The Washington Commanders beat the New England Patriots 20-17 for the first time at home since 1996 before a sellout crowd at Gillette Stadium.
The turning point in the game came with the Patriots driving with 30 seconds to go on the Commanders 41-yard line. Quarterback Mack Jones threw a pass to Juju Smith-Schuster and the pass bounced out of his hands and into the waiting arms of Commander Jartavius Martin. All Jones could do was hold his head in disbelief.
The game-winning interception allowed Washington to run out the clock as the Commanders improved to (4-5).
Washington was led by quarterback Sam Howell who completed 29 of 45 passes for 325 yards. He had one touchdown and one interception.
Brian Robinson Jr. led the Washington ground attack with 63 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown. Antonio Gibson finished with 34 yards on six carries.
Jahan Dotson led the Washington receiving attack with four receptions for 69 yards and one touchdown. Terry McLaurin had five catches for 73 yards and Byron Pringle caught three passes for 55 yards.
Washington’s second drive of the game stalled out at the New England 19-yard line. Joey Slye booted a 37-yard field goal giving the Commanders a 3-0 lead with 3:14 to go in the first quarter.
After a Patriot punt Howell drove his team 80 yards in 11 plays culminating in a Robinson 9-yard scoring scoot making the score 10-0 with 12:05 to go in the second quarter.
Washington’s fast start was kicking into gear but then was derailed by a Robinson fumble giving the Patriots the ball at the Washington 25-yard line.
It took three plays for Jones to hit Hunter Henry with a 14-yard scoring strike making the score 10-7 with 9:26 to play in the second quarter.
After a Washington punt the Patriots completely turned the tables on the Commanders as New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson burst through the right side of the line and sprinted 64-yards into the endzone giving the Patriots a 14-10 lead with 6:06 to go in the second quarter.
Not to be outdone Howell drove Washington 75 yards in 15 plays. Poised to get points at the New England 5-yard line he instead somehow threw the pass right to New England’s Kyle Dugger to end the Washington half on a sour note.
In the third quarter the Patriots added a field goal to make the score 17-10.
Howell shook off his bad interception and threw a beautiful 33-yard pass into the outstretched arms of Dotson who gathered the ball into his chest in the endzone giving his team a game-tying score with 6:51 to go in the third quarter.
Washington added another Slye field goal a 30-yarder making the score 20-17 with 1:49 to go in the third quarter.
Each defense pitched a shutout in the fourth quarter which set up the exciting finish.
Washington won the total yards 432 to 327 for the Patriots. The Commanders had 23 first downs to 18 for the Patriots and were an efficient 9 for 17 on third down compared to 3-12 for the Patriots.
The Washington defense was led by Jamin Davis who had nine tackles. Kendall Fuller and Kamren Curl each finished with six tackles.
Jones led the Patriot passing attack going 24 for 44 for 220 yards. He also had one touchdown and one interception.
Stevenson led the New England ground attack with 87 yards on nine carries.
Demario Douglas caught five passes for 55 yards in a losing effort for the (2-7) Patriots.
