5 missed calls by refs that screwed the Commanders vs NY Giants

The Washington Commanders-NY Giants Week 13 matchup had all the makings of a playoff game. Coming in, Washington trailed the G-Men by a half-game in the Wild Card race, so both teams had everything to play for on Sunday.

Fittingly, the game went to overtime after Taylor Heinicke led a game-tying touchdown drive in the final two minutes. The drive might’ve been enough to buy Heinicke another week as the starter, but we’ll get into that at another time.

The Commanders and Giants both squandered great opportunities to win the game in overtime, and the rivals settled for a 20-20 tie.

While Washington should be disappointed with the result given they jumped out to 10-0 lead in the first quarter and had plenty of chances to win the game, the referees called a one-sided game in favor of the home team on Sunday.

Let it be known we aren’t saying the Commanders tied because of the officiating. We just feel obligated to point out these miscues because all of them were blatant and made life difficult for Washington in a tightly-contested game.

5 times the refs screwed the Commanders vs the NY Giants

5. Illegal hands to the face on Cornelius Lucas

It’s not often if you see offensive linemen finish plays without a helmet. Usually a scrap in the trenches is the direct cause. Maybe they get their bell rung on a blindsided block. On this particular instance, though, Washington right tackle Cornelius Lucas had his helmet ripped off by Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Illegal hands to the face? Facemask on the offense? Nothing? Got it. Foolish of us to think referees would actually do their job with games on the line. This botched call came with Washington trailing 20-13 late in the fourth quarter. You won’t find a bigger no-brainer penalty all weekend.

Thanks for nothing.

4. Clear hold on Montez Sweat on 3rd down

This wasn’t as consequential as the other blown calls from the game, but it was clear as day and deserved to be called.

On third down, Sweat generated pressure on Daniel Jones, but was clearly impeded by a hold on Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger. You never know if Sweat would’ve been able to sack the elusive Jones, who once again morphed into prime Michael Vick against Washington, but Sweat is a freak athlete.

You like his chances in that situation more than most edge defenders, but Sweat’s jersey was being dragged by Bellinger. Get a load of this.

How do you miss this call?! On third down and in a game of this magnitude? Jones was able to scramble for a first down and the Giants scored later in the drive. If the refs were capable of doing their job, though, New York would’ve been set up with a third and long, and potentially knocked out of field goal range if Washington came up with a tackle for loss or a sack on the ensuing play.