New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins: Post Game Observations

September 25, 2015

By Ha Kung Wong New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins

Honestly, from the particularly raucous fan support, you’d think that the 30-yard touchdown pass to OBJ in the 4th quarter won the Super Bowl. People were high fiving each other like they had won the lottery. Well, perhaps that’s how they felt after two gut wrenching 4th quarter collapses in week 1 and 2 led them to believe that their beloved New York Giants were fated to fail. And what of the Washington Redskins? After surprisingly, but convincingly, pulling one out against the St. Louis Rams (who in week 1 took down the mighty Seattle Seahawks), Redskins fans probably felt like they were on the upswing. After Thursday, though, there isn’t anything further from the truth.

Here are three things I learned from the Giants vs. Redskins game on Thursday night:

1. A Balanced Attack is Best for the Giants

In week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants had 36 pass attempts as compared to 24 rushes. In week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons, the Giants had 40 pass attempts as compared to 23 rushes. In week 3 against the Washington Redskins, the Giants had 32 pass attempts as compared to 31 rushes. Keep in mind that the Giants had double digit leads going in the 4th Quarter against both the Cowboys and Falcons before blowing the game, so it’s not like Eli was airing it out in comeback mode for 30 minutes and artificially inflating pass attempts.

It looks to me that a balanced attack controlling the clock and game flow works better for the Giants than going to air 50% more times than attacking the ground. I understand that there’s a three headed monster in the Giants backfield between Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams and Shane Vereen, none of which have really stood out, but having three able bodies means keeping them fresh throughout the game. 28-32 rushing attempts per game makes sense, giving the defense a breather and limiting opposing offenses from developing any rhythm.

2. Conservative Eli is Not a Bad Eli

In the 4th Quarter against the Falcons in Week 2, Eli Manning was 5 of 11 for 30 yards, as compared to 22 of 29 for 262 yards and 2 TDs in the first three quarters. Against the Redskins, Eli was 3 of 4 for 93 yards and 2 TDs in the 4th Quarter, as compared to 19 of 28 for 186 yards in the first three quarters. Sure, 41 of those yards was partially assisted by Rueben Randle’s shoulder and a lucky bounce, but it all counts the same in the end. Just saying, careful game management via a balanced attack allowed Eli play more conservatively in first three quarters of the game and also be more efficient in the 4th Quarter.

3. Time for a New QB in Washington

Kirk Cousins is not the answer in Washington. I wish I could say that he was, because I kind of feel bad for Redskins fans due the mismanagement of RGIII and the general dysfunction in Washington. But he looked terrible on Thursday night, often breaking the pocket too soon and underthrowing receivers. Part of the problem may be the revolving door the Redskins have at WR behind Pierre Garcon due to the DeSean Jackson injury, but a large part of the blame is on Cousins’ inaccuracy. He missed two basically slam dunk TDs to Jordan Reed and his two INTs, although being tip drills, were badly thrown into coverage. His numbers on Thursday, 30 of 49 for 316 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs, look way better in the box score than they did on the field. It’s probably about that time for Washington to cut bait on all the QBs on the roster and plan to draft a new one in 2016.