The G-Men started off like gangbusters and ended the game just as strong. Washington may not be a top NFC opponent, but that aside, the Giants looked dominant and showed no signs of needing any halftime inspirational speeches in this contest.
Spurred on by a power running game, the G-Men racked up 197 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns—all of them on the durable legs of Brandon Jacobs (8 rushes for 103 yards, 12.9 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns) and Ahmad Bradshaw (25 rushes for 97 yards, and 2 touchdowns).
Complementing a great effort by the offense, the Giants defense did its part, forcing six turnovers and limiting the Redskins to only 74 rushing yards. Skins quarterback Donovan McNabb (26-of-44 passes for 296, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions) was under duress for most of the game and was sacked four times.
Responsible for two of those sacks was Giants rookie defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. It was his second consecutive two-sack game. He also picked up a forced fumble in the fourth quarter.
Pierre-Paul now has four sacks on the season and is showing tremendous upside for a player whom many regarded as just pure, raw talent coming out of South Florida in the first-round in the 2010 NFL Draft.
On www.giants.com, head coach Tom Coughlin had good things to say about the young rookie, "He's coming along. You're seeing his athleticism, he's comfortable, I think, assignment-wise. You're seeing the natural ability start to come through. He's having fun playing, he's learning as he goes and he's starting to really play well."
Teammate and defensive end Justin Tuck added, "I taught that guy [Pierre-Paul] everything I know. He's starting to listen. Even when he's not sacking quarterbacks, he's in their face, he's deflecting passes; the guy is really playing well. You can tell he wants it.
“He's there an hour before the game, going over the playbook with the coaches and making sure he has every bit of the game plan down, and it's benefiting for him."
A humble Pierre-Paul commented after the game but focused on the team win, "I guess you can say all of that hard work is finally paying off. We brought a lot of pressure, and I felt we had a complete game today. We were also able to force a lot of turnovers. And that is the name of our game."
From Start To Finish
New York's defense came out strong in this game and didn't let up until the final whistle, as evidenced by the four forced turnovers in the fourth quarter, including an interception by Corey Webster who picked off McNabb with no time left on the clock.
In addition to the turnovers, McNabb was also sacked at least once in every quarter.
Former Redskins receiver Devin Thomas, whom the Giants signed last week, was also part of the mix, making a huge contribution on special teams with a blocked punt in the fourth quarter.
Thomas commented on his first game as a Giant, "It felt good. Coach [Coughlin] was talking about it all week—that we needed to have a complete game on all sides of the ball. I thought we played all four quarters hard and almost to perfection. And that is what we strived for, and I think we did a great job."
Running Strong
Behind a makeshift, but effective offensive line, the Giants scored on their opening drive at 11:26 in the first quarter as Brandon Jacobs rushed eight yards up the middle.
Ahmad Bradshaw followed Jacobs’s score with a 4-yard scoring run off the right side at 5:22.
At 1:55 in the second quarter, Bradshaw busted through the line for a 10-yard touchdown run that put New York up 21–0 at the half.
Jacobs got his second rushing touchdown of the game at 6:36 in the third quarter, galloping 28 yards down the right side and plowing through several Washington defenders on his way to pay dirt.
Washington's lone touchdown came minutes later, as Donovan McNabb hooked up with receiver Anthony Armstrong for a 33-yard catch down the middle. But other than that score, McNabb and the Redskins couldn't get anything going against an opportunistic and stingy Giants defense.
