple times. We'll get to watch the Giants play the Jaguars before the Commanders play again. Enjoy the break. We'll be back with another episode on Monday. We'll keep talking about this game. I'm gonna talk a little bit about David Blau, talk about Dorante Jones. on Monday. Enjoy the weekend. It's great when you win a Thursday night game. We can sit back as winners. enjoy the weekend. We'll be back with another episode on Monday. We'll talk to you then.