Redskins Cannot Overcome Six Turnovers, as Giants Win Behind Nearly 200 Rushing Yards

The Washington Redskins and New York Giants faced off on a windy afternoon game in the meadowlands this past Sunday. The game seemed to pit two teams in the NFC East going in opposite directions, as the Giants rolled to an easy victory 31-7. Washington went into this game with slim playoff hopes at 5-6, and could not afford to fall any further in the wild card standings. With a chance to make a statement against the Giants, Washington came out and played flat with no sense of urgency.

The game was in the Giants hand from the start as running back Brandon Jacobs led the team down the field, gaining 49 yards on the ground, ending with an eight yard touchdown run putting the Giants up 7-0 three and a half minutes into the game. After forcing the Redskins to a three and out, New York got the ball back trying to add to their lead. Eli Manning chipped in 34 yards on three for three passing putting the Giants on the Redskins 12 yard line. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw got the call this time as he ended the drive with three consecutive runs, scoring on a four yard run to put the Giants up 14-0, with over five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Washington had a chance to cut into the lead on their next possession driving down to the Giants 30 yard line. The Redskins continued to feed running back James Davis who was in for injured starter Clinton Portis and regular back up Ryan Torain. Davis could only pick up a few more yards and quarterback Donovan McNabb missed Roydell Williams badly on third down the Redskins were regulated to a field goal attempt. Graham Gano headed on the field to attempt a 43 yard field goal, when the wind at the meadowlands proved to be too much as the kick went wide.

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With the Redskins down 14-0 after the first quarter, Washington was in for some more heartache as the game progressed. Washington’s three possessions in the second quarter ended in two punts and a lost fumble, recovered by Giants linebacker Keith Bulluck who returned it to the Washington 40 yard line. After the turnover, Ahmad Bradshaw hit pay dirt again for his second score on a ten yard touchdown run which put the Giants up 21-0. This score would hold until halftime, but could have been worse if it wasn’t for London Fletcher’s interception of Eli Manning in the end zone.

As if it couldn’t get any worse for the Redskins, Washington came out in the second half and fumbled the ball on two of its first three possessions. The second fumble led to another Giants score, as Brandon Jacobs rumbled his way to the end zone on a 28 yard run for his second score of the game. Washington finally decided it didn’t want to get completely embarrassed by responding on its next drive behind two catches by wide receiver Anthony Armstrong, the second a snazzy 33 yard touchdown reception putting the Redskins on the board but still far behind 28-7.

As the fourth quarter began, Washington had the ball and a chance to cut the score to 14 points when Donovan McNabb threw his first of two fourth quarter interceptions to Giant Tyrell Thomas at the Giant 22 yard line. McNabb also fumbled the ball to give him three turnovers in fourth quarter alone, the last being an interception on the last play of the game. McNabb finished the game with 296 yards on 26 of 44 passing attempts, with the one touchdown and the two interceptions. Armstrong led the team with 97 yards receiving on six receptions and the touchdown.

The Giants got a field goal by Lawrence Tynes in the fourth quarter to push the final score to 31-7 as the game was in their control from start to finish. Eli Manning played decently with 161 yards on 15 of 25 pass attempts, but was limited in handing the ball to the running backs as the Giants finished with 197 yards on the ground. Ahmad Bradshaw got the bulk of the work load by gaining 97 yards on 25 carries, but was complemented nicely by counterpart Brandon Jacobs who finished with 103 yards on only carries. Both Jacobs and Bradshaw finished the game with two rushing touchdowns and kept the Redskins off balance with their different styles of running.

The Redskins loss put their record at 5-7 and all but out of playoff contention. The loss marked the fourth in the past six games, as the Redskins defense continued to struggle in their first season transitioning into a 3-4 base defense. The defense is ranked dead last in yards allowed at this point in the season and this combined with six total turnovers doomed Washington as they struggled to compete in the dismantling by the Giants.

By Jason Stein
ProFootball-fans.com Washington Redskins Correspondent