Will Hill Strips the Ball Away to End the Game – © USA TODAY Sports Images
New York Giants 24 – Washington Redskins 17: The New York Giants defeated the Washington Redskins 24-17 on Sunday night at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. With the victory, the Giants improved their overall record to 5-7 (2-3 in the NFC East) with four games left to play in the NFL regular season. The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles lead the NFC East at 7-5. With the loss to the Giants, the Redskins were eliminated from playoff contention.
The Redskins out-gained the Giants in first downs (18 to 16), total net yards (323 to 286), total offensive plays (68 to 54), net yards rushing (139 to 80), and time of possession (31:35 to 28:25). The turnover battle was equal (one apiece). The Giants only committed one penalty, while the Redskins were flagged eight times.
It was ugly early for the G-Men as Washington took a 14-0 lead. The Redskins received the football to start the game and drove 72 yards in 14 plays to go up 7-0 on their opening possession. QB Eli Manning was sacked on the Giants’ very first play as the Giants quickly went three-and-out. The Redskins reached the Giants’ 38-yard line but punted, pinning New York at their own 1-yard line. The Giants went three-and-out again. The Redskins then went 59 yards in eight plays with QB Robert Griffin III finding TE Logan Paulsen for a 19-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-9. Redskins 14 – Giants 0 early in the second quarter.
The Giants stormed back in the second quarter. On New York’s third possession, the Giants quickly drove 74 yards in six plays to cut the lead to 14-7. On 3rd-and-1, RB Peyton Hills gained eight yards. On the very next snap, out of a shotgun formation, Hills ran for 27 yards down to the Redskins’ 30-yard line. Two plays later, RB Andre Brown broke off a 23-yard touchdown run.
The Redskins then went three-and-out and the Giants went three-and-out for the third time in four possessions.
With 3:34 left before halftime, the Giants put together an 9-play, 81-yard drive that resulted in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Manning to TE Brandon Myers with 35 seconds left on the clock. A key play on this drive was a 15-yard pass from Manning to WR Hakeem Nicks on 3rd-and-4.
At the half, the game was tied 14-14.
Like the start of the game, the Giants looked out of sorts at the beginning of the second half. The Giants gained a couple of first downs and crossed midfield on their opening drive of the third quarter, but punted. The Redskins picked up three first downs and punted. On the Giants’ second possession of the half, Manning was intercepted by S Brandon Meriweather at the Giants’ 44-yard line. Meriweather returned the interception 32 yards to the Giant’ 12-yard line. New York’s defense held and forced Washington to settle for a short field goal. It would be Washington’s last points of the game. Redskins 17 – Giants 14.
Both teams went three-and-out. A special teams snafu by the Redskins gave the Giants the ball at the Washington 46-yard line after an 18-yard punt. Manning and the Giants took advantage with an 8-yard pass to WR Victor Cruz, an 18-yard pass to Myers, a 19-yard pass to Cruz, and then a 1-yard touchdown run by Brown. New York took their first lead of the game, 21-17 early in the fourth quarter.
DE Justin Tuck, who finished the game with four sacks, sacked Griffin twice on the Redskins’ ensuing possession, forcing a three-and-out. The Giants picked up one first down and then punted, as did the Redskins. With just under six and a half minutes to play, the Giants began an 8-play, 40-yard drive that resulted in a 39-yard field goal by PK Josh Brown and took almost four minutes off of the clock. With 2:32 left to go, the Giants were up 24-17.
The Redskins began their last, desperate attempt to tie the game from their own 20-yard line. On 4th-and-3, Washington converted with a 9-yard pass to the their own 36-yard line. Then the craziness began. At the two-minute warning, the Redskins thought the officials had signaled first down on a 2nd-and-5 yard pass play that picked up four yards. The Redskins, thinking it was 1st-and-10, ran a deeper pass play on the next snap, but the pass intended for TE Fred Davis was dislodged by a strong hit from S Antrel Rolle. At this point, the Redskins were informed it was 4th-and-1. (After the game, the officials said the stakes had been moved incorrectly). Regardless, Griffin completed a 6-yard pass to WR Pierre Garcon on 4th-and-1, but S Will Hill ripped and stole the ball away from Garcon to end the game with a fumble recovery.
Offensively, Manning finished the game 22-of-28 for 235 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. His leading receivers were Cruz (6 catches for 80 yards) and Myers (5 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown). Hillis carried the ball six times for 45 yards and Brown carried the ball 14 times for 35 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, LB Jon Beason lead the team with 17 tackles. Tuck had 5 tackles and 4 quarterback sacks. DT Cullen Jenkins also had a sack and Hill’s forced fumble and fumble recovery sealed the game. The defense held RB Alfred Morris to 26 yards on 11 carries, but Griffin rushed for 88 yards on 12 carries. He also started the game 12-of-12 and finished the first half 16-of-17.
P Steve Weatherford averaged 47.8 yards on six punts.
Video highlights are available at NFL.com.
Player Post-Game Media Sessions: Video clips of post-game media sessions with the following players are available at Giants.com:
New York Giants Post-Game Notes: Inactive for the Giants were QB Ryan Nassib, RB Brandon Jacobs (knee), TE Adrien Robinson, OL Stephen Goodin, DE Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder), CB Trumaine McBride (groin), and CB Corey Webster (ankle).
Eric Kennedy
Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.
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