EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It wasn't the sort of December celebration the Washington Commanders hoped to have this season. It was what they needed. After two months of nothing but losses, frustration and injuries, the Commanders could exhale, smile and congratulate one another again.
That it came vs. a New York Giants team with only two wins did not matter to Washington. The players hugged one another, laughed and smiled, creating scenes that resembled a team that had clinched a division title.
But this was a 29-21 win that left Washington with a 4-10 record. A win that in late April, perhaps, could feel different than it does now because of the draft. But whether they pick fifth, sixth or eighth wasn't on the minds of those in the locker room.
"We're not trying to think about next season," said linebacker Bobby Wagner, unsigned beyond this season. "We've got a lot of dogs in here, trying to do our best to close the season out strong."
That's why coach Dan Quinn told the players after the game to take an extra minute to enjoy the win.
"This has been hard going through this process together," Quinn said. "There's nothing like the feeling of a winning locker room."
Eight straight losses can wreck a team. Five of those losses were by 20 or more points. There were two overtime losses that were inches from being wins -- a missed 56-yard field goal at the end of regulation vs. Miami; a tipped two-point conversion pass that was headed to an open target vs. Denver. There was a last-second field goal by Chicago's Jake Moody to start the streak -- and it was Moody who booted three field goals Sunday to help end it.
The win Sunday featured multiple young players who factor in the future: running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who had 96 yards and a 16-yard touchdown on a career-high 18 carries. That's two less than in his previous three games combined. During the losing streak, thanks to lopsided scores and less play time overall, Croskey-Merritt averaged only 3.3 yards per carry and finished no games with more than 61 yards rushing.
"We're excited about where he's headed," Quinn said. "He has a very distinct running style, especially in between the tackles. Although he's not the biggest guy that you see, he does run downhill."
He wasn't the only young player to make plays Sunday. Corner Mike Sainristil intercepted a pass late in the second quarter and returned it 55 yards to set up a field goal. Punt returner Jaylin Lane returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown, becoming the first Washington player to record two punt returns for a touchdown in a season since Brian Mitchell in 1994.
And while no banners will be raised for beating the Giants, the games matter to players such as corner Antonio Hamilton Sr., a 32-year old with his seventh team. He started the season on the practice squad and played 31 snaps prior to Sunday. But, thanks to three of their top four corners being injured, Hamilton played 56 snaps. He broke up a pass in the end zone and another on a crucial third down.
What happens to him the rest of the season or thereafter wasn't as important Sunday as to what he felt he showed. As he said, when a team targets a player, "you either get exposed or exposure. ... I got exposure.
"I'm not trying to prove anybody wrong. I'm just proving that I'm supposed to be here, and that I belong -- and I can still play. ... I can run with anybody."
Still, each loss placed more distance from the joys of 2024 when they went 12-5 and reached the NFC Championship game, a season that led to something Washington fans have rarely had of late: hope for the future.
Instead, injuries doomed them and poor play followed. Quarterback Jayden Daniels was in and out of the lineup; Sunday he remained out thanks to re-aggravating his dislocated elbow a week earlier. By season's end nine starters will have missed at least seven games -- eight more than missed that number in 2024.
It's added up to a frustrating season that will end with more questions than answers about its future. Nobody was celebrating the year Sunday, but rather they were going to enjoy the win.
"It's hard to go two months without winning a football game," quarterback Marcus Mariota said. "And for our guys to be able to put that aside, fight all week and knowing it was going to be a division opponent on the road, games like this are never easy. Weather was tough, windy, cold, snowy, so many reasons -- so many things for our guys to not show up and play, and our guys found a way."
Washington will undergo plenty of changes in the offseason. Quinn already stripped defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. of playcalling duties. Quinn has been handling that job for the past four games, but it remains uncertain who will be running the defense in 2026.
Also, the Commanders have only 34 players signed for 2026 with cap space that could eventually top $100 million. It will be a busy offseason, one in which multiple expensive positions will need to be addressed -- from defensive end to corner to receiver.
Quinn's job did not appear to be in any jeopardy so soon after what happened last year. Still, nobody in the organization wanted to contemplate what a 12-game losing streak to end the season would have meant. With upcoming games vs. Philadelphia (twice) and Dallas, the Commanders will be underdogs the rest of the way. As one team source said last week about that hypothetical, "I don't want to find out."
Receiver Terry McLaurin has played on three other Washington teams that finished with double-digit losses and two in which they lost 13 games. Two of those seasons ended with new coaches being hired.
"There has never felt like there has been an emotional letdown like as in our season is over, let's just hang it up," McLaurin said. "I have never felt that from this locker room, and it is a testament to the leaders that we have. We have to find a way to get another one. When you get a win, it is an addictive feeling. When you lose, it stinks; especially as much as we have lost. But we won and we are going to enjoy it."
But there's also another thought.
"It definitely feels good but there' s a lot of thought of why we couldn't do this earlier," safety Jeremy Reaves said. "It feels good to get in the win column, but the competitive nature in me is like, 'Why couldn't we be doing this?' It's a weird dynamic. But I'm glad we did find a way. We needed it."