Giants 27, Redskins 23 – Eli Does It Again, This Time Against a Game RG3 & The Skins
It wasn’t the dominating effort the Giants put in against the 49ers last week, however Eli Manning and the Giants did just enough to edge out Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins by securing a thrilling 27-23 victory at MetLife Stadium.
After a back and forth first half, both teams seemed to stall on offense in the 3rd quarter. It looked as if the Redskins would pull out the thrilling victory after RG3 connected with Santana Moss on a 30-yard touchdown pass that helped give them a 23-20 lead with less than 2 minutes to play. However Manning was able to pull out another 4th quarter comeback, hitting Victor Cruz for a 77-yard td pass to regain the lead for good. The Giants defense sealed the deal after forcing a Moss fumble to regain possesion of the ball.
This was a big win for the Giants, they were 0-2 in the NFC East coming into today’s game and another division loss could have been disastrous at this stage in the season. This game at halftime had all the makings of being decided in the 4th quarter and that’s exactly how it turned out.
Robert Griffin III continues to show no fear of the spotlight, the Redskins quarterback was electric again today with highlight-worthy moves that almost won the game. The 4th and 10 conversion in the 4th quarter that had him scrambling all over the place was beautiful to watch and would have been the play of the game had the Redskins came away with the win. Fans of Washington are going to be in for a treat watching this youngster continue to develop his game.
Good teams make the necessary halftime adjustments and the Giants found a way to slow down the ground attack of the Redskins which wore down the defensive line in the first half. Redskins running back Alfred Morris was a beast in the first half with relentless runs up and through the middle of the Giants defense. Morris racked up 94 of the Redskins 146 rushing yards in the first half. However the Giants slowed him down in the 3rd quarter and then cranked up their pass rush. The Redskins turned the ball over 4 times today.
Eli Manning saved his best for when it mattered, however overall he was off. Manning missed today on passes he normally connects with Cruz on and the two interceptions he threw today didn’t help the cause either. Nevertheless with 2 minutes to play and the game on the line, Eli Manning is the quarterback you should want on that field and he proved it yet again today.
Notables:
The Giants pass rush came alive in the second half. Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora all registered sacks today on RG3.
Jayron Hosley was beat on the touchdown pass from RG3 to Moss that looked to be the game-winning play late in the 4th quarter, however he redeemed himself when he recovered the Moss fumble that basically clinched the victory for the Giants.
The Giants needed this game today because of what it means in the division standings for them and they will need next weeks game too in Dallas. The Giants loss their season opener to the Cowboys at home.