Redskins Recap: Redskins lose to Giants 24-17, Officially Eliminated from Playoffs

1^st Quarter:

-The Redskins won the toss and elected to receive.  Morgan returns the kick to the 27 yard line.  The Redskins start the game with a no-huddle offense.  The Redskins go for an early 4^th and one at the 50 and convert with a 1 yard keeper by Griffin.  Garcon and Morgan both have big first down catches on the first drive.  Griffin hits Fred Davis (Fred Davis sighting!!) for a big third down conversion to the four yard line.  The hurry-up offense is catching the Giants off guard and they are called for offsides on the next play.  Morris scores a one yard touchdown on the fourteenth play of the drive.  Redskins 7- Giants 0.

-Forbath kicks off and after a short return and a big hit by Reed Doughty the Giants will start at the 20.  The defense starts off with a bang as Orakpo gets a sack on first down.  The Giants go three and out and will punt.  Santana Moss receives and gets close to midfield on the return.  The Redskins' drive stalls however and the Redskins are forced to punt.  The ball is downed at the one yard line by Perry Riley.

-The Redskins hold the Giants to three and out again.  Moss returns the punt to the Redskins' 41.  At the end of the quarter, Redskins lead 7-0.

2^nd Quarter:

-The Redskins dink and dunk down the field and find themselves on the 14 yard line of the Giants until a delay-of-game puts them back on the 19.  Griffin then hit Logan Paulsen for the touchdown.  Drive was 8 plays for 59 yards and Griffin is 12-12 passing.  Redskins 14- Giants 0.

-Forbath kicks off and the return goes to the 26.  The Giants get their first first down of the game with 10:45 remaining in the 2^nd quarter when Peyton Hillis converts on a 3^rd and one to get to the 43.  Hillis then gets 27 yards on the next run to get to the Redskins 30.  Andre Brown finishes off the drive with a 30 yard run for the score.  Redskins 14- Giants 7.

-Both offenses stalled out after that drive with each team exchanging punts.  The Giants finally got a good drive going before the end of the half and have marched to the 24 yard line with :46 seconds to go.  Eli Manning hits tight end Brandon Myers down the middle for a touchdown with :35 seconds remaining.  Redskins 14 - Giants 14.

-Redskins get the ball on the 27 yard line after a short return by up man Adam Gettis (yep, backup center Adam Gettis).  The Redskins drive to the Giants 39 with :01 to go.  Griffin than scrambles instead of putting up a Hail Mary pass and runs out of bounds as time expires.  Halftime Redskins 14- Giants 14.

3^rd Quarter:

-The Giants receive the kick and start off at their 25.  Eli continues to be hot as he hits Nicks for 19 yards to get to the 44.  The drive stalls out at the 49 and Moss fair catches at the 10.  Griffin has been running quite a bit on this drive - 4 rushing first downs.  The Redskins are now at midfield.  Will Montgomery is then called for holding moving them back to the 41.  On the next play, Washington is called for unsportsmanlike conduct (Santana Moss) to put them at the 40 for a 3^rd and 18.  They are unable to convert and will punt.  Penalties killed that drive.

-Giants take over at the 15 after the punt.  Eli finally throws an interception as Brandon Meriweather picks one off and returns it to the Giants 11.  On a third down incompletion, Pierre Garcon kicks the dead ball out of bounds and get a delay of game penalty.  Forbath hits the 33 yard field goal.  Redskins 17- Giants 14.

-After mishandling the kickoff, the Giants will start at the 10.  On third down, Orakpo gets his second sack of the game.  Collinsworth points out he has been beating Will Beatty all night.  The Giants punt and the Redskins will start at the 42.  Tuck sacks Griffin on a third down play and the Redskins will have to punt as well.  The Redskins botch the punt with a low snap but Rocca is able to get it to the 44.  Then the Redskins are called for a hold as well and Giants take over the Redskins' 46.  Manning hits Brandon Myers again to the Redskins 22 as the third quarter ends.  Redskins 17- Giants 14.

4^th Quarter:

-Manning drives the Giants to the 1 yard line and Andre Brown punches it in.  Giants 21 - Redskins 17.  14:26 remaining in the game.

-Washington will start at the 22.  Griffin is sacked by Tuck again on first down and then third down.  The Redskins will punt again.  Giant start at the 43.  The Redskins hold and will get the ball back with 8:51 remaining.  The Redskins take over at the 11.

-Tuck gets his fourth sack of the night and the Redskins stall out.  The Redskins punt and the Giants will start at the 39 yard line.  Eli completes a two yard pass on a third and one to Myers for a first down.  The Redskins challenge the spot of the ball but lose.  There is 4:26 remaining.  The Redskins hold the Giants to a field goal attempt with 2:38 to go.  Josh Brown hits it.  Giants 24 - Washington 17.  2:32 remaining.

-The Redskins will start from the 20 with no timeouts remaining.  At the two minute warning, the Redskins are at the 41 yard line.  With the Redskins driving, Griffin hits Fred Davis at the 30 but he drops the ball.  Griffin then hits Garcon, who is stripped of the ball by Will Hill.  The Giants can now run out the clock.

Important Game Notes:

1^st Half:

-Jordan Reed got a headache in the pregame warm-ups and, due to his recent concussion issues, was listed as inactive.

-The inflatable helmet the Redskins team runs through during introductions malfunctioned and could not be used, per a tweet by Dan Graziano.

-Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul missed the first start of his four year career.

-The Redskins scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the first time all season.

-Evan Royster was forced into fullback duties tonight with Darrel Young and Niles Paul out.

-Griffin finished the first half 16-17 with 149 passing yards and a touchdown along with 7 rushes for 53 yards.  Eli Manning was just as solid as he was 10-12 for 101 yards and a touchdown.

-Chris Collinsworth pointed out that Russell Wilson is further along the Griffin at this point because he "scrambles to throw" whereas Griffin seems to put his head down when he scrambles.

2^nd Half:

-The story of the second half was penalties.  Washington continues to shoot itself in the foot.

-Redskins receivers continued to struggle to get open in this game.  Many of the sacks Griffin took were coverage sacks.

-Perry Riley played well in pass coverage tonight and played a complete game overall.

-Justin Tuck dominated the game and beat Tyler Polumbus most of the night.  He came in with 2.5 sacks and had four tonight.

-Towards the end of the game, the referees botched a call in which they gave the Redskins a first down, and the Redskins ran a play.  However, after the play, the refs said it was not actually a first down, leaving the Redskins with a fourth down.  The league will have their hands full with this one, most likely resulting in an apology letter sent to Washington.

-With the loss, the Redskins are officially eliminated from the playoffs and thus the "Road to MetLife Stadium" to beat Mara in his own house is over.