The Redskins, powered by a rookie
quarterback with a flair for the dramatic, brought the flash and dazzle to
FedEx Field on Monday night.
The Giants brought a hammer, a pounding
rushing attack designed to milk the clock and keep the explosive Robert Griffin
III off the field and keep their defense fresh enough to chase him down when he
was out there.
It was a suspenseful game of cat and mouse.
As the Giants would methodically move down the field, using running back Ahmad
Bradshaw as a battering ram, the Redskins were hitting big plays in rapid fire
order to rip up and down the field. because it wasn't a high scoring affair
through three quarters. Soon, you got the feeling that the team that had the
ball in its hands last would win it.
That was the way it unfolded the first time
the two teams played, with Washington churning out 480 yards and the Giants
winning the game with a late 77-yard TD pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz.
In the end that is the way it worked — for
the Redskins. Washington had the ball last and Griffin milked the final 3:51
off the clock, taking the ball away from Manning this time. The result was a
bitterly disappointing 17-16 loss for the Giants, who at 7-5 are only one game
ahead of the Redskins and the Cowboys in the NFC East.
The Giants were left to bemoan a wasted
opportunity to gain a stranglehold on the division. They were undone by too
many penalties at crucial moments, a missed field goal, the inability to score
on their last two drives in the fourth quarter and defensive lapses that gave
Griffin more than enough chances to beat them.
“We had an opportunity,” said Tom Coughlin. “Now there is one team
with seven (wins) and two teams with six and four games to go.”'
When asked why they had so many
uncharacteristically crushing penalties, linebacker Michael Boley had three
words.
“Lack of discipline,”' he said. “That’s what it came down to and
Coach talks about it all the time.”
A week after executing like a finely tuned
machine in scoring 38 points against Green Bay, the Giants sputtered against
the Redskins.
“I don't think you’re going to beat anybody scoring just 16 points,”
Coughlin said. "I would say 17 points most of the time.''
Except that is the total that the Redskins
used to bludgeon them with.
The game turned out to be a punishing
affair, befitting one team fighting for supremacy and one team fighting for a
foothold. It showed on the face of receiver Hakeem Nicks, whose right nostril
was packed with a blood-soaked paper towel as he made his way to his locker.
The Giants knew they were going to be in a
battle and they put their most pugnacious fighter, Bradshaw, at the forefront
of their attack.
The last time that the Giants played
Washington, Bradshaw got into a heated argument with Coughlin. The coach said
he liked Bradshaw’s intensity and fight and didn’t go out of his way to
publicly chastise the veteran running back.
Last week, Bradshaw stood in front of his
locker at the Giants practice facility answering questions about having to
carry more of the load with Andre Brown going down with a broken leg against
the Packers. He has been battling injuries all season and has been limited in
practice for weeks now.
“If they need you to carry it 30 times, could you?”' someone asked.
A sly smile appeared. "Sure,'' he
said.
By the third quarter, Bradshaw had 20
carries for 89 yards and most were right into the teeth of the Redskins
defense. They were bruising runs — the longest one being 14 yards. He finished
with 103 yards on 24 carries.
“Our O-line worked hard today. We ran hard,” Bradshaw said. “It's
tough to come out with a loss.”
At halftime Bradshaw said Coughlin told the
team to keep fighting and to eliminate the penalties and stop the mistakes.
Typically when the Giants get their rushing
game cranked up the way it was against the Redskins, they come out with a win.
But it was not a typical night for Bradshaw and the Giants.
“It feels weird,”' Bradshaw said regarding the way they ran the ball
and the result. “We worked hard all week, but we just couldn’t come out with
the win.”
The race has gotten tighter and the fight
for the crown just got harder.
“It’s as tough as you see it,” Bradshaw said. “There are a lot of
great teams and everybody is fighting for it. We just have to handle our own
business. We’re going to keep fighting for it. It depends on these last few
games.”
It doesn't get any easier as the Giants
face New Orleans on Sunday, then Atlanta and Baltimore — two division leaders —
down the stretch. If they make the playoffs, they will do so as a battle-tested
team.
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