The New York Giants lost to the Washington Commanders 29-21 in Week 15 in front of a seemingly half-empty MetLife Stadium. The loss drops them to 2-11 on the season. After the game, a reporter asked Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence if it was “disheartening” to see the stands so empty, and the fan-favorite defender gave a wry answer to the question.
“It was cold outside,” Lawrence quipped. “I honestly didn't expect too many people to show up.”
"It was cold outside"
Dexter Lawrence says he didn't expect too many people to show up to today's game at MetLife: pic.twitter.com/PyDfcqPCUt
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) December 14, 2025
Lawrence is not wrong. Game-time temperature was 27 degrees with 13 MPH winds whipping through the North Jersey stadium. That's not a fun atmosphere to watch a game. However, fans in New England, Kansas City, and elsewhere braved similar or worse elements to watch their contending teams, while Giants fans decided to stay home.
It's too bad, too, as the Big Blue faithful who ate hundreds of dollars instead of watching their team lose yet again missed a fun comeback that fell just short in the end.
Down 22-7 at halftime, the Giants chipped away at the Commanders' lead all second half, forcing Marcus Mariota and company into two late fourth-quarter turnovers. Jaxson Dart was able to convert on the first, but fell short on the second with a chance to tie the game and force overtime.
While Giants fans did not feel like watching yet another loss in person, a game like this is ultimately the best-case scenario for a team like the G Men right now. The team fought hard for the entire game, made some fun plays, and did some good things in the second half, and finally took the L, which helps their draft position.
New York currently owns the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft due to the strength of schedule tiebreaker over the also 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans.
