New York Wins Second Straight As They Dominate Division Rival Washington

New York dropped two straight games to begin the season.

The first on the road to their NFC East rival Dallas by a score of 35-17and then they lost their home opener to Buffalo by a score of 28-14. “according to https://www.giants.com/schedule/

In week three at Tampa Bay New York got in the win column for the first time in 2019. How was that accomplished? By making a change at the starting quarterback position. Pat Shurmur decided to give Daniel Jones the rookie out of Duke a shot who replaced thirty eight year old Eli Manning who like Daniel Jones was coached by David Cutcliffe. in college. At Tampa Bay Eli Manning’s 202 consecutive starts came to an end. But it looked like it was for the better as the New York Giants knocked off Tampa Bay by a score of 32-31 and got in the win column for the first time in 2019.

Their second win of the season over their division rival Washington though wasn’t so much about the offense it was more about the defense.

In their first three games, they had been outscored in the first two quarters, 70-24, while getting the best of their opponents in the second half, 39-24. But they were victorious in just one of those games, and they needed an epic comeback last week at Tampa Bay to earn that. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

But the Giants took control early on Sunday in MetLife Stadium. The defense stole the ball away on the game’s third play. The offense scored a touchdown on its first possession. And the Giants never looked back while rolling to a not-that-close 24-3 thrashing of the Washington Redskins that left them with a 2-2 record at the quarter pole of the NFL season.”according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

“I think our defense did a terrific job,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “We made a few tweaks, I don’t think we made a lot of massive changes, but we made a few tweaks this week that I think settled our guys down, helped them be more comfortable. They were more disruptive, (and) we got pressure on the quarterback.””according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

Washington’s three points, eight first downs, 176 total yards, 55 rushing yards, 121 passing yards and 23:51 time of possession were far and away season lows for a Giants opponent. The three-game averages entering the game were 31.3 points, 23.7 first downs, 460.3 total yards,128.0 rushing yards and 332.3 passing yards.”according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

The Giants also intercepted four passes and recorded three sacks of two Washington quarterbacks. And they did all that without one of their defensive captains, linebacker Alec Ogletree, who was inactive with a hamstring injury. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

“Our point this week was to start off fast and finish even stronger,” defensive tackle B.J. Hill said. “That’s what we came out and did. It’s exciting. We came out and did our thing. We got some turnovers, three and outs, and that’s how we like to play.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

“We played great,” cornerback Janoris Jenkins said. “We played all around great football: defense, special teams, offense. I just think we started fast this week and we kept our feet on the gas.””according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

The two key performers on offense played a total of nine snaps on that unit in the home opener just two weeks ago. In his second start, quarterback Daniel Jones completed 23 of 31 passes for 225 yards, one touchdown and his first two career interceptions, both by cornerback Quinton Dunbar. Wayne Gallman, substituting for the injured Saquon Barkley, led all rushers with 63 yards on a career-high 18 carries, and scored touchdowns on a six-yard reception and a one-yard run on the Giants’ first two offensive possessions to give the Giants what proved to be an insurmountable 14-0 lead.”according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

“The whole focus was to come out fast,” Gallman said. “You know we don’t want to come out hot in the second half. We want to come out hot in the first half, so the focus was just getting that first drive going and we did. We got it done.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

“Wayne had a great game,” Jones said. “We had a lot of confidence in him, and I think he’s a really good player. I don’t think anyone was surprised by how he played. But certainly, he was a huge piece of this win today.””according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

The offense scored just three points in its last eight possessions (not counting the end-of-game kneel-downs). But the defense kept Washington from threatening all day.”according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

Fittingly, the defense scored the third touchdown, on a 32-yard interception return by safety Jabrill Peppers.”according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

“It felt good, we had a great week of preparation, I watched extensive film because I wanted to take the challenge of guarding (tight end) Vernon Davis real personal,” Peppers said. “I recognized the set, I knew they liked the over routes out of that formation. I trusted my gut, slipped underneath it, he tried to get it out, I switched my arm and saw nothing but daylight in front of me, it had to be six.””according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

The defense had plenty of other key contributors. Rookie linebacker Ryan Connelly intercepted his second pass in as many weeks on the game’s opening series and registered his first career sack when he tackled Case Keenum for a two-yard loss on Washington’s next possession. But he suffered a potentially serious knee injury in the second half.”according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

Jenkins, whose coverage skills were targeted for criticism after Mike Evans finished with 190 receiving yards in Tampa last week, twice intercepted rookie substitute quarterback Dwayne Haskins, the third two-pick game of his career and second with the Giants.”according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

Markus Golden, Oshane Ximines, Dalvin Tomlinson and Tuzar Skipper each had a half-sack.”according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

David Mayo started for Ogletree and led the team with eight tackles (four solo).”according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

“Anytime you can come out and perform together at a high level, it's motivation for everybody,” Golden said. “You get to watch the film, watch everybody flying around. I felt the energy. Everybody was celebrating and having a good time. That's always good and it's always good for everybody to feed off of.””according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

“They did just a really, really terrific job,” Shurmur said. “They were about their business this week, they kept the noise out, and I watched it. I watched their preparation this week and I really felt like we on defense this week made improvements on the practice field that then showed up in the game. Now what we have to do is continue to build on that.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/defense-shines-in-giants-24-3-win-over-redskins

While New York won their second straight game Washington who like New York is a member of the NFC East is still on the snide as they dropped their fourth straight.

Despite forcing four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumble recoveries), Washington was held without a touchdown and gained just 176 yards of total offense. They also gave the ball away four times; Case Keenum threw an interception on the opening drive, while first-round rookie Dwayne Haskins, who replaced Keenum in the second quarter, was responsible for three picks in his NFL debut. Another costly factor was their continued ineffectiveness on third down, where they finished 2-for-11 (18%). “according to https://www.redskins.com/news/redskins-struggle-offensively-in-loss-to-new-york

Defensively, the Redskins allowed second-string running back Wayne Gallman Jr. to total 118 yards from scrimmage and a score pair of first-half touchdowns. They also allowed the Giants to convert 62% (8-for-13) of their third downs during their fourth straight defeat to start the 2019 campaign.”according to https://www.redskins.com/news/redskins-struggle-offensively-in-loss-to-new-york

And then there were the penalties -- 12 of them totaling 58 yards -- that hindered the Redskins on both sides of the ball.”according to https://www.redskins.com/news/redskins-struggle-offensively-in-loss-to-new-york

“Well, we’re at 0-4 and you’ve got two options -- you can hang your head and feel sorry for yourself, or you can come out and battle your [butt] off next week, which I know we will. We’ll come out and be in a battle,” head coach Jay Gruden said postgame. “according to https://www.redskins.com/news/redskins-struggle-offensively-in-loss-to-new-york

"It’s unfortunate. Nobody saw this coming like this -- I sure didn’t -- but here we are. So, reality has set in the last few weeks.” “according to https://www.redskins.com/news/redskins-struggle-offensively-in-loss-to-new-york

The New York Giants will return to action Sunday when they host the Minnesota Vikings.