Washington Redskins hold off New York Giants fightback

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) attempts to throw the ball as Washington Redskins outside linebacker Trent Murphy (93) defends during the first half at FedEx Field. And although the Redskins did not convert any of those three picks into points on the ensuing drives, the takeaways built momentum for Washington and prevented Manning from getting into a rhythm. Who are you blaming for this one, Giants fans? Eli Manning was in his second year in Ben McAdoo’s system and McAdoo was in his second season of calling plays.

The New York Giants could have taken serious control of the NFC East. They lost to the Washington Redskins 20 to 14 and have adversity to face.

Had the Redskins’ offense been able to capitalize on two Giants turnovers in the first quarter, then Sunday’s game likely would’ve been a blowout by halftime. Head coach Tom Coughlin said on Monday that he didn’t have any evidence that Richburg would be back for Sunday’s game against the Jets. “I mean, I don’t just go out and try to get hurt”.

“The mindset is to keep winning and just keep building on and not to get complacent”, Redskins corner Will Blackmon said.

A strong pass rush by the Redskins aided Washington’s secondary by disrupting Manning throughout the game.

-LB Ryan Kerrigan had two sacks giving him 6.5 for the season.

“It was like a light bulb went off for us”, said defensive end Ricky Jean Francois. But Washington is one of those that can pull off surprises any given day.

“Our defense was flying all over the place and I love to see that because I know that late in the season that’s the meal ticket right there – playing good defense, rushing the passer, covering receivers up and flying around to the football”, Gruden said. Including the loss yesterday, five of the Giants’ six defeats have been by a total of 15 points. “But when you look at the end result and you look at the statistics from the game, you certainly would have liked to have rushed the ball a considerable amount of times more than we did”.

Amukamara added that the team was “disgusted” by how it played in the first half.

Manning has 20 games with three or more interceptions since his rookie season in 2004, and according to ESPN Stats and Information, no other player has more than 13 in that same span. Although he threw those two touchdown passes to make it a game late in the fourth quarter, it was too little, too late and interceptions like the one below turned out to be incredibly costly.

But Redskins tight end Jordan Reed and running back Alfred Morris picked up critical first downs on the next drive that helped kill the clock and seal the victory for Washington. They carried it 37 times for 161 yards in a Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins, then carried it 37 times for 182 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a Week 2 win against the St. Louis Rams. Maclin caught nine passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. Cousins’ second quarter, 63 yard pass play with DeSean Jackson was arguably his nicest play of the afternoon.

“There were some things that needed to be said, and we came out and showed it today”, receiver Pierre Garcon said. Now the Giants, who are behind Washington courtesy of a division-record tiebreaker, face a five-game stretch that could determine not only the fate of their season but the direction of the franchise.

“We understand that it’s not time to take a deep breath”, Gruden said.

But this team keeps reminding us that those teams are gone. They have not won two consecutive games.