Making sense of the Giants-Commanders tie, the Texans' Marvin Harrison Jr. trade
A Sunday full of head-scratchers ended with a 27-27 tie in Washington and a surprise trade in Houston, where the 1-4 Texans gave up draft picks for wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Why this is trending
Two things happened on the same Sunday that had people typing into Google by the afternoon. In Washington, the Commanders and Giants played to a 27-27 tie after Washington ran the clock out in overtime while sitting in field goal range, so nobody ever got a shot at the winning kick. In Houston, the Texans beat the Titans 26-3 for their first win of the season, then turned around and traded for wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., sending a second-round pick and a sixth-round pick to the Cardinals and getting back a seventh-rounder along with Harrison.
Both games are finished. The tie is final. The Titans game is final. The trade is done. None of this is a preview of anything still to come, it is what already happened, and the reaction online is people trying to figure out why either team made the call it made.
The Commanders let the clock run out
Jayden Daniels came back from injury and scored twice for Washington, but it wasn't enough to avoid the tie. The Commanders had the ball in overtime in position to kick a potential game-winning field goal and instead let the clock expire without attempting it, which meant the game ended 27-27 instead of with a winner. It is the kind of ending that gets replayed and argued about because the Commanders had a chance to win and the clock ran out before they used it.
Texans trade for Marvin Harrison Jr.
Harrison entered the 2024 draft out of Ohio State as one of the most hyped wide receiver prospects in years, ranked by draft analysts as no worse than the third-best player in that class. He has underwhelmed in his time with the Cardinals so far. The Texans already have Nico Collins at the position, so trading a second-round pick to add Harrison is a notable bet from general manager Nick Caserio, who has made aggressive trades before, including giving up two first-round picks and a second-rounder to move up for edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. in the 2023 draft. That move worked out, with Anderson developing into one of the league's top defenders.
Where things stand now
The Texans are 1-4 with a 23.2% playoff chance according to ESPN's Football Power Index, even after beating the Titans. C.J. Stroud ran for a touchdown and threw for another in that win. Harrison now joins a Houston receiver room that already has Collins, and how he fits in is the next thing to watch. For the Commanders, the tie leaves them with a result nobody on the roster wanted, decided by a clock management choice in overtime rather than a missed kick or a turnover.
Facts per ESPN, ESPN box score, ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.