Giants’ Offense Gets Even With Redskins

For three games, they had done all that was asked of them and more. When the Washington Redskins’ defense finally faltered and the offense was nowhere to be found, the New York Giants had an easy win.

“Our offense did a tremendous job against a top-rated defense,” said Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler after New York’s 24-7 victory on Sunday. “I think our defense gave them some trouble -- it would have been extremely tough for them to beat us today.”

While the 4-4 Giants rolled up 389 total yards -- including 138 on the ground from Rodney Hampton -- against the NFL’s third-ranked defense, the New York defense played like a version of the 1990 Super Bowl champions, limiting 5-3 Washington to 239 yards.

“We got whipped and there’s not any more you can say,” Washington coach Joe Gibbs admitted. “It’s been a while since we’ve been beat like that.”

Washington’s offense has now gone 11 quarters without scoring a touchdown; the Redskins’ lone score came on an 84-yard punt return by Brian Mitchell that gave them a 7-0 first-period lead.

But the Giants set the tone for the game on their next possession, evening the score at 7-7 on a 65-yard drive that included a 29-yard pass to from Hostetler to Howard Cross on a second-and-10 play from the New York 35 and a 27-yard scramble by the quarterback on a third-and-nine from the Washington 35.

“Basically, it was a few penalties and a few big plays on third and long,” said Washington linebacker Andre Collins. “The offense had an off night, but we didn’t play that well either. We weren’t finishing things off on third down.”

A key third-down conversion came from Hostetler’s scramble on the first drive; the penalty came on New York’s next scoring march.

The Giants were stalled at the Redskin 37 when, on a punt play, Washington was penalized for having 12 men on the field.

The 5-yard infraction gave the Giants a first down, and two plays later, Hostetler hit Ed McCaffrey with a 17-yard touchdown pass on a play that summarized Washington’s futility.

Cornerback A.J. Johnson had the taller McCaffrey tightly covered and was in front of the receiver as both leaped for the pass. McCaffrey, however, reached over Johnson’s shoulders and had the ball when they both landed in the end zone.

“They had some things go against them,” Giants coach Ray Handley said. “Twelve men on the field -- obviously it was a key play for us.”

After the Redskins went three-and-out, New York got the ball back at its own 33 with 1:38 remaining in the half.

A 30-yard, tackle-breaking run by Dave Meggett got the ball to the Washington 24, and, after a 5-yard pass to McCaffrey and a 15-yarder to Howard Cross, Hostetler hit Meggett with a 4-yard scoring pass to put the Giants up by two touchdowns at intermission.

“That was a big series, a big momentum-builder,” Hostetler said. “We

They didn’t, even though they managed just a field goal in the second half. The main reason is that the New York defense extended Washington’s streak of offensive futility.

“When they’re going to stop you with six guys on the front line and they play soft pass coverage, they’re not much you can do,” said Washington quarterback Mark Rypien, who finished 14 of 31 for 187 yards. “A lot of it was that we couldn’t anything done on the run.”

Washington finished with 61 yards on the ground.

That wasn’t nearly enough to keep Washington in the winning column, especially when its defense let down a bit. After beating Denver 34-3, Washington went on to defeat the Eagles and the Vikings even though they didn’t score a touchdown after the first period of the Philadelphia game.

“It wasn’t until late, when they were gaining stuff on the ground and we had to stop them, that I knew we weren’t on,” said defensive tackle Eric Williams. “I didn’t know what was going to kick in. Always before, something did.”