After the Giants’ 27:22 loss to the Commanders, the stock rises and falls again

The New York Giants continued to roll over in the NFC East on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, losing to the Washington Commanders 27-22 in a winnable game.

The loss leaves the Giants 0-4 in the division so far this season and 4-12-1 in the NFC East since general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll took over. It was also the Giants’ first win in Washington since 2021 and just their second since 2011.

Wellington Mara would be sick.

Whose stocks rose and whose stocks fell after the week 9 loss? Let’s take a look.

Stepping up: QB Daniel Jones

On Sunday, quarterback Daniel Jones played his best game of the season, which is sure to be a controversial affair. He did everything in his power to lead an underperforming team to victory, but simply couldn’t solve a variety of problems. We’ll even give him credit for the fumble in the first quarter when Chris Hubbard failed a block and allowed DJ to be crushed from the blindside.

Jones finished the game with 228 total yards and three touchdowns, but there could have been a lot more. The receivers dropped more than five passes and a fourth touchdown was ruled bad due to a terrible OPI penalty.

Great performance by the DJ.

Inventory drops: NFL officials

This is not the fault of those responsible for Sunday’s defeat. However, continuing to give these referees a pass for their terrible performances is what continues to express terrible performances.

Brad Allen’s squad missed countless penalties in Week 9 (some even against the Giants), but that was the least of their problems. They called wide receiver Darius Slayton for what some call a “ticky-tack” offensive pass interference call, but in reality it was just completely wrong and game-changing.

They also allowed Washington to inexplicably call a timeout after an illegal substitution, which somehow negated the penalty.

Oh, and should we mention Austin Ekeler’s four-and-1 conversion, which FOX cameras clearly showed was short? One could argue that Malik Nabers also came up short on fourth down only to have it called a first down, but that’s just further evidence of the referee’s terrible performance.

That has to change.

Stepping up: RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.

It’s a shame the Giants fell behind by two points because it could have been a career game for rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. on Sunday. He was a workhorse in the first half and ultimately finished the game with 69 total yards (66 rushing, 3 receiving).

Had the Giants taken the lead or even kept it within one score, Tracy would have easily surged to 120-plus.

Stock reduced: Defensive Youth

Cornerbacks Deonte Banks and Andru Phillips and safety Tyler Nubin would like to be back in the game on Sunday.

Banks, fresh off the bench in Week 8, surrendered two touchdowns against Washington, including one directly over his shoulder to Terry McLaurin, who then taunted him mercilessly.

Phillips, a star all year, missed an open-field tackle late in the first half, leading to a 24-yard Commanders lead that was followed by a touchdown by halftime. If Banks had made that tackle, the game would have been very different.

Finally, near the end of the fourth, Nubin allowed a 42-yard catch-and-run from Olamide Zaccheaus that ended any chance of a surprising comeback. The newbie took the blame and admitted that he was thinking too much and was looking for something behind it.

Although cornerback Cor’Dale Flott isn’t a rookie, he’s also partly to blame for the secondary’s poor performance.

Stepping up: WR Darius Slayton

If this was Darius Slayton’s final game as a member of the New York Giants, then he had a solid performance.

Slayton caught all three of his targets for 49 yards and added an 11-yard run that was nearly a touchdown. We won’t penalize him for that brutal OPI like the officials did, as Slayton kept his feet moving and paved the way for a Wan’Dale Robinson touchdown.

Stock down: head coach Brian Daboll

Brian Daboll did not practice on Sunday. There is no way around it. But forget that he was defeated by Dan Quinn… That’s not even the worst problem.

Daboll’s reliance on analysis hurt the Giants again when he opted for a two-point attempt while trailing by 14. Jones had just eliminated two commanders on the way to the end zone, and instead of cutting the game to seven points and maintaining the momentum, Daboll went for two and it failed due to a bad play call.

Later in the game, Daboll was again forced to hit a deuce and again he failed. The Giants haven’t converted a single two-point attempt all season (and just 25 percent a year ago).

There were also some glaring concerns about his time management in the fourth quarter and we’ll even blame him for the first quarter sales. Not only did the Giants fail to help Chris Hubbard in pass protection, but running back Devin Singletary also gave up trying to get the ball back because the officials blew the whistle. The commanders went ahead and came up with the idea during the review. That’s all coaching and the difference between Daboll and Quinn.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Stocks rise, fall after Giants’ 27-22 loss to Commanders