LANDOVER, Md. — The Giants were not going to blow this game, were they?
They were clinging to a 24-19 lead on Sunday as the Commanders were driving from their 19-yard line to the Giants 48.
Time was winding down but the game was certainly not tucked away as Sam Howell with 29 seconds remaining looked to his right, for tight end Logan Thomas.
That is where Isaiah Simmons entered the fray.
“That is what I always try to be, a player that can make plays that are able to change the game,’’ Simmons said.
Simmons did not only change the game, he ended it.
He leaped for an interception and then proceeded to race down the sideline to complete a 54-yard return for a touchdown, making the 31-19 victory for the Giants look more comfortable than it actually was.
In late August the Giants sent a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Cardinals in exchange for Simmons, who was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Simmons, a versatile linebacker/safety who needs a creative defensive coordinator to find the best spots for him, has not made the impact the Giants hoped they would get from him.
He has not cracked the starting lineup but he did make a play to remember as the Giants ended a three-game losing streak.
“Man, I’m so happy for him,’’ outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “It’s been a slow start for him coming on the team and I know he wanted a bigger role and he’s been continuously growing. It’s a new system, a new team, new guys and he’s been kind of jelling right in so I’m super happy for him that he was able to end the game.’’
Tempers flared late in the second quarter as Washington quarterback Sam Howell bounced off Micah McFadden and then Deonte Banks on an 8-yard touchdown run to trim the Giants’ lead to 14-9.
There was no immediate whistle on the field and Xavier McKinney ran Howell out of bounds, seemingly on the 1-yard line.
That caused a melee and two players — Giants cornerback Cor’Dale Flott and Commanders receiver Curtis Samuel — were ejected.
“I mean, he scored, but we won the game so I’m happy,’’ McKinney said. “It’s past us, we good.”
How rare was it that the Giants had pass plays of 24 yards (to Saquon Barkley) and 40 yards (to Darius Slayton) in the first half, both for touchdowns?
The Giants came in with only 22 completions of 20 or more yards in their first 10 games — 24th in the NFL in those explosive plays.
The Giants were last in the league in 2022 in pass plays of 20 or more yards.
Slayton hurt his arm on a big hit by Jartavius Martin and Kendall Fuller late in the second quarter and was unable to play after halftime.
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