Completing a Giant Task
By Waleo
(@UrbanSportScene)
On Sunday, September
25, 2016, the Washington Redskins did what many people thought couldn’t be
done. They defeated the then undefeated
New York Giants 29-27 in New York. Many
people, like me, couldn’t think of a possible scenario for the Redskins to
win. You could throw out statements
like: if the defense stepped up, if quarterback Kirk Cousins plays with heart,
and or if special teams steps up. The
Redskins got a little of everything.
Defense
stepping up
In the first half of
the game, the Redskins defense struggled—giving up 21 points. You
could see the fire defensive coordinator Joe Barry post all over social
media. They couldn’t stop Giants
running backs Shane Vereen and Orleans Darkwa, both combined for 97 yards with
two touchdowns in the first half. Also, Giants rookie wide receiver Sterling
Shepard was embarrassing nickel cornerback Dashaun Phillips, especially on a 23
yard TD reception in the 1st quarter to make it 14-3 Giants. Even with all that the defense made plays. For instance, early in the 2nd
quarter, defensive end Chris Baker popped and sacked Eli Manning for a big loss
that gave the Redskins some momentum. The
sack helped lead to a Giants’ punt. At
that time the Redskins were down 14-6 and the Giants were moving and looking to
end this game early. One of the biggest plays came from safety/cornerback
Will Blackmon. The Giants were up 21-16
and looking to score towards the end of 1st half. Blackmon strips Vereen, leading to a
Redskins fumble recovery. This ended the
Giants drive and kept the Redskins in striking range.
The Redskins defense stepped up in the second half. They held the Giants offense to six points. The Redskins were up 26-24 late in the 4th quarter and the Giants were driving for a potential score. Cornerback Quinton Dunbar made a nice one handed interception in the red-zone to keep the Redskins up 26-24. Dunbar got the chance to play because of an injury to cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who was hurt early in the 1st quarter (high ankle sprain). The Redskins offense went 0 for 4 in the red zone and the defense couldn’t afford to give up touchdowns, which they did not. They created turnovers, gave up fields goals and ended drives. No play was as big in this game as was the play by rookie hybrid linebacker Su’a Cravens. With a 1:06 left in the game and the Redskins offense failing to close this game out, Redskins defense had to step up. Manning threw a pass intended for Vereen and Cravens lounged across for the game ending interception to seal the deal. This was Cravens first interception of his career. Cravens may have saved the Redskins season with a superhero effort on that play. The defense though maligned, made winning plays. They deserve a lot of credit for the victory.
Special Teams
For many years the Redskins
special teams has been the downfall of the team. Yesterday, it may have been the best unit for
Redskins. After Chris Baker’s big sack,
as mentioned previously, the Giants decided to punt the ball to wide receiver
and punt returner Jamison Crowder. Big
mistake! Crowder nearly returned it to
the house. He was stopped at the Giants’
37 yard-line for a return of 52 yards.
That play led to a Redskins’ field goal—cutting the Giants to 14-9. Later
on in the game there was gusty key play.
The Redskins were down 24-23 with 3:15 left in the 3rd
quarter and were set to punt. The team did
the unexpected in that situation and had punter Tress Way throw a 31 yard pass
to Quinton Dunbar to put the Redskins in good scoring position. That fake punt was a great call by Redskins
head coach Jay Gruden and his staff. The
Redskins ended up kicking a field goal on that drive, putting them up
26-24. Although the team would rather
have touchdowns compared field goals, field goal kicker Dustin Hopkins kicks
were essential. Hopkins went 5 for 5
kicking field goals including a 37 yard go ahead field goal with 1:55 left in
game (29-27). Hopkins was clutch and arguably the MVP of the game.
Well it’s between him and Su’a Cravens.
Kirk
Cousins
Cousins had an
effective game. He could improve on his
accuracy at times but he did enough for his team to win. Cousins went 21-35, threw for 296 yards and
two touchdowns, including a 44 yard TD pass to Redskins wide receiver DeSean
Jackson in the 2nd quarter to get the Redskins back in the
game. The quarterback didn’t do anything
major to hurt the team. He played
within himself and led the team to seven scoring drives. This was an improvement compared to the two
prior games where he turned the ball over and missed many open receivers. The point that Cousins can’t beat a good team
shouldn’t be used for now. The Giants
were 2-0 and looked like favorites to take the NFC East. Cousins is a big part of them being 2-1. You that?!
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