The Giants walked out of Thursday night with more than a loss. They left with a late penalty that had their locker room sounding off and their fans fuming.
With under two minutes to play, officials flagged Giants cornerback Deonte Banks for defensive pass interference while covering Commanders wide receiver Treylon Burks. The call came in a sequence that ended with Washington’s game-winning touchdown, and plenty around the game didn’t like what they saw.
Some argued Burks created the contact by pulling Banks into the play. Others believed the ball was uncatchable.
There were also voices saying the flag should have gone the other way as offensive pass interference. Banks, though, didn’t help his own argument by not turning to look for the ball.
The penalty moved Jayden Daniels’ offense 33 yards, and Washington made the Giants pay. Four plays later, the Commanders finished a 71-yard drive with a touchdown to go ahead 24-21, and that score held. Washington picked up its third win and moved to 3-5-1, while the Giants dropped to 5-3-1.
Banks didn’t address reporters after the game, but several teammates made their feelings clear.
"This league is funny, bro," safety Tyler Nubin said. "This league is funny.
There’s really nothing you can do about it, man. When you’re in trail position, nine times out of 10, they’re going to call that PI.
That’s just how the league is. Just got to weather it."
When asked what he meant, Nubin expanded on the bigger picture.
"What do I mean by funny? S---, it’s an offense-driven league.
They want to see points. You can’t control what the refs do.
But you’ve got to know [that] in those situations, it’s probably going to be called," Nubin said.
Safety Jason Pinnock was just as pointed, though he tried to be careful about how far he went.
"I’m going to be honest, and I ain’t going to say nothing that gets me fined," Pinnock. "But it’s getting to a point now where [offensive coordinators] are taking advantage of it.
They’re not calling real plays. They’re going four wide, and they’re throwing that junk outside.
And it looks like these receivers literally have techniques to get PIs. They’re grabbing the back of DBs’ necks.
It’s almost like it’s becoming a technique."
Pinnock said those tactics are making the game "boring" and "frustrating," and he didn’t hide how defenders are feeling about the way things are going.
"When they need a big play, and they can’t get nothing going, they’re throwing balls on the outside - and these receivers are grabbing the back of DBs’ necks," Pinnock continued. "It’s getting boring.
It’s getting frustrating. You can’t play defense in this league."
The Giants can point to the penalty as the turning point, but they also know one call doesn’t erase everything that came before it. Still, that flag loomed large over the finish.
Even with the loss, New York remains atop the NFC East, where every team is struggling. The Cowboys are right behind them at 4-5.
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