The Commanders’ improved attitude was evident in their Week 9 win at the NY Giants

There’s an old saying in the NFL. The team that controls the line of scrimmage wins the game.

This usually turns out to be true. But as with all things, blind adherence to “old sayings” is too easy. Take, for example, the Washington Commanders’ victory over the New York Giants. If either team controlled the line of scrimmage, it was the G-Men. However, head coach Dan Quinn’s men won the game.

To be clear, the Giants did not dominate the trenches. Washington had several good plays on both offense and defense. But overall, New York ran the ball better and stopped the Commanders’ rushing attack for much of the game.

The Giants outscored the Commanders on the ground despite running the ball on seven fewer plays. They averaged 5.2 yards per attempt in the game. On average, they came to a whole meter less.

Washington, which entered the game with the second-best yards per rush in the league at 5.2, managed just 3.9 yards on each run. This number was reduced by the squats at the end, but only by a few tenths of a meter. Whatever the case, the Giants had control of the line, at least as far as the ground game was concerned.

The commanders were the better team. Washington won because it made big plays when it mattered most. They won because they kept their composure.

That’s the one word explanation. The commanders remained calm. Much of the credit once again goes to Jayden Daniels, who has already become a poster boy for staying calm and getting through difficult situations. His crucial finish against Olamide Zaccheaus late in proceedings wasn’t quite as dramatic as last week’s Hail Mary, but proved just as effective. It secured another victory.

This attitude is perhaps most obvious with Daniels, but it runs throughout the entire roster. On Sunday, it first came from Washington’s smartest player – Bobby Wagner.

The biggest play of the game lasted less than 10 minutes.

After an exchange of blows, the Giants began to impose their will on the Commander defense. They ran the ball effectively. Tyrone Tracy Jr., Devin Singletary and Daniel Jones all had runs of 10 yards or more. New York had a 1st-and-10 from inside Washington’s 30-yard line. They attempted a pass.

It appeared Jones was hit by Dante Fowler Jr., resulting in an errant throw that was ruled an incomplete pass. That’s what it said on the field. The whistle even sounded while the ball was still rolling around.

But Wagner has played a lot of football and he knows it. He knows that you don’t give up on a piece like this. He knows that reputation could be changed and that there is no harm in picking up the ball.

Nine times out of ten – maybe 99 out of 100 – this play will be ruled an incomplete pass. But it only takes one time for it to be counted as a mistake to turn the tide of a game.

That’s exactly what happened. The replay clearly showed a fumble. Wagner recovered. Not only did the Commanders stop New York’s momentum, but they also scored their first touchdown of the game a few plays later.

It seems like such a small thing – you just have to pick up the ball when it’s on the ground. Wagner knows how important it can be. Winning teams take advantage when they can get it. That kind of smart hustle play, coming from one of Washington’s most respected players, permeates the entire team.

Ron Rivera tried to sign a few players like that when he took over as the Commanders’ head coach in 2020. He brought with him linebacker Thomas Davis Sr., whom he had coached to great success with the Carolina Panthers. When the team needed help at receiver, he signed Dontrelle Inman. The hope was that these players would become leaders.

At this point, neither Davis nor Inman were able to perform on the field. The only experienced veteran who played much in 2020 was Logan Thomas, and it’s no coincidence that Washington’s only playoff year under Rivera was the first season the tight end was healthy.

Washington has attitude – and plenty of it. The players are getting better and better. Jeremy Chinn, Dyami Brown and Chris Rodriguez Jr. – players who hadn’t contributed much this season – all made an impact against the Giants.

And – allow me to put this aside. Washington didn’t win this game because of some lucky bounces, as one of the TV announcers said several times. They may have gotten lucky at the end of the Bears game, but to hear this announcer try to equate that long pass to Zacchaeus as simply being a matter of a favorable ball bounce is ridiculous.

Washington won because they played better than the Giants when it mattered most. They won because they were more confident. Nobody embodies this better than Wagner.

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