EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — When the N.F.L. season began three months ago, few prognosticators had the Giants and the Washington Commanders battling for playoff spots.
Yet before they faced each other Sunday at MetLife Stadium, both teams had seven wins and were in position to make the postseason because of their ball-control offenses and stingy defenses. That gave their matchup extra meaning with five weeks remaining in the regular season.
So it was perhaps fitting that the game between similar teams went to overtime and ended in a 20-20 tie. The result, which left the Giants at 7-4-1 and the Commanders at 7-5-1, further complicated the challenging stretch run for both teams.