Commanders, with no help from the refs, fall to the G-Men, putting playoff hopes on dimmer

Washington had several chances to take the rematch with the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. A slew of bad calls that took a touchdown and a two-point conversion off the board didn’t help in the 20-12 loss that put the Commanders behind the eight-ball.

An offensive pass interference penalty on a third-quarter two-point conversion forced Ron Rivera to try a long extra point, which Joey Slye missed wide right.

The score would have been 20-14 Giants on the final Washington drive, which should have hit paydirt on a third-and-goal from the 1, with Brian Robinson going over the top for what would have been a game-tying score.

But wideout Terry McLarin was penalized for not lining up on the line of scrimmage, after apparently receiving a thumbs-up from the official on his side of the field indicating that he was.

“When I moved up, I checked to see if I was good, and he said I was good,” McLaurin said. “I’m not trying to get fined. We had other opportunities. For it to come down like that is tough.”

The Commanders had one last chance on a fourth-and-goal from the 6. A pass from Taylor Heinicke to Curtis Samuels in the end zone was broken up by Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes, but it was apparent live and even more so on replay that Holmes had done everything but commit a criminal act.

“Oh, yeah, the dude has his arm around his neck,” Heinicke told reporters after the game.

But this is sports. Sometimes the game comes down to a call, or two or three, and they don’t go your way.

The Commanders wake up Monday morning still in the playoff race in the NFC, at the moment as the seventh seed, but their position is precarious.

At 7-6-1, Washington has a half-game edge over Seattle and Detroit, who are both sitting at 7-7 – the Lions winning six of their last seven after a 1-6 start.

The last three weeks will not be easy – next Saturday, the Commanders are at San Francisco (10-4), then its Cleveland (6-8) on New Year’s Day, and the regular-season finale against the rival Dallas Cowboys (10-4) on Jan. 8.