The aftermath of Commanders 20, Giants 20 was exactly as expected.
Sister-kissing was mentioned. Accusations and criticisms were levied at both coaches. Twitter jokes were made. Rule changes were floated. And on and on.
Very predictable. And very dumb.
There is nothing wrong with a tie. Especially this one. Yes, an outright winner would have been more satisfying for all involved. But the objective on each side was to keep the train on the tracks and stay in the thick of the NFC playoff race. And on this day, that meant taking a tie and moving on. Not as good as a victory, but nowhere near as disastrous as a loss.
So yes, Ron Rivera did the right thing kicking the extra point at the end of regulation and then sitting on the ball late in overtime. And yes, Brian Daboll was wise to punt on fourth-and-3 from the Washington 45 a few moments prior to the latter in the extra period. They worked within the constraints of the NFL’s ridiculous overtime rules* to put their teams in the best position to get a favorable result in the end. Which happened to be a tie this time around.
Go look at the NFC standings today. If the Giants had lost the game, they would be on the outside looking in today. If Washington had lost, it would be even further out of the picture. Both teams likely out-ran the surging Lions’ head-to-head tiebreaker for good. And there is a strong chance this tie will help get both teams in the playoffs come mid-January. So leave the toxicity of demanding a winner and loser at the door. This was a good outcome for all, regardless of how society treats it.
* — Referee Brad Allen’s explanation of the overtime rules at the coin toss was confusing and painful. And we’re pretty sure it was also somewhat incorrect. There is really no reason for the NFL to have any overtime in the regular season. But if they insist, and they will not return to sudden death, just play the 10-minute period to completion with no golden scores.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
