Articles

By Michael Stewart/@golferbad

Introduction: The New York Giants have now won two straight games by defeating the Washington Redskins 24-3 and have reached the .500 mark for the 1st time since 2016.

Rookie Quarterback Daniel Jones didn’t quite have the same impact as he did in his first start last week against the Buccaneers, but still managed 23/31 for 225 yards with a touchdown pass, but coughed up his first two interceptions for his career.

What made this matchup more interesting was the fact that the Redskins started rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who many mock drafts had going to the Giants in the 2019 draft. Haskins didn’t fair too well as he finished with 9/17 for 107; while throwing three interceptions.

Top 3 Reasons Why the Giants won

  • Giants Defense: This was a team effort as many Giant defenders showed up today and reminded the Washington Redskins why they are winless this season. The Giants defense collected four interceptions (one for a touchdown by Jabrill Peppers) and three sacks on the day. Both Redskins quarterbacks Case Keenum and Dwayne Haskins were under extreme pressure throughout the game and surrendered a season-low three points.
  • Time of Possession: The Giants offense rarely wins the battle of possession, so when they do; they usually win. The Giants controlled the ball for nearly 36 minutes to the Redskins 24 minutes and couldn’t generate any offensive drives over five minutes.
  • Red Zone Efficiency:  The Giants were 2/4 in the red zone; while the Redskins were only 0-1. In today’s NFL, if you can’t generate points in the red zone, you’ll most likely be selecting in the top 3 in the draft; which appears to be the case for Washington.

Hero:

Got to give it to the Giants defense for a group effort and giving the Giant fans a glimmer of hope that maybe this team is turning the corner. Although it was against the Redskins, holding any NFL team to three points should be acknowledged and hopefully, they can build on it.

Goat:

The entire Washington Redskin team: The Redskins didn’t look motivated to play from either side of the ball as the offense only generated 176 yards from scrimmage; while surrendering 389 yards. They were beaten on nearly every category, except for total return yards.

Final Thoughts:

The Giants needed to have a balanced attack without their star running back Saquon Barkley and they did manage to keep the ball in the hands of the offense for most of the game.

The Giants will now await the Minnesota Vikings who should give the Giants a much harder time and a better measuring stick. The Giants need to clean up their turnover ratio (4 turnovers against the Redskins) against the Vikings or they could be in for a very long day.