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The Giants had two chances to make Jayden Daniels pay for his fourth-quarter interceptions Thursday night. They went three-and-out both times. Daniels got the ball back, hit Stefon Diggs for the winning touchdown, and Washington left New York with a 24–21 win.
The Commanders cut the Giants’ division lead to two games and finished their season series against New York at 1–0–1. Dallas is still between them. If the 49ers beat the Cowboys on Sunday, Dallas falls to 4–6, and Washington gets a little closer to second place without taking the field. A Cowboys win would give Washington more ground to make up when it returns.
Philadelphia is on its bye, though the Eagles have been busy: Hollywood Brown and Fred Johnson were waived Friday. Washington’s next game is against Joe Burrow and the Bengals on Nov. 23.
NFC East |
Record |
Games Back |
|---|---|---|
Giants |
5-3-1 |
-- |
Cowboys |
4-5 |
1½ |
Commanders |
3-5-1 |
2 |
Eagles |
2-7 |
3½ |
San Francisco has controlled the recent rivalry, claiming four consecutive victories over Dallas, including playoff wins in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Scoring has remained a major challenge for Dallas, which has averaged 15.7 points per game during the four-game skid and reached a high of 24 points.
Defensively, the Cowboys enter Sunday’s contest following a strong four-game stretch, accumulating 12 sacks, 27 quarterback hits and six takeaways. The unit must apply heavy pressure to 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who has surrendered eight sacks across eight games played this season.
San Francisco brings a high-powered offense averaging 29 points per game into AT&T Stadium. To counter that scoring capability and match the 49ers’ physical style of play, Dallas will need an elevated offensive performance and likely score in the 30-point range.
🕝 24 HOURS 🕥#SFvsDAL | @ntxford pic.twitter.com/UxwMqzuAlG
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 14, 2026
The game is set to kick off at 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday. San Francisco was set to take off on Saturday around 1 p.m. PT, per 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, but those plans could be altered given recent developments.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan met with reporters on Friday, but wasn't aware of the FAA's announcement until told by the media. "I didn't know. I just first heard," Shanahan said. He added that the 49ers will go through a normal walk-through on Saturday morning, but the plans after that remain up in the air until the FAA provides further updates about when flights can resume.
With the status of star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. up in the air, the Cowboys elevated cornerback Derion Kendrick from the practice squad. Porter has been battling a nagging foot injury, which kept him sidelined in Week 9, but there is some hope he will be ready to go.
In addition to the Kendrick move, the Cowboys activated defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard from Reserve/Injured-DFR, signed tight end James Mitchell to the active roster from the practice squad, and waived outside linebacker Tyus Wheat.
"Then we'll get Jaishawn more involved there. He's kind of been involved there in some spotlight duty already with some different packages we've had throughout the season. We'll be able to deploy him there some too," Parker said.
Dallas had multiple picks in the first round and used that to bring in Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, in an attempt to shore up their defense. They continued to focus on that side of the ball for much of the draft, with only two picks being dedicated to the offensive side of the ball.
“I’d cut Jameis Winston this morning,” Whitner said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Friday. “It was so unrealistic. You have 10 other guys out there and guys on defense that are busting their butt every week, and it’s very hard and difficult to win a game in the National Football League. So, when you get up there – first and foremost, whoever says hut 1, hut 2, hut 3? That’s 1950s football!
“And then when you go into ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’? Are you serious? He’s clearly just trying to go viral on social media while they’re trying to win a football game. He’d get his pink slip this morning.”
ISAIAH. LIKELY.
— New York Giants (@Giants) November 13, 2026
📺: PRIME VIDEO pic.twitter.com/nNp6zZKRV3
“We had a certain check involved in it, so . We didn’t call the same [QB sneak] that we’ve been calling,” Harbaugh said, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. “What else am I supposed to say? He wasn’t supposed to be up there pushing.”
"It's a missed opportunity," coach John Harbaugh said. "But like I told the guys, it would have been great to win the game, but it doesn't change our goals or our opportunity going forward. So, it's a tough loss. It's the National Football League. You're going to lose some games. And everybody in this league is good. The Commanders are good. Everybody's good. So, I mean, we have a really good team coming in here next Sunday. A team that we can beat, so, we've just got to get back to work."
“No, no, no,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “It’s a very fair question. I think he’s proven that he’s capable of winning games and making the plays, and I probably feel more strongly about that now than ever. It was his third [start] … but he’s earned that right. I’m excited about where he’s going [moving] forward and our chance to close out some games.”
Giants coach John Harbaugh had good cause late Thursday night to call it “probably as good a play as you’re going to see in the National Football League all season.” Washington’s Nick Cross was running right at McCarthy on third down, and though the free blitzer hit the brakes on the MetLife Stadium turf for some ungodly reason, he was still a disconcerting presence in the quarterback’s face.
McCarthy fired as he was getting hit, the ball spiraling into the heart of a Commanders team meeting held at midfield. Isaiah Likely caught it on the Giants’ helmet logo; Sonny Styles and K’Lavon Chaisson crashed into each other; and Likely was off to the races for his 66-yard score that gave the home team a 21-17 lead in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Hurts's mobility is one aspect that helps make him so great, so no one would be surprised if head coach Nick Sirianni wants his next franchise QB to have a similar trait. That's why UCLA's Nico Iamaleava could be on the Eagles' radar once the second round begins.
Standing 6'5" and weighing 215 lbs, Iamaleava boasts the size and athleticism that NFL coaches love. He's displayed a well-rounded game during his time at UCLA and Tennessee, completing 521-of-818 passes (63.7%) for 5,840 passing yards and 38 touchdowns to 16 interceptions while converting 283 carries into 1,078 rushing yards (3.8 per attempt) and 11 TDs.
#Eagles DT Jordan Davis, now newly Jacksonville Jaguar heading out of Philadelphia to make his flight to his new team ✈️☀️
— Midnight Green Talk 🦅🎙️ (@MidnightGrnTalk) November 10, 2026
Jordan says he’s a little disappointed but the 1st and 2nd round picks will help the team in his departure and he still loves all those guys on the team 🦅… pic.twitter.com/kt8GgY761s
"As outlined by the league and NFLPA's Collective Bargaining Agreement, mutually agreed-upon independent medical experts will review the matter and share their conclusions and recommendations with both parties," executive vice president of communications, public affairs and health policy Jeff Miller said in a statement released by Blunt Rochester's office Friday.
Yet, the fact remains: it would greatly behoove the Eagles to draft as high as possible. To draft No. 1 overall could rewrite their destiny in the medium-to-long-term. The difference between a short-order return to the Super Bowl and five years of mediocrity could easily be the difference between drafting No. 1 and No. 5, or even between drafting No. 2 and No. 4. This is not an exaggeration. It is not a straw man. It is reality. Howie Roseman knows it. Bet your last dollar on that. Remember the uproar in January 2021 when the Eagles pulled Jalen Hurts in the fourth quarter of their season finale against the Commanders? Remember the questions about the play-calling? The Eagles incentive on that particular day was the prospect of moving from No. 9 to No. 6. Those three spots of draft position gained them an extra first-round pick. They traded down from No. 6 to No. 12, picking up a 2022 first-rounder from the Dolphins. That 2022 first-round pick became Jordan Davis, who helped the Eagles to a pair of Super Bowls and now has landed them 2027 first- and 2029 second-round picks from the Jaguars. In hindsight, the Eagles would have been committing organizational malpractice had they not done everything within the letter of the law to maximize their chances of drafting at No. 6 in 2021. This year, the potential reward is even greater.
Brown, 29, signed a one-year, $5 million deal with Philadelphia this offseason. He was brought in along with Wicks, Elijah Moore and Lemon to help complement Smith following the trade of A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots.
A significant role for Brown never materialized, however, even with injuries to Smith and Wicks. He appeared in four games (one start) and had five catches for 63 yards on eight targets. All five of his catches resulted in first downs.
His release signals the Eagles’ readiness to turn to younger players on the offensive line. There is an intriguing prospect on the practice squad who could be summoned. That is Yale’s Kiran Amegadjie, who is 6'5" and 326 lbs. John Ojukwu could also be a possibility.
Coming into this season, the Washington Commanders were hopeful that this was the year tight end Ben Sinnott would break out. Used mainly as a blocker over his first two seasons, he hasn't had the chance to showcase the skill set he displayed while at Kansas State. He entered Thursday night's game against New York with one catch for six yards this season. He finished the game with four catches (on four targets) for 42 yards and a touchdown, setting single-game career highs in catches and yards. The interesting thing is Sinnott did that on 24 offensive snaps, two fewer than he played against the Rams four days earlier.
Hard to find a more impressive play from a rookie defender this season when you take it all into account@Commanders @sonnystyles_ 👏🏼👏🏼@PFTCommenter pic.twitter.com/VKi1qDxaYM
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 13, 2026
In the first meeting between the Commanders and Giants, Washington’s defense played well in the first half but let New York offensive coordinator Matt Nagy dictate terms in the second. The Giants showed heavy run looks but passed out of these formations to move the ball against the blitz and loaded box looks. In response, Jones went to more basic zone coverage and away from the blitz packages. When Washington’s defense couldn’t generate pressure up front, Giants’ quarterback Jameis Winston started picking them apart. Jones went back to Cover 0 blitzes too late and the Giants capitalized on several coverage lapses in the secondary.
The Giants reached Washington’s red zone four times and scored touchdowns on two of those trips. Through Week 6, opponents had scored touchdowns on 18 of 22 red-zone trips against Washington. In the first quarter, they got to the 15 before the Commanders stopped Cam Skattebo for no gain and J.J. McCarthy threw an incomplete pass on third down. Dominic Zvada missed the ensuing 33-yard field goal wide left. Washington stopped the touchdown, but the missed kick was New York leaving three points on the field. Later, the Giants got back inside the 20, only for Frankie Luvu to punch the ball loose from Malik Nabers at the 16. Jeremy Reaves recovered it, ending another promising New York drive without points.
What to make of Daniels' performance: Jayden Daniels overcame his first two interceptions of the season and delivered when Washington needed him most. His strength has been shaking off bad plays, and after consecutive series ended with picks in the fourth quarter, he led the go-ahead touchdown drive -- with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs. Daniels had been highly efficient prior to that pass. He has gotten better at keeping his eyes downfield, which resulted in one play for 30 yards.
Washington ran the ball 33 times Thursday, gaining 105 yards. Daniels accounted for 11 attempts and 28 yards, and the offense still went 0-for-2 on fourth down. That’s a lot to clean up for a team that needed all three touchdowns to beat New York. Cincinnati is coming to town November 23, giving Quinn and offensive coordinator David Blough 11 days to build on what worked. Their next test is whether Washington can still move the chains on third down when it needs more than four yards.
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