Heroes, zeros from Giants’ loss to Commanders: Deonte Banks was a mess

Heroes, zeros and the full blitz from the Giants’ 27-22 loss to the Commanders at MetLife Stadium on Sunday:

Hero

Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 15 of 22 for 209 yards with two TDs, no turnovers and a rating of 129.8.

He also ran eight times for 35 yards. Daniels wasn’t spectacular, because he didn’t have to be.

He controlled the game and made every key play on third and fourth down he needed to make. 

Unsung hero

Commanders running back Austin Ekeler didn’t post eye-opening numbers.

He rushed for 42 yards and scored a TD on 10 carries and caught three passes for 41 yards.

But Ekeler got himself open on a killer 28-yard catch-and-run on a third down late in the game to seal it, and he hurt the Giants on some key runs. 

Zero

Giants cornerback Deonte Banks allowed two of the three Commanders TDs on pass plays to receiver Terry McLaurin.

The first one was a 1-yard scoring pass that gave Washington a 7-0 lead.

And the second one was an 18-yard catch-and-run with six seconds remaining in the first half on which McLaurin got behind him. 

Key stat

4 Fourth-down conversions in the game — two by each team on two tries each.

The Commanders are now 11 of 11 on fourth-down conversions this season. 

Quote of the day

“Just understanding your ‘why’ — why you play this sport and who you do it for. We’re grown [men] out here. We got to be able to motivate ourselves and just play a simple game of football. That’s it. My message is you’re just playing organized, backyard football. That’s the approach that should be taken.’’ 

— Giants defensive tackle and captain Dexter Lawrence on the message to the team