The Giants knew they had to find a way to close the gap in the NFC East between them and the Eagles and Cowboys.

What they didn’t anticipate at the start of the season was that the commanders would run far ahead of them and stay there.

But that’s how nine games have gone since Washington beat the Giants, 27-22, on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

The first-place Commanders are now 7-2, five games ahead of the Giants (2-7), who have lost both games to Washington this season.

Things just kept getting worse for the Giants, who were booed off the field at halftime. They fell to 0-5 at home.

Next up: a game against the Panthers in Munich, Germany, which will feature two of the worst teams in the NFL.

The Commanders led 24-16 when they took possession at their 35-yard line with about nine minutes left.

On a third and 8 from their 37, Jayden Daniels found Austin Ekeler for a 28-yard gain, a big blow for the Giants.

The Commanders conceded a 20-yard field goal from Austin Seibert to make it 27-16 with 3:45 left.

But the Giants weren’t done yet. With 2:48 left, Daniel Jones hit tight end Theo Johnson 35 yards for a touchdown. He was then sacked on the two-point try, so it was 27-22 with 2:48 left.

Daniels’ 42-yard completion to Olamide Zachaeus at the two-minute warning gave Washington the ball at the Giants’ 27. The commanders ran out of time from there.

The Giants were on a roll in the first quarter, including a nifty 24-yard gain by Jones, when calamity struck.

Washington’s Dante Fowler put heavy pressure on Jones on a pass attempt, and the ball came out as Jones attempted to throw.

The play was initially ruled an incomplete pass, but that was overturned and the Commanders recovered the ball at the Giants’ 31-yard line on a Bobby Wagner recovery.

The Commanders reached the 4-yard line on a 22-yard pass interference penalty on Cor’Dale Flott against Noah Brown.

Daniels completed the scoring for Washington with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin, and it was 7-0 with 7:04 left in the first.

The Giants’ next drive was an impressive, run-oriented affair, capped when Jones found tight end Chris Manhertz from 2 yards out for the tying score.

It was Jones’ first touchdown pass at home in 672 days.

It was also the Giants’ first touchdown in five home games this season.

It was a 16-play drive that consumed 9:43 of the game clock. At that point, Jones was 4-for-4 for zero yards in the game.

Washington moved the ball downfield with ease on its next possession, including Daniels running 6 yards on a fourth-and-1 play at the 12-yard line.

Ekeler then threw it from the 1-yard line, and it was 14-7 Washington 6:21 before halftime.

Washington converted another fourth down on its next possession, a fourth-and-1 at its 34-yard line that Ekeler completed.

On a third-and-18 from the Giants’ 42-yard line, Daniels found Dyami Brown for a gain at the 18 with 11 seconds left. Dru Phillips missed a tackle on the play.

With six seconds left, McLaurin passed Deonte Banks in the corner of the end zone, where Daniels found him for a touchdown that made it 21-7 at halftime.

At halftime, Jones was 4 of 6 for zero yards with, somehow, a passer rating of 109.7. The Giants were booed off the field by fans.

Daniels was 9 of 11 for 113 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, a passer rating of 149.1.

The Giants’ first possession of the second half included Jones rushing for a first down on a fourth-and-1 from his 45-yard line.

Jones threw four straight TD passes to Malik Nabers on the drive, including a 2-yard gain on a fourth-and-2 at the Washington 29.

The Giants appeared to score a touchdown on a fourth-and-1 pass from Jones to Wan’Dale Robinson from the 3-yard line.

But Darius Slayton was called for questionable offensive pass interference on the play, resulting in a penalty that forced the Giants to settle for a 31-yard field goal by rookie kicker Jude McAtamney, his first field goal in the NFL.

So it was 21-10 with 5:27 left in the third.

Seibert’s 31-yard field goal made it 24-10 after three quarters.

With 9:25 remaining, Jones scored from 2 yards out after bouncing off two would-be tacklers – Fowler and Mike Sainristil – before the goal line.

The Giants attempted a two-point conversion to get within six points, but Jones’ run failed and it was 24-16.

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here ever since, specializing in high school, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business .