The Washington Redskins held off a fourth-quarter fightback from the New York Giants to move level with their divisional rivals at the top of the NFC East courtesy of a 20-14 victory at FedEx Field this evening.
The Giants suffered a miserable first half that saw them fail to trouble the scorers, manage just 117 yards on offense and lose offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz to a broken leg, with Eli Manning setting the tone early on by throwing interceptions on his first two possessions.
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It wasn't until the second quarter that the Redskins were able to take advantage, though, with Dustin Hopkins finally breaking the deadlock with a 41-yard kick having seen an earlier effort blocked.
Those would be the first of 17 unanswered points in the second quarter as DeSean Jackson notched the first touchdown of the evening - and his fifth career score against the Giants - by latching on to a deep pass from Kirk Cousins to complete the 63-yard score.
Tom Coughlin's side, who had won four straight against the Redskins before today, were handed a temporary reprieve late in the first half when Jamison Crowder's four-yard score was reversed on review, only for Cousins to go over himself moments later.
A third Manning interception midway through the third quarter handed Washington another chance, but it wasn't until the fourth that they extended their lead courtesy of another Hopkins field goal.
Manning eventually got his offense moving after that, however, and began a late fightback by combining with Rueben Randle for a 40-yard score to finally get the visitors on the board.
Having been on the receiving end of late heartbreak in their last outing, the Giants suddenly looked intent on inflicting that same pain onto their NFC East rivals and Odell Beckham Jr's one-handed catch for a 21-yard score brought them to within six points with less than five minutes remaining.
The Redskins managed to hold on to the ball until the closing seconds, however, preventing the Giants from having enough time to engineer another scoring drive before the end of the game.
Both sides now sit level with 5-6 records atop the NFC East, while the Redskins have won five consecutive home games in a single season for the first time since 1991.
Barney Corkhill
