The New York Giants rallied from a 10-0 deficit early in the game to take a 20-13 lead that was carried late into the fourth quarter on Sunday. But self-inflicted wounds ultimately led to a 20-20 tie with the Washington Commanders.
It wasn’t a loss, but it may as well have been.
“You always like to win the game. But there’s some things we can do better,” head coach Brian Daboll said after the game. “It’s better than if it was a loss; not as good as if it was a win.”
Daboll was far more subdued than his players. For them, the tie stung just as much as any loss.
“I think we’re all pretty disappointed with the result. Certainly not the one we were looking for,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “I think it’s safe to say we’re disappointed but looking forward to getting back to work and working on things we got to improve on.”
“It sucks obviously. You go out there, you wanna compete and you want to win. When you put your bodies on the line and come out with a tie, it doesn’t feel good for either team,” running back Saquon Barkley said.
The eccentric Jihad Ward pulled no punches when he was asked about the tie. In his mind, it doesn’t just feel like a loss, it was a loss.
“I don’t know what a tie is. That’s just my mentality. I want to win,” he said. “Personally, I’m treating this like an L.”
Wide receiver Darius Slayton, who battled an illness all week, refused to use that as an excuse for his drop. And like his teammates, he wasn’t feeling too good after the game and that had nothing to do with the virus.
“Not too great right now,” Slayton said when asked how he was feeling. “I think it’s because we knew we had chances to win the game and if we just executed, we probably had a really good chance to win the game. It’s just disappointing when you don’t do what you need to do to close out a game, even though it technically isn’t a loss, you want to win. You play to win. Nobody plays to tie.”
The tie isn’t as damaging as a loss but it certainly isn’t as valuable as a win. And given how many opportunities the Giants had to win on Sunday, it’s no wonder they feel so bad about coming up short.
