The Washington Redskins rallied late and held on to beat the New York Giants 20-10 on Thanksgiving night before a relieved and very thankful crowd at FedEx Field.
A week after blowing a double-digit fourth quarter lead and losing a heartbreaker to the New Orleans Saints, Washington allowed the struggling Giants to hang around and it almost came back to bite them on their first-ever Thanksgiving Day game.
With the score tied at 10-10 and the game still in the balance, Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins showed his leadership and resiliency by shaking off a pick-six that tied the game with 3:07 to go in the third quarter.
With the game moving toward a possible overtime period Cousins went to work. He calmly marched his team 65 yards in nine plays the drive ending on a 14-yard touchdown strike to wide out Josh Doctson in the left corner of the end zone.
He secured the ball and got both feet in the end zone before being rode out of bounds and the crowd went wild as Washington regained the lead at 17-10 with 3:31 to play in the contest.
After a defensive stop the Redskins would add a 33-yard Nick Rose field goal to clinch the game the score now 20-10 with 1:54 to go.
Washington improved to (5-6) and still has a slim shot at the playoffs as a Wild Card but they would likely need to go undefeated in their remaining five games.
Cousins went 19 for 31 for 242 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
The Washington ground attack was led by Samaje Perine who gained 100 yards on 24 carried as he ran downhill and gained precious yards during the Redskins fourth quarter drives. He also caught three passes for 30 yards.
Jamison Crowder led the Redskin air attack with seven catches for 141 yards including a 15-yard touchdown pass that made the score 10-3 with 6:32 to play in the third quarter.
The Giants Eli Manning was 13 of 27 for 113 yards and one fourth quarter interception by Washington’s Kendall Fuller which ended any New York comeback.
Both offenses went scoreless in the first quarter and the Giants finally got on the board with a 30-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 4:05 to go in the second quarter.
Washington countered with a 28-yard Rose field goal making the score 3-3 at the half.
After the break Cousins to Crowder gave Washington a 10-3 lead but a pick-six by the Giant’s Byron Marshall tied the score and set up the exciting finish.
The Washington defense rose to the occasion and held the Giants to 170 total net yards.
Manning was pressured in the pocket all night and was sacked four times, twice by Redskin’s linebacker Ryan Kerrigan who now has nine for the season.
Washington’s defense was good when it counted as the Giant’s were only two for 14 on third down efficiency.
New York was led in rushing by Wayne Gallman who gained 37 yards on nine carries. Tavarres King led the receivers with two catches for 36 yards in a losing effort for the ( 2-9) Giants.
