New York Giants Football Fan Commentary and News

Giants Defeat Redskins 16-7

Getty Images/Al Bello

Well, the Giants won. It wasn’t pretty for a majority of the game, especially with all the action occurring in the first half. We got lucky on a few plays and looked like Super Bowl champs during others — a typical scenario for the first game of the new season.

Some of the highlights include Eli and Plaxico’s connections throughout the game. When they were in that flow, they looked completely unstoppable. Burress finished the game with 10 catches for 133yds. That’s a hell of a way to say “thank you” to the front office for your late breaking contract extension.

Manning ends the game with 19 completions on 35 attempts for 216yds and one pick (he got lucky and very well could have lost at least 2 or 3 others with errant throws). Running for the only touchdown of the game, Manning looked sharp for the most part, but still showed flashes of that Eli that scares fans so much.

The offensive line and running game looked superb. Brandon Jacobs steamrolled just about everyone that tried to tackle him up high. Ward looked sharp as a change of pace, dashing and cutting like he had prior to getting injured last year. The duo combined for 30 carries totaling 155yds. We are so freakin’ stacked at running back, that I was itching to see Bradshaw bouncing around the field, but he remained on the sideline this game.

Getty Images/Al Bello

Defensively, we looked much better than I had thought we would have. Tuck, Kiwanuka and crew certainly stepped up in the absence of the now retired Strahan and injured Umenyiora. Hell, Tuck opened up the defensive game with a sack on the first play. You can’t ask for much more than that. The corners looked sharp but were beat on a few plays as Redskin receivers were able to elude them and find too much open space.

Overall, this was a good game for the Giants. There were definitely some lapses in concentration and flow, but that’s to be expected in the first game of the season. We’re also a bit lucky that QB Jason Campbell isn’t quite familiar with the new Redskin offense. I’m not sure that we would have fared as well with a more polished opponent later in the season.