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Dec. 19 (UPI) — Saquon Barkley totaled 120 yards from scrimmage and a score and the New York Giants totaled three sacks and forced two turnovers to spark a 20-12 win over the Washington Commanders and climb the NFC standings.
Barkley scored the Giants’ lone offensive touchdown in the victory Sunday at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., while Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux totaled 12 tackles, including a sack, a forced fumble and scored on a fumble recovery return.
“This game was gritty,” Thibodeaux told reporters. “If I had to tell you about it, it was a game that you knew you had to dig deep. It’s cold, it’s freezing, you’re hurting. Everything is an issue. I think us as a team, took it upon ourselves to call our fights.
“As a defensive line, there was no dodging. Everybody called out who they wanted and it was a battle.”
Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke completed 17 of 29 passes for 249 yards and a score. Running back Brian Robinson logged 107 yards from scrimmage in the loss.
The Giants (8-5-1) are now the No. 6 seed in the NFC standings.
The Commanders took a 3-0 lead when Joey Slye made a 41-yard field goal with 2:46 left in the first quarter. The Giants punted on their next drive, but got the ball back when Thibodeaux came up from behind Heinicke and stripped the ball out of his hand. The ball bounced near the goal line before Thibodeaux scooped it up and ran in for a short score about two minutes into the second quarter.
The Giants added to their lead with an 18-play, 97-yard touchdown drive. Barkley ended that drive with a 3-yard run 1:46 before halftime.
Heinicke led a 6-play, 91-yard drive on the Commanders’ first possession of the second half. He threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson to end that drive. He followed the score with a short throw to Curtis Samuel to complete a successful two-point conversion.
Graham Gano made a 50-yard field goal to give the Giants a 17-9 edge with 3:57 remaining in the third quarter. Commanders kicker Joey Slye made a 51-yard attempt about 2:24 into the fourth.
Gano added a 50-yard field goal with two minutes remaining for the final points of the night. The Commanders got the ball down to the Giants 1-yard line in the final minute, but were denied of a potential game-tying score and extra point.
The Giants will face the Minnesota Vikings at 1 p.m. EST Saturday in Minneapolis. The Commanders (7-6-1) will battle the San Francisco 49ers at 4:05 p.m. Saturday in Santa Clara, Calif.
