Giants Beat Redskins 16-7

By Broadside Staff Writer Foxhall Parker

In their season opener last Thursday night, the Washington Redskins fell 16-7 to the defending Super Bowl Champions the New York Giants. After a poor preseason against the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Redskin faithful were anticipating big results from new Head Coach Jim Zorn and their beloved team, but both failed to deliver with a game that included poor performances from both the offensive and defensive sides.

Zorn’s West Coast Offense was supposed to feature a free-flying passing game with quarterback Jason Campbell as the centerpiece, but the offense looked stagnant, with the first play from scrimmage ending in a sack by Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. Early in the game, Washington could not move the ball and failed to get first downs, due in large part to Campbell’s inability to complete a pass. Running back Clinton Portis ran hard, ending the game with 23 carries for 84 yards, but struggled to gain more than four yards on a given run.

While Washington’s defense seemed unprepared for their first series, they began to play marginally better, not allowing the Giants to score a touchdown for the rest of the game. Even though Giants running back Brandon Jacobs continued to—literally— run over Washington’s defense, just ask Redskins safety LaRon Landry.

Through most of the first half the Redskins played as bad a team could play, but in the second half the Redskins defense forced the Giants to punt on every possession.

Washington still had the slightest of chances to come back from 16-0 and win the game, but they played the way they played the entire game—inconsistent. In the Redskins final drives of the game they came up just yards short on third and fourth down conversion attempts and turned the ball over on downs or were forced to punt. Washington started a drive in the fourth quarter down 16-7 with 6:12 remaining in the game and end up punting with 2:12 remaining and no points to show for those four minutes.

In their final drive, the Redskins moved the ball but were unable to connect on several deep passes that would have made the game competitive.

Redskins fans are quick to remind anyone willing to listen that the two previous times the Giants won the Super Bowl the Redskins won it the following year. Stranger things have happened, but the Redskins will have trouble winning a game this year, much less the Super Bowl, if they perform the way they did last Thursday.