EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jacory Croskey-Merritt ran for a touchdown, fellow rookie Jaylin Lane returned a punt 63 yards to the end zone and the Washington Commanders ended their season-derailing skid at eight games by beating the similarly woeful New York Giants 29-21 on Sunday.
The only NFL game this week with no playoff implications has a far bigger bearing on draft positioning. The Giants (2-12) lost their eighth in a row, moving a step closer to the top pick, a last-place finish in the NFC East and potentially front-office changes, with a coaching search already coming.
Jayden Daniels’ didn’t play Sunday after aggravating a left elbow injury, so it was Marcus Mariota who quarterbacked the Commanders to their first victory since Oct. 5.
Mariota connected with top receiver Terry McLaurin on a 51-yard catch-and-run TD early in the fourth quarter. That was one of only 10 passes Mariota completed on 19 attempts for 211 yards, with a fumble.
Giants QB Jaxson Dart had TD passes to Tyrone Tracy and Wan’Dale Robinson but also threw a costly interception and was incomplete on a fourth-and-goal attempt with 10 minutes left.
Tracy ran for the Giants’ first touchdown after falling behind 13-0, and his TD catch happened when they were down 22-7.
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