Redskins v. Giants Staff Picks: Gobble Gobble

It’s hard to be in a bad mood on Thanksgiving. Sure, there are rom-com-esque narratives about squabbles with wacky family members, or on occasion a ruined dish or two, but when it comes right down to it food, football, and for many a short work week are a recipe for a great time.

Now around these parts, the Redskins’ performances of late have left a salty turkey brine taste in everyone’s collective mouths. We need not dwell on the past few weeks much, but rather to say that Washington has a chance to use the short week to their advantage, to bounce back against a down on their luck division rival on a national stage.

While the general public begins to settle in to their tryptophan-induced hibernation, things are just going to be heating up in DC. For the Redskins, it’s a chance to keep their ever-slimming window at a wildcard berth alive. For their fans, Thursday Night keeps hope alive that this season’s chances don’t quit cold turkey.

And now our staff predictions for the week:

Bryan H. Stabbe (7-1): 27-20, Giants
By any objective measure, the Redskins should walk away with this game, but in my heart of hearts this feels like the trappiest trap in the world. As the game slipped away from Washington against the Saints last week, I started to get the sense that things might snowball from there, as they are want to do in years past. Losing Chris Thompson is a huge blow, and I still haven’t seen enough out of Samaje Perine (with functionally no backup now) to believe they can effectively run the football despite one of the best O-Lines in the league. I (like many of our other staff members at Hogs Haven) picked the Giants to win the division in the pre-season predictions piece back in August, a prediction which has become laughably awful. I still think the Redskins will at least split with the Giants this year, but we will learn a lot about the resilience of the individuals on this team in the game tonight.

Bill-in-Bangkok (6-2): 23-17, Redskins
The Giants will be fired up after beating the Chiefs last week, and the defense, especially, will feel it had the opportunity to win the game.

Redskins put 4 more players on Injured reserve this week, which brings the total to around 15 first-line players.

Still, I think the Redskins will smell the opportunity to get a meaningful win and pay hard.

Tom Garrett (3-5): 38-5, Redskins
I'm now in the "acceptance" phase.

The Redskins are facing historic levels of injury problems. They just blew a 15-point lead in the final three minutes against the Saints, a loss aided by an incorrect grounding call that deprived Washington of a chance to win with a field goal at the end of regulation.

The Redskins are 4-6, and, even though the schedule gets much easier, I don't think this team can win out with more than a dozen players already on injured reserve. I think they need to start thinking about 2018. In fact, I would shut down Trent Williams now in order to make sure he has an extra month-plus to rehab his knee, post-surgery.

Having said all of the above, the Giants stink. If the Redskins can't beat them at home, even on a short week, there's no way Washington avoids a losing record. To repeat: The New York Giants stink. They STINK.

I just wish that meant the Redskins were a lock to beat them.

At this point, it doesn't. Still, I'm in full homer mode for the rest of the year, so I'll pick the Skins to win in a rout.

Happy Thanksgiving!

HTTR4LIFE (1-5): 34-31, Redskins

Anthony R.C. Brown II (0-2): 24-21, Redskins

Now it’s your turn, how do you feel about the Redskins’ chances against the Saints? Vote in our poll and share your predictions in the comments below.

HogHunter (3-7): 27-19, Redskins