Giants Redskins review

             The New York Giants finally got the monkey off their backs and defeated a division rival. The Giants squared off against the Washington Redskins defeating them in a tight battle 27-23 for their first win in the NFC East this season.

This was an exciting game right to the end when two touchdowns were scored within a minute of each other. Robert Griffin III show cased his play making abilities and also that he can crack under pressure with a few turnovers proving to be costly.

The Giants defense stepped up again this week wreaking havoc on the high powered offense of the Redskins. Chris Canty made his season debut this week and grabbed four tackles in his return. This might have been the reason the Giants looked like the defense from the playoffs. Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyoria and Jason Pierre-Paul all tallied one sack each.

Stevie Brown is solidifying himself in the Giants secondary grabbing another interception this game. Jason Pierre-Paul was everywhere RGIII was chasing him down forcing the Redskins to double team him. The Giants caused four forced fumbles in this game and recovered three of them. Pierre-Paul and Linval Joesph each had one forced fumble and Chase Blackburn had two.

The most significant forced fumble was the one at the end of the fourth quarter on Santana Moss. The Redskins were driving down the field after the Giants scored a touchdown to put them ahead. Chase Blackburn caused the fumble on Moss with less than a minute left in the game stopping the Redskins drive sealing the victory.

Manning had 26 completions on 40 attempts for 337 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown. Manning’s biggest completion was a 77 yard touchdown to Victor Cruz which would end up being the game winning touchdown.

The Giants had trouble getting the running game going and they were not as productive as they have been the past couple of games. Ahmad Bradshaw had 12 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Andre Brown returned in this game and had five carries for 17 yards and a touchdown. Hopefully this was just a bad game for the running game and it will go back to the way it was in the next game. The running game is vital to this Giants team this game would not have been close if the running game got going.

Victor Cruz was the standout wide out in this game with seven receptions totaling in 131 yards. Martellus Bennett was also solid with five receptions for 79 yards. Bennett fell off the last couple of game but it looks like he is back on track and let’s hope it stays that way because he is a big body threat down the field and is capable of gaining more yards after the catch.

Hakeem Nicks had five catches for 53 yards and his longest was a 21 yard catch. Nicks makes all the difference in this Giants offense even though he hasn’t had his big game yet defenses respect him enough to put people on him opening up the other options for Manning. Nicks will get back to making big plays soon enough.

This game was too close for comfort but the Giants never gave up and pulled out the victory. This was a big game considering the Redskins swept them last season. The Giants had the big plays when they needed them on offense and defense. Even though no one is giving them their respect yet, the Giants are 5-2 and are among the top teams in the NFL. Next up they have the Dallas Cowboys, another divisional rival that they already played and lost to. The Giants are a different team from that first game and will be more of a challenge for the Cowboys. The Giants play better on the road and they do like playing and winning in the Cowboys stadium. If the defense continues to play the way they have the last two games the Cowboys will be in trouble.

Giants San Fran review

The New York Giants are now standing alone on top of the NFC East after routing the San Francisco 49ers 26-3 in San Francisco on Sunday. Almost everyone predicted this to be a close game and picked the 49ers to come out on top because they were being crowned as one of the top teams in the NFL but the Giants exposed them and didn't allow their offense to score a touchdown. The Giants dominated every aspect of the game and walked away with a big victory in San Francisco.

The Giants defense finally stepped up and played big. The last game against Cleveland the Giants were unable to get a sack but against San Francisco they had six sacks. Jason Pierre-Paul had two sacks and Mathias Kiwanuka, Linval Joesph, Jacquian Williams and Adrian Tracy all got one sack. Prince Amukamara got his first interception of the season in the first half and Antrel Rolle dominated the third quarter intercepting Alex Smith two times.

This was Mario Manningham’s first game against the Giants since he helped them win the Superbowl and he was able to grab five receptions for 72 yards. Alex Smith was able to get some big plays in the air but the 49ers couldn’t get anything going in the red zone. David Akers missed two field goals and made one which ended up being their only score of the game.

The Giants defense played outstanding holding a dominate rushing team to only 80 yards for the game. Frank Gore was held to a measly 36 yards on eight carries. The Giants defense stepped up in this game taking the pressure off of Eli Manning and allowing him to take his time and play his game.

The Giants offensive line did not allow the 49er defense to get a sack in the game.

After being held scoreless in the first quarter Eli Manning came alive in the second quarter hitting Domenik Hixon down the field for a 39 yard catch eventually setting up a Victor Cruz touchdown. This would be Manning’s only touchdown of the game.

Victor Cruz grabbed six receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown. Since the drops in the Cowboys game Cruz has stepped up and made big plays for the Giants.

Manning had 15 completions on 28 attempts for 193 yards and one touchdown. Manning’s go to guy was Domenik Hixon with four receptions for 78 yards. Hixon and Manning are becoming more comfortable with each other. The last couple of games Manning has connected on big plays with Hixon.

Hakeem Nicks made his comeback this week after sitting out the last two games dues to knee and foot injuries. When Nicks is in the game the offense seems to work more smoothly. Nicks is Manning’s safety net due to his big play making abilities. Nicks grabbed three receptions for 44 yards and one of those was a 26 yard play.

After having a 200 yard rushing game last Sunday Ahmad Bradshaw came out and continued to run hard against the 49ers. Bradshaw had 27 carries totaling 116 yards and one touchdown. David Wilson also had 35 rushing yards on seven carries. The Giants offense is starting to become more dimensional instead of always relying on Manning to win the game in the air. If they keep up with the rushing game this offense is going to become hard to stop.

Unlike the past few games the Giants offense did not have a turnover in this game and that was the key to their high powered victory.

The Giants offense and defense played the way they should’ve been playing all season. They were able to catch the 49ers off guard and disrupt their offensive game plan. The Giants were ready for everything the 49ers were going to throw at them and dominated the game showing they are a top team in the NFL.

Next week the Giants are back at their divisional play which they have had trouble against so far this season. The Giants are 0-2 in the NFC East and Sunday at home against the Washington Redskins they look to change that.