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The Commanders and Giants played not to lose, so that's what they got
Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera (left) shoes hands with New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll after the game at MetLife Stadium. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Commanders and Giants played not to lose, so that's what they got

For the first time since Week 1, the NFL had a game end in a tie, as the Commanders and Giants played to a 20-20 stalemate.

Given some questionable strategy by both teams down the stretch, it was the outcome this game deserved. 

The Giants possessed the ball at the end of regulation with enough time left to try to get to field goal range but decided to kneel and play for overtime. Then in overtime, the Commanders had a 4th and 9 from the Giants' 43-yard line, which would've meant about a 60-yard field goal attempt for Joey Slye. 

But instead, they punted.

Then the Giants drove down the field themselves, only to have their own drive stall just past midfield. And they, too, punted.

This punt was even more questionable, considering the Giants took an intentional delay of game penalty to turn a 4th and 3 to a 4th and 8. They could have either gone for the first down or attempted the long field goal but chose neither.

New York then forced a Commanders punt before putting together one final drive, which resulted in a missed 58-yard field goal as time expired. Neither team won the game, because neither team played to win the game.

Ryan McCafferty

Ryan McCafferty is a passionate sports fan from Herndon, Va, where he follows the Washington Commanders, Wizards.  Ryan particularly enjoys covering the statistical aspect of sports, and in his spare time, he manages RJMAnalytics, a blog in which he formulates and analyzes his own advanced metrics for NASCAR and basketball. He is a graduate of the University of Mary Washington, where he majored in communications and minored in sports management, and reports on local high school sports in Northern Virginia for the Falls Church News-Press

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