Here's how both the Giants and the Commanders turned a likely victory into a tie

LANDOVER Md. (AP) — With the game tied at 27, the Washington Commanders and New York Giants each had chances to run the clock down and kick a routine field goal to win in overtime. Here's a recap — call it an oral history of misery — of how each team blew it on Sunday.

It was first-and-10 from the Washington 24. Since it was the third possession of overtime, this was a sudden-death situation. The Giants could have kicked a field goal right then, but Dominic Zvada had already missed from 50, 57 and 46 yards — and New York coach John Harbaugh's tenure in Baltimore ended last season on a missed field goal from 44 yards.

“That field goal is very makeable, but it's not a gimme,” Harbaugh said. “I've had some experience with that.”

So the plan was to try to advance a little bit closer while also running more time off the clock. The Commanders were out of timeouts — remember that for later — and the Giants could have run so much time off that even if Zvada missed again, Washington would have had no chance to drive the other way and the game would end in a tie.

“That's the strategy we'll probably do next time, too,” Harbaugh said.

The Giants could have run the clock down by simply taking a knee a couple of times. Instead, Cam Skattebo took a handoff and was met behind the line of scrimmage. Washington's Daron Payne knocked the ball loose and Shy Tuttle recovered for the Commanders.

“There's 11 guys on the other team just screaming at you,” Skattebo said. “Telling you you messed up, it's your fault, you sold the game, everything. You get that.”

Two passes and a run had the Commanders across midfield. Then Jayden Daniels threw a pass to Treylon Burks, who went out of bounds with 55 seconds left. It was now first-and-10 from the New York 26. Washington was in the same position the Giants had just squandered — with a chance to run the clock down and try a field goal for the win on the final play.

“Defense did a great job of getting a stop and forcing the turnover,” Daniels said. “At that point, it was like, OK, we got to go win this football game.”

Rachaad White ran the ball 2 yards to the New York 24 — and the clock started ticking.

Once the clock was under 40 seconds, Washington could have taken a knee, let the time run all the way down and then had Daniels spike the ball with under 5 seconds remaining. Instead, the Commanders went into a huddle, and with 27 seconds to go they were still in it.

The plan was apparently to throw the ball — to someone who could easily get out of bounds. If need be, Daniels could always toss the ball away for a clock-stopping incompletion.

“It’s an outside throw or a clock — an out-of-bounds throw, or a clock,” coach Dan Quinn said.

The Commanders broke the huddle and Daniels lined up under center. Someone even went in motion. By the time the play began, the Commanders could not risk having someone tackled in bounds, because the clock could run out.

“We have to stop the clock. We have to know the situation,” Daniels said. “We have to relay that as an offense. It starts with everyone, top down. Ultimately, it's on me.”

After the snap, Daniels rolled to his left and Ben Sinnott ran a route toward the sideline. Instead of throwing, Daniels turned inside and was tackled. It's still not clear if he knew Washington was out of timeouts.

“We just got to communicate that,” he said. “That's the whole thing. As I said, it starts with me communicating to the whole offense in the huddle, and I think everyone will say that top down.”

Washington's fate might have been sealed the moment Daniels was tackled, but the clock would still have stopped if the Commanders could have lined up legally and had the quarterback spike the ball before it expired. It's hard to say how many players realized exactly what the situation was.

Daniels stayed down for a couple seconds, looking around. Tackle Josh Conerly Jr. started making a bit of a spiking motion with his hand as if to tell Daniels what was needed. Sinnett headed back toward the line of scrimmage with nowhere near enough urgency. New York edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux stood with his hands on his hips.

Tight end John Bates lined up out wide to the far side, motioning to hurry up.

“The right call is honestly like we can go clock it early and don't put ourselves in that spot,” Quinn said. “That is my responsibility.”

The clock ran out. Defensive lineman Shelby Harris started waving both arms to indicate the game should be over. Cornerback Deonte Banks leaped in the air, ran across the line of scrimmage, then leaped again in celebration. Quinn ripped off his headset and threw it to the ground.

A tie snatched first from the jaws of victory and then from the jaws of defeat.

“I wanted to get off the field before they could take it away from us, I guess,” Harbaugh said. “I was surprised. I can't say that I wasn't. It was a pretty shocking end there.”

And for Skattebo, relief.

“I probably won't get reamed as much,” he said. “But I'm still going to get reamed.”

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs away from New York Giants' Arvell Reese (52) and Dru Phillips (22) for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo (44) gets a hug from his father Leonard Skattebo prior to an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn leaves the field after an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are considering firing U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after a series of reports alleging she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens.

A senior U.S. official said Sunday that Trump and Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct and would likely decide on what action to take this week after Monday’s Columbus Day holiday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Rubio had been particularly angry, not least because he visited Athens just last week and Guilfoyle attended most, if not all, of his events and greeted him on his arrival with a bear hug as the allegations swirled.

In a series of stories, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.

Guilfoyle has not addressed the reports directly, although her lawyer has said she did nothing wrong and the U.S. Embassy in Athens has tacitly expressed support for her.

After defending Guilfoyle following the first report, Rubio has declined to comment publicly on the growing allegations. On Wednesday, Rubio said: “Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”

But after another report appeared late Wednesday, Rubio on Thursday before leaving Athens berated journalists for asking about the allegations, saying he didn’t know if they were true and that he would not respond if he could not confirm them.

“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things,” Rubio said at the foot of his plane as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart, looked on.

The official said that Rubio had grown increasingly frustrated as the reports multiplied.

A second U.S official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said the State Department’s inspector general is looking into the allegations, which first began surfacing in the Journal late last month and have since multiplied.

The second official could not say if a formal IG probe had begun. Inspectors general often conduct informal inquiries into complaints against staffers and many times those inquiries do not result in a full-on investigation, which can result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

The State Department has declined to comment on a potential IG investigation.

The top two Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, as well as the ranking member on the House Committee for Oversight and Government Reform, Robert Garcia, D-Calif., have already called for an investigation into Guilfoyle.

Since late September, the Journal has detailed numerous accounts of questionable conduct by Guilfoyle. Its first report said that she had told guests at a reception that the U.S. could undermine the Greek government if it chose to, promoted the business interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company, and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.

While Rubio was in Athens, the Journal reported — citing text messages — that Guilfoyle had asked a Trump donor and supporter to pay a $100,000 credit card bill just before her confirmation hearing, promising him access to administration officials if he did.

The Journal then reported that Guilfoyle had been enraged about not being invited to a Greek-themed event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year and demanded to attend while boasting about luxury travel to France with energy company executives.

Another report, from the British tabloid The Daily Mail, said that Guilfoyle had alienated staff at the U.S. Embassy in Athens and had pushed the bounds of behavior appropriate for the top representative of the U.S. government to Greece.

Guilfoyle is a former Fox News Channel host and California prosecutor who was once engaged to Trump’s son Donald Jr.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, and U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle stand at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport near Athens, Greece, before Rubio boards a plane , Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle speak during a dedication ceremony at the chancery of the U.S. Embassy, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Athens, Greece. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)