Sunday, September 19, 2004
GIANTS 20, REDSKINS 14
Back to Wall, Giants' Defense Turns FearsomeBy LYNN ZINSERPublished: September 20, 2004
AST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Sept. 19 - When the Giants' defensive players walked off the field after the Washington Redskins embarrassed them with an easy touchdown drive in the first quarter Sunday afternoon, they had already tried the patience of the Giants Stadium crowd.
Their fans had begun booing only three minutes into their home opener after an ugly rash of missed tackles and blown assignments. Once they got to the sideline, they found no sympathy.
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End Michael Strahan turned to his teammates and said: "What do we have to do? Do we have to be backed up against a wall before we want to play?"
The answer was, maybe they do.
From the depths of its shellacking last week by Philadelphia and the gruesome start against the Redskins, the Giants' defense turned instantly fearsome, jarring seven turnovers out of the Redskins. The Giants needed every of them to hold on for a 20-14 victory.
The Giants celebrated after it was over with as much relief as triumph. It gave them their first victory under Tom Coughlin and doused the Redskins' excitement over Coach Joe Gibbs's return.
It gave the Giants a split in their first two games against National Football Conference East opponents. And it lifted a cloud of doubt that comes from a nine-game losing streak stretching from last season.
"I'm excited to win," Coughlin said. "It was a win in the division on a beautiful day. The fans were great. The defense was outstanding. Of course, we made it real exciting."
The Giants scored 17 points directly off turnovers, and the victory grew from the most unlikely of starts.
After the Redskins shoved them aside for a 7-0 lead - getting one big gain and the touchdown on the same wide-open bootleg pass from Mark Brunell - the Giants' defensive linemen began forcing the issue.
They needed to. The Giants' linebacker corps started thin and was becoming thinner with injuries. The defensive backs were still wearing the skid marks left by the Eagles a week earlier. Redskins tailback Clinton Portis had sliced through holes with ease.
"My biggest message after that drive was, you don't let the offense dictate to you," Strahan said. "You have to dictate to them. You've got to fly around. That's exactly what we did when we went out there the next time.
"You can't sit back and wait and see how an offense is going to be and then react to them. You have to make them react to you."
On the first drive of the second quarter, the Redskins faced a third-and-3 at their own 44, and Brunell dropped back only to see defensive tackle Fred Robbins thundering toward him. Robbins sacked him, Brunell fumbled and Strahan scooped up the ball.
One play later, the offense turned it into a 7-7 tie with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to Tim Carter.
Those kinds of swings of emotion and momentum happen every week in the N.F.L., but for almost an entire season they had been happening exclusively to the Giants' opponents.
In the slide last season, a franchise known for defense watched the defense collapse and the offense follow suit. After an overhaul of the team, the Giants did not look much better in the opening drubbing by the Eagles and early against Washington.
In the first quarter, there was that Redskins 10-play touchdown drive; a fumble by Warner after a sack; Warner taking another sack after tripping over his center's foot; a timeout before a field goal because the Giants had only 10 men on the field, followed by Steve Christie badly missing the kick; and tailback Ron Dayne getting stuffed on third- and fourth-and-short to strangle another drive.
But Robbins's sack seemed to turn everything around. When Strahan came up with the ball, he jubilantly spiked it, and the crowd forgot why it had been booing.
On the next Redskins drive, Giants defensive tackle Norman Hand turned a reverse to Laveranues Coles into a 16-yard loss with a stunning tackle deep in the backfield.
On the next drive, safety Shaun Williams forced Portis to fumble, and linebacker Barrett Green picked it up and ran 16 yards for a touchdown.
If a 14-7 lead were not improbable enough, Robbins tipped a screen pass and grabbed the interception - the first of his five-year career - and returned it 13 yards, leading to a field goal.
Christie tacked on one more field goal to give the Giants a 20-7 edge into halftime.
Back to Wall, Giants' Defense Turns FearsomeBy LYNN ZINSERPublished: September 20, 2004
AST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Sept. 19 - When the Giants' defensive players walked off the field after the Washington Redskins embarrassed them with an easy touchdown drive in the first quarter Sunday afternoon, they had already tried the patience of the Giants Stadium crowd.
Their fans had begun booing only three minutes into their home opener after an ugly rash of missed tackles and blown assignments. Once they got to the sideline, they found no sympathy.
Advertisement
End Michael Strahan turned to his teammates and said: "What do we have to do? Do we have to be backed up against a wall before we want to play?"
The answer was, maybe they do.
From the depths of its shellacking last week by Philadelphia and the gruesome start against the Redskins, the Giants' defense turned instantly fearsome, jarring seven turnovers out of the Redskins. The Giants needed every of them to hold on for a 20-14 victory.
The Giants celebrated after it was over with as much relief as triumph. It gave them their first victory under Tom Coughlin and doused the Redskins' excitement over Coach Joe Gibbs's return.
It gave the Giants a split in their first two games against National Football Conference East opponents. And it lifted a cloud of doubt that comes from a nine-game losing streak stretching from last season.
"I'm excited to win," Coughlin said. "It was a win in the division on a beautiful day. The fans were great. The defense was outstanding. Of course, we made it real exciting."
The Giants scored 17 points directly off turnovers, and the victory grew from the most unlikely of starts.
After the Redskins shoved them aside for a 7-0 lead - getting one big gain and the touchdown on the same wide-open bootleg pass from Mark Brunell - the Giants' defensive linemen began forcing the issue.
They needed to. The Giants' linebacker corps started thin and was becoming thinner with injuries. The defensive backs were still wearing the skid marks left by the Eagles a week earlier. Redskins tailback Clinton Portis had sliced through holes with ease.
"My biggest message after that drive was, you don't let the offense dictate to you," Strahan said. "You have to dictate to them. You've got to fly around. That's exactly what we did when we went out there the next time.
"You can't sit back and wait and see how an offense is going to be and then react to them. You have to make them react to you."
On the first drive of the second quarter, the Redskins faced a third-and-3 at their own 44, and Brunell dropped back only to see defensive tackle Fred Robbins thundering toward him. Robbins sacked him, Brunell fumbled and Strahan scooped up the ball.
One play later, the offense turned it into a 7-7 tie with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to Tim Carter.
Those kinds of swings of emotion and momentum happen every week in the N.F.L., but for almost an entire season they had been happening exclusively to the Giants' opponents.
In the slide last season, a franchise known for defense watched the defense collapse and the offense follow suit. After an overhaul of the team, the Giants did not look much better in the opening drubbing by the Eagles and early against Washington.
In the first quarter, there was that Redskins 10-play touchdown drive; a fumble by Warner after a sack; Warner taking another sack after tripping over his center's foot; a timeout before a field goal because the Giants had only 10 men on the field, followed by Steve Christie badly missing the kick; and tailback Ron Dayne getting stuffed on third- and fourth-and-short to strangle another drive.
But Robbins's sack seemed to turn everything around. When Strahan came up with the ball, he jubilantly spiked it, and the crowd forgot why it had been booing.
On the next Redskins drive, Giants defensive tackle Norman Hand turned a reverse to Laveranues Coles into a 16-yard loss with a stunning tackle deep in the backfield.
On the next drive, safety Shaun Williams forced Portis to fumble, and linebacker Barrett Green picked it up and ran 16 yards for a touchdown.
If a 14-7 lead were not improbable enough, Robbins tipped a screen pass and grabbed the interception - the first of his five-year career - and returned it 13 yards, leading to a field goal.
Christie tacked on one more field goal to give the Giants a 20-7 edge into halftime.
