Washington

Giants Drop Seesaw Game to Washington

The Giants suffered a bitter 29-27 defeat to Washington on Sunday, undone by ghastly turnovers and bonehead penalties at the worst possible times. It was a seesaw game with five second-half lead changes, and there were a lot of ups and downs for both teams.

On One Hand: Eli Manning threw for more than 350 yards for the second straight week.
On the Other Hand: He threw as many touchdown passes (1) as he did interceptions in the end zone.

On One Hand: Shane Vereen stepped in for the injured Rashad Jennings and totaled 66 yards on 11 carries with one touchdown.
On the Other Hand: He fumbled for the second straight week.

On One Hand: Vereen’s failure to protect the ball opened the door for Orleans Darkwa, who had 10 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown.
On the Other Hand: Giants coaches will probably overlook the fact that Vereen and Darkwa combined for 118 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns and go back to running Rashad Jennings into the back of linemen’s butts.

On One Hand: Defensive end Olivier Vernon had his first sack as a Giant.
On the Other Hand: His penalty for smacking Kirk Cousins in the back of the head on third down allowed Washington’s game-winning drive to continue.

On One Hand: The Giants were ahead 21-9 in the second quarter, with a blowout seemingly imminent.
On the Other Hand: One second after learning that the Giants hadn’t allowed a single play of more than 30 yards all season, they allowed two such consecutive passes to DeSean Jackson – covering 80 yards and a touchdown.

On One Hand: The Giants are now minus-6 in the turnover department.
On the Other Hand: It’s pretty amazing they’re 2-1 with such a bad differential.

On One Hand: Kirk Cousins cost Washington 3 points and maybe 7 points by holding the ball too long and taking a sack at the end of the first half, when Washington still had one timeout left.
On the Other Hand: He didn’t commit any turnovers and Eli Manning was the one who threw two fourth quarter interceptions.

On One Hand: Neither team played particularly well on special teams.
On the Other Hand: Only the Giants allowed the opposing team’s punter to throw a long pass down the sideline to convert on fourth down.

On One Hand: Washington played it conservative by running the ball on third down late in the game, with the Giants stopping them and forcing a punt.
On the Other Hand: You sensed Manning and the Giants weren’t going to pull it out.

On One Hand: Odell Beckham had seven receptions for 121 yards, including one stiff arm of Josh Norman.
On the Other Hand: On the team’s final possession, he committed an obvious pick on Norman and earned a penalty that negated a pass to Sterling Shepard and backed the Giants up. Oh, and he looked like he was about to cry after Manning’s first fourth quarter pick, when Beckham vented by throwing his helmet into the kicker’s practice net.

On One Hand: The Giants’ version of Cerberus (Beckham, Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz) all had more than 70 yards receiving and once again proved that defenses have to pick their poison in stopping the Giants’ three-headed receiving corps.
On the Other Hand: The team only had one passing TD and managed just two field goals in the second half.

On One Hand: The Giants played a third straight game decided by less than a field goal.
On the Other Hand: This is the first one they’ve lost.

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