A Depressing End to a Crappy Season – © USA TODAY Sports Images
New York Giants 20 – Washington Redskins 6; Manning, Beatty, Brewer, Randle, and Nicks Hurt: The New York Giants defeated the Washington Redskins 20-6 on Sunday afternoon at a dreary, nearly-empty, rain-soaked MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. With the win, the Giants finished the 2013 NFL season with a 7-9 record (3-3 in the NFC East).
However, the real story was the game-ending injuries suffered by QB Eli Manning (high ankle sprain), LT Will Beatty (broken right leg), OG James Brewer (ankle), WR Rueben Randle (knee), and WR Hakeem Nicks (ankle). Beatty’s injury appears to be the worst of the bunch. He had to be carted from the field in the third quarter and Head Coach Tom Coughlin did not know the severity of the fracture after the game. Manning was using a walking boot and crutches after the contest. Brewer left the game early and was spotted wearing a walking boot in the locker room. Randle and Nicks left the game in the first half. Randle, who missed practice all week with a knee issue, said his departure was precautionary. Beatty’s availability for the 2014 season could be at risk.
The injuries severely depleted an already undermanned Giants team. By the second half, the Giants were down to Jerrel Jernigan, Louis Murphy, and Julian Talley at wide receiver. Curtis Painter was at quarterback. And the offensive line consisted of Stephen Goodin, Dallas Reynolds, Kevin Boothe, David Diehl, and Justin Pugh.
Offensively, aside from the play of WR Jerrel Jernigan, it was an ugly game for the Giants. Not counting the ends of both halves, the Giants had 16 offensive possessions. Eight ended with punts, one with a missed field goal, three with turnovers, and four with scores. Jernigan scored both touchdowns, one on a 24-yard pass from Manning in the second quarter and the other on a 49-yard end around in the third quarter. The Giants were held to 14 first downs, 3-of-14 on third down, and only gained 278 total net yards (122 yards rushing and 156 yards passing).
Defensively, the Giants did a number on the Redskins, holding Washington to 12 first downs, 5-of-20 on third down, and 251 net yards (91 yards rushing and 160 yards passing). Most importantly, the Giants kept the Redskins out of the end zone despite turnovers that gave the Redskins the ball at the Giants’ 18 and Redskins’ 46 yard lines. The Giants held the Redskins to two first downs in the first half. And for the game, in 17 offensive possessions, the Redskins punted nine times, turned the ball over four times, turned the ball over on downs twice, and kicked two field goals.
Eli Manning finished the game 10-of-24 for 152 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. QB Curtis Painter, who played the entire second half, finished the game 2-of-8 for 11 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. RB Peyton Hillis carried the ball 17 times for 56 yards. RB Andre Brown only managed 11 yards on 13 carries and also fumbled the ball away. Jernigan was the leading rusher (two carries for 57 yards and a touchdown) and receiver (6 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown).
On the defensive side of the ball, MLB Jon Beason led the team with 9 tackles. DE Justin Tuck had 6 tackles, 2 sacks, and forced a fumble. DT Cullen Jenkins had 4 tackles, 1 sack, and forced a fumble. DT Linval Joseph and LB Keith Rivers both recovered fumbles. CB Trumaine McBride picked off two passes and had six pass defenses.
Video highlights are available at Giants.com, as is the video of the post-game locker room celebration.
Post-Game Injury Report: QB Eli Manning (high ankle sprain), LT Will Beatty (fractured right leg), OG James Brewer (ankle), WR Rueben Randle (knee), and WR Hakeem Nicks (ankle) all left the game and did not return. OG David Diehl revealed he will need thumb surgery in the offseason. CB Terrell Thomas revealed that he not only underwent his third ACL repair in the 2013 offseason but he also had microfracture surgery.
“I’m not exactly sure (if Beatty broke his) tibia, fibula or just one of those,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “I don’t have that information for you, but he’s hurt.”
“I couldn’t finish the game,” said Manning. “I obviously wanted to. The doctor said it would not be a good decision, and I agreed with him. I don’t think I could have been very effective playing after the injury…I knew it was hurt a little bit at the time and just hoped it wasn’t worse, and I’m very happy to hear it was just a sprain…Rest for a few weeks and I’ll probably be in a boot for a while, that’s what they say with a high ankle sprain. Obviously I have time now, so I’ll just rest it up and start rehabbing. I’ll probably have a little better idea tomorrow or the next day, as I go in and figure out what I need to do to get better.”
Head Coach Tom Coughlin’s Post-Game Press Conference: The transcript and video of Head Coach Tom Coughlin’s post-game press conference are available at Giants.com.
Player Post-Game Media Sessions: Transcripts and video of post-game media sessions with the following players are available at Giants.com:
New York Giants 2014 Regular-Season Opponents Set: The Giants will play the following teams in 2014:
Home:
- Dallas Cowboys
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Redskins
- Arizona Cardinals
- San Francisco 49ers
- Atlanta Falcons
- Houston Texans
- Indianapolis Colts
Away:
- Dallas Cowboys
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Redskins
- St. Louis Rams
- Detroit Lions
- Seattle Seahawks
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Tennessee Titans
New York Giants Will Pick 12th in 2014 NFL Draft: The Giants will pick 12th in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Article on New York Giants President/CEO John Mara: Giants co-owner John Mara should force major changes despite strong finish by Steve Politi of The Star-Ledger
Articles on the New York Giants Offensive Line:
Article on DE Justin Tuck: Justin Tuck deserves to be back with Giants by Dan Graziano of ESPN.com
Article on LB Jon Beason: Jon Beason on return to Giants: ‘I would love to play here next year’ by Jordan Raanan of NJ.com
Article on CB Terrell Thomas: Giants’ Terrell Thomas pull off improbable, admits to having microfracture surgery too by Jordan Raanan of NJ.com
New York Giants Post-Game Notes: Inactive for the Giants were QB Ryan Nassib, WR Victor Cruz (knee), TE Adrien Robinson (knee), OG Brandon Mosley (hand), OG Eric Herman, DE Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder), LB Allen Bradford.
The Giants started the season 0-6 and finished 7-3 in the last 10 games. The Giants finished the 2013 NFL season 4-4 at home and 3-5 on the road. The Giants finished third in the NFC East for the second season in a row.
All nine of the Giants’ losses were to teams that finished .500 or better.
The Giants finished the season with an average of just 83.3 yards on the ground, their lowest season-long average since they rushed for 76.9 yards a game in 1945.
The Giants turned the football at least once in every game this season.
Tom Coughlin won his 90th regular-season game as the Giants’ head coach. He is just the second coach in franchise history to reach that plateau (Steve Owen had 153).
QB Eli Manning’s first and last passes of the season were each intercepted.
Manning was sacked 39 times this season.
WR Jerrel Jernigan’s 49-yard touchdown run was the longest by a Giants wide receiver since the 1970 merger. In addition, it was the longest run by a Giant this season. This is the first time since the merger the Giants’ longest run was by a wide receiver.
DE Justin Tuck finished the season with 11 sacks, the third-highest total of his career and the fourth double-digit sack season in Tuck’s nine Giants seasons.
Despite missing a 50-yard field goal, PK Josh Brown made 23-of-26 field goal attempts this season, a percentage of 88.5 that is third-highest in Giants history (minimum 15 attempts).
Justin Pugh started at right tackle, as he did in every game this season, becoming the first Giants rookie to start an entire 16-game season since defensive tackle Barry Cofield in 2006.
David Diehl returned to the starting lineup at right guard. It was Diehl’s 164th regular-season game in a Giants uniform, tying him with quarterback Phil Simms for 12th place on the franchise’s career list. Diehl started 160 of those games, including 11 this season.
