The refs clearly were not on point tonight. Three times I could count calls that could have had great impact on the game that went in the Redskins favor:
1) On their scoring drive, the Redskins got a fifteen yard facemask that set up the touchdown. Not a five yarder, but fifteen. The replay clearly indicated that not only was there no personal foul on the play, but there was absolutely no contact with the facemask on the defender's part. Madden pointed this out as well, stating that it wasn't even a garden variety facemask.
2) On an after-play scuffle between Pierce and a 'Skins O-lineman, no flags were thrown. Pierce had his helmet yanked off of his head, but nothing from the officials, and that's a call you can't miss.
3) On the Giants final drive, it looked as though Jacobs had broken the first down marker pretty clearly. The officials gave him a bogus spot, and there was no review from the booth. If the Redskins could run a two minute offense, that could have been dangerous. There at least should have been a review on something so close.
Additional Notes:
The Giants defense played exceptionally well. Had the refs not made that ridiculous facemask call, it could've been a measly three points from the 'Skins. All in all though, considering the Redskins were being hyped as a playoff contender and many called the Giants' D into question considering their losses, they did exceptionally well to hold the Redskins to seven points, as well as never let this team get into any kind of rhythm. Kiwi and Tuck both looked great, and they generated pressure and stuffed the run.
The Giants ground game was phenomenal as well. The tandem of Jacobs/Ward posted a combined 155 yards on 30 attempts, with Jacobs averaging 5.5 a carry. The scary part is that they didn't even have to show Ahmad Bradshaw. That's going to be very tough for D coordinators to game plan against, when you consider that Bradshaw adds another dimension to an already explosive backfield.
The questions regarding the Giants receiving core should be answered. Burress posted 133 on 10 catches looking rejuvenated with a healed ankle and new contract, and it looked as though the defense couldn't keep the ball from him when they had him covered. Six other players had catches as well, and three of them had two a piece. Considering how conservative Gilbride ran his offense in the second half, those are solid performances.
Eli Manning was solid. His rating and one pick might suggest otherwise, and he did make a couple of bad decisions. Still, he played well enough to win, and his TD run was nice, even though Gilbride didn't give him many opportunities to throw TD passes in the second half.
This Redskins team didn't look good at all tonight, from start to finish. No rhythm in the offense, not a whole lot of defense until the second half, and what the hell happened to the concept of a four and two minute offense? How do you run the ball multiple times when your under four minutes and down by two scores? This team looks like it's heading for a rebuilding phase, not the playoffs.
