LANDOVER, Md. — Jayden Daniels got the wind knocked out of him, missed a snap and came back like nothing went wrong. He led the Washington Commanders down the field over and over without a touchdown to show for it and made sure they still put points on the board.
When it mattered most, Daniels got the job done and picked up his first win as an NFL quarterback, beating the New York Giants 21-18 on Sunday thanks to a franchise-record seven field goals from new kicker Austin Seibert.
''I feel blessed," Daniels said. ''Can't really complain. It wasn't the prettiest game, but a win is a win.''
Daniels engineered the go-ahead, 65-yard drive in the final minutes to get the ball into the red zone, setting up Seibert's 30-yard field goal that won it as the clock expired. Seibert's 7-for-7 performance came days after he replaced Cade York, who missed each of his two attempts in the season opener.
''I guess that's a great way to kind of welcome myself to the team and win a football game, so I'm happy with it,'' said Seibert, who was good from 27, 45, 26, 27, 29 and 30 yards out. ''No reason to make it bigger than it is. Just go out there and do what I do.''
The Commanders (1-1) came back to win an ugly game after the Giants lost kicker Graham Gano to an injury on the opening kickoff. Not having Gano forced New York (0-2) to go for it on several fourth-down situations after punter Jamie Gillan missed an extra point attempt early.
Gano, who said it was unrelated to the sore groin that landed him on the injury report, said his hamstring ''doesn't feel good.''
Daniels was 23 of 29 for 226 yards and rushed for 44 in his second professional start, beating former LSU teammate and fellow top-10 pick Malik Nabers in their first matchup in the league. Nabers was the Giants' best player with 10 catches for 127 yards and his first career TD reception.
