Giants give us reason to believe; crush Redskins 45-12

It’s not just that our G-men won the game, a game many of us, quite frankly, were nervous about.  It’s that they beat the Redskins in one of the most convincing wins in recent memory, and in a way that saw the offense and defense dominate equally.  Add to that more injury woes, and the fact that the Giants’ backups got the job done when they had to, and this was just mighty, mighty impressive.  Now it’s on to play Carolina at the Meadowlands in what will likely be the final game at old Giants Stadium.  That won’t exactly be a walk in the park, but if they play like they did last night, there really will be no reason to worry.  Here are some highlights and a few (very few) lowlights:

THE GOOD

This list could go on for a long time.  Let’s start with the offensive playcalling.  Kevin Gilbride mixed things up so nicely that he not only confused the Redskins, he confused half of us watching.  Was this the Giants offense that has at times become so predictable?  His playcalling was masterful last night.  Eli Manning had another stellar game, throwing for 268 yards and 3 scores and zero picks (144.0 QB rating).  Brandon Jacobs carried 16 times for just 52 yards, but again looked better than he’s looked recently.  Ahmad Bradshaw rushed 9 times for 61 yards, including 2 TDs.  And Manning spread the ball around nicely to the likes of Hakeem Nicks (2 catches, 66 yards), Kevin Boss (3 for 57), Mario Manningham (3 for 44 and a TD), Steve Smith (5 for 40 and a TD), Bradshaw (3 for 29), Domenik Hixon (2 for 21) and Derek Hagan (1 for 23 and a TD).  The offensive line performed very well, especially rookie Will Beatty filling in for Kareem McKenzie.  And Kevin Boothe took the place of Rich Seubert, who hurt his knee after Bradshaw’s first touchdown.  Defensively, the Giants re-discovered their pass rush, sacking Redskin QBs five times and putting ridiculous pressure on Jason Campbell much of the time.  That was what was mostly responsible for Campbell making as many mistakes as he did.  Terrell Thomas pretty much made everyone forget about Corey Webster’s injury–he made a couple of run-stuffing plays behind the line of scrimmage, and then made the play the put the game away, and interception return for a score to put the Giants up 38-6.  The Giants had sacks from Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Barry Cofield, Jonathan Goff (how good is this kid?) and Fred Robbins.  Oh, and how about that opening drive, when the Giants held the ball for almost 10 minutes?  Shades of Super Bowl XXV with Ottis Anderson leading the way!  Oh, and just 3 penalties for 15 yards….and the Giants did not turn the ball over once.  That’s discipline, and that had to make coach Coughlin feel a whole lot better about his team.  Okay, one more thing and I swear that’s it….11 for 15 on 3rd down efficiency.  Wow. 

THE BAD

Not much here.  Lawrence Tynes made all his kicks, but after the opening score, I don’t think his kickoff reached the 30 yard line.  That’s horrible and needs to be addressed.  I’m sure even if he was kept to make field goals, and we brought a boomer in to kick off, it would help a lot.  The defense did play a great game, but in the Redskins’ two scoring drives, they gave up some big plays again.  Of course, you play the way they did for most of the game, and we can let that stuff slide much more easily. 

FINAL ANALYSIS

It doesn’t get much more “must-win” than last night, after Dallas beat New Orleans on Saturday night, but the Giants proved once again that they somehow know how to put the hammer down when it matters most.  That, and they really seem to have the Redskins’ number.  Well, only if you take Todd Collins out of the equation.  Am I the only one who was frightened about him coming in for the second half, and relieved when he didn’t?  That guy just kills us, and he was starting to do it again at the end of the first half.  Anyway, we got a win and now move on to face the Panthers, who walloped the Vikings on Sunday night, and are playing really well with Matt Moore at QB.  It’s going to be another situation where the G-men will have to control the clock and put a ton of pressure on Moore.  Anyway, win these next two and all we need from the other scenarios is for Dallas OR Green Bay to lose one of their remaining two.  Dallas plays Washington and Philly coming up, and unlike us, they always struggle against the Redskins.  So we’ll see, but I sure like our chances better after that game last night, as I’m sure all of you do. 

FANTASY IMPACT

For the Redskins, there was very little fantasy impact–Fred Davis was your best bet, with 5 catches for 65 yards and a TD.  Campbell threw for 192 yards, a TD and 2 picks.  And he was also their leading rusher with 36 yards.  Yikes.  And if you had the misfortune of owning Graham Gano, he missed his only kick, and that was an extra point.  And I don’t think I have to tell you the Redskins’ once-proud (and by once, I mean last week) defense allowed 45 points (okay, 38 if you take away Thomas’ interception).  For the Giants, the only true fantasy stud was Manning, with 268 yards and 3 TD passes, with no interceptions.  Bradshaw had the 2 scores but he only rushed for 61 yards, adding another 29 receiving.  Jacobs was a dud fantasy-wise with 52 yards.  What happened to the battering ram that used to only score touchdowns?  Nicks had 66 yards but only 2 catches, and the only real fantasy value at receiver for the Giants was Smith, who caught 5 passes for 40 yards and a score.  Well, Manningham had 3 for 44 and a TD.  The Giants’ defense was awesome, allowing 12 points and sacking Redskins QBs 5 times and intercepting them 3, including one for a score.  And Tynes kicked at 100% but had only one field goal try, limiting his points total to 9.

Tags: Ahmad Bradshaw, Barry Cofield, Brandon Jacobs, Corey Webster, Cowboys, Derek Hagan, Domenik Hixon, Eagles, Eli Manning, Fred Davis, Fred Robbins, Giants, Giants Stadium, Graham Gano, Hakeem Nicks, Jason Campbell, Jonathan Goff, Justin Tuck, Kareem McKenzie, Kevin Boothe, Kevin Boss, Kevin Gilbride, Lawrence Tynes, Mario Manningham, Monday Night Football, Osi Umenyiora, Ottis Anderson, Packers, Panthers, Redskins, Rich Seubert, Saints, Steve Smith, Super Bowl, Terrell Thomas, Todd Collins, Tom Coughlin, Vikings, Will Beatty