The resilient Washington Redskins withstood a late furious New York rally and held on to beat the Giants 20-14. With the win they moved into first place in the NL East division to the delight of the fans at FedEx Field.
Washington won its fifth straight game at home and the first in six tries against the Giants. This was also coach Jay Gruden’s first win against his NFC East rival. With a record of (5-6, 2-1 in the division) the Redskins are even with the Giants (5-6, 2-3) but have the edge in the division race.
Ahead 20-0, the Redskins surrendered two fourth quarter touchdowns to make the score 20-14 with 5:04 to go in the game.
The Redskins, who would not be denied, then did their job by using up as much of the clock as they could. two critical first downs by Jordan Reed and Alfred Morris took the clock to the two-minute warning.
A few more running plays milked the clock and the Giants got the ball back with only 19 seconds left to play in the game.
The defense which harassed quarterback Eli Manning all day, and intercepted him three times, including one pick that prevented a touchdown, then played a prevent defense and was able to celebrate when the Giants final play included a series of laterals that ended with the ball rolling out of bounds as the game clock expired.
The game started well for Washington as they intercepted Manning twice getting good field position in the first quarter. Unfortunately they could not convert either of the turnovers into points as both teams failed to score in the opening quarter.
Washington broke the ice in the second quarter with a field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 12:28 to go in the second quarter.
Later in the quarter Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was 20-29 for 302 yards and a touchdown, hooked up with deep-threat DeSean Jackson for a 63-yard scoring bomb which gave his team a 10-0 lead.
The Redskins, who play well at home and with the lead, then finished the first half scoring on a nine play 80-yard drive that ended with a Cousins quarterback sneak to give them a commanding 17-0 lead that they took into halftime.
The Giants outscored the Redskins 14-3 in the second half, but the Redskins defense,which held the Giants to 33 yards rushing, also got a second half game-saving goal line interception from cornerback Quinton Dunbar.
They also sacked Manning three times including two by Ryan Kerrigan and one by Chris Baker. New York was also only three of 15 on third down.
The Redskins were led in rushing by Morris who had 23 carries for 78 yards. The team was led in receiving by Reed who had eight catches for 98 yards.
Manning finished the game 26 of 51 for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Odell Beckham Jr. led the Giants in receiving with nine catches for 142 yards including an awesome 21-yard diving grab for the Giants second score of the game. Shane Vereen led New York in rushing with 15 yards on two carries.
