LANDOVER — The turnovers occurred less than three minutes apart, the second of which left the Washington Redskins with great field position.
Will Blackmon intercepted Eli Manning’s pass at the New York Giants’ 32-yard line and returned it six yards. Three plays and one holding penalty later, the drive stalled at the Giants’ 34-yard line and ended with a blocked field goal attempt. The defense had Manning and the Giants flummoxed, yet somehow, Washington failed to score even three points.
The Redskins had already scored, though, in the sense that the defense was playing with a toughness the Giants could not match. Washington claimed a 20-14 victory on Sunday at FedEx Field, picking up, on a tiebreaker, first place in the NFC East.
Blackmon’s interception had coach Jay Gruden charged up, but no more than the crushing hit that rookie Kyshoen Jarrett delivered just a moment before. As Giants wide receiver Dwayne Harris tried to secure the catch, Jarrett leveled him, knocking the ball loose. Blackmon, who had almost intercepted the pass on his first try, circled back to secure the loose ball.
On the Giants’ opening drive, inside linebacker Perry Riley intercepted a pass intended for Shane Vereen that bounced out of the running back’s hands. Though Gruden would have liked to see the Redskins convert the turnovers into points, the effort was just as satisfying.
“Our defense was flying all over the place, which I love to see that, man,” Gruden said. “Come late in the season, that’s your meal ticket right there. The [interceptions] were momentum, and it just justifies when you play with great effort, great things are going to happen. I just like the way I felt the energy on the sidelines.”
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In the third quarter, the Giants had worked their way to the Redskins’ four-yard line, seemingly poised to chip away at Washington’s 17-0 deficit. On third-and-4, Manning tried to connect with Rueben Randle in the back of the end zone. Rookie cornerback Quinton Dunbar, who converted to the position from wide receiver during training camp, intercepted the pass to curb New York’s push. The Giants scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, but by then it was too late.
The resiliency that the Redskins defense displayed on Sunday was forged on Saturday night when free safety Dashon Goldson called a players-only meeting.
It was an open forum, Goldson said, but his message was simple.
“Mine specifically was to believe in what we’ve got,” Goldson said. “We got the talent here. We’ve got the talent here, it’s just a mindset to click, like we did today. We played well together. We played as a team. Message was sent.”
Goldson, a nine-year veteran, knew that type of message was needed not just for the team, but for the secondary after cornerback Chris Culliver tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee in practice last Thursday. It was that message that led the Redskins’ defensive backs to believe that even without Culliver, they could get a victory, despite facing one of the league’s best receivers in Odell Beckham Jr. When Dunbar intercepted Manning’s pass, Goldson and Blackmon swarmed the rookie, overwhelmed with excitement.
“We knew what kind of player he was. We just knew when he got that opportunity he’d shine,” Goldson said. “He was jacked up about this game, even last night, the opportunity. I was so happy for him because I remember the first opportunity I got, how excited I was.”
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Dunbar was injured in the third quarter when he deflected Manning’s pass intended for Randle. He sustained an open dislocation in his left index finger and did not return and the defense suffered.
The Redskins were able to disguise their looks when Dunbar was in the game, as cornerback DeAngelo Hall and Jarrett were able to rotate between the free safety and nickel corner positions. Once Dunbar was out, Blackmon had to play the outside corner, which Hall said limited the Redskins’ looks.
When the secondary struggled, the Redskins’ pass rush continued to chase Manning. The Redskins sacked the Giants’ quarterback three times on Sunday, taking advantage of New York’s injured offensive line. Left guard Justin Pugh and center Weston Richburg were ruled out before the start of the game, and guard Geoff Schwartz broke a leg in first quarter.
“We knew we were going to face some guys that were backups and that weren’t their original crew,” said outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, who had two sacks. “We knew us upfront, we had to be the difference makers in the game and I think for the most part, we were.”
Though the Redskins moved into first place with Sunday’s victory, they know their work has just started. They play the Dallas Cowboys next Monday at home — another opportunity to gain ground in the NFC East.
If the Redskins ultimately want to sustain success, they need to win consecutive games or win on the road, something they haven’t done yet this season.
“All that does is keep us in control of what we want to do, and you know, we’ve got to come back ready to work,” inside linebacker Will Compton said. “I don’t even know who we play next week. We’ve got to come back ready to work and we need to learn how to win and continue to win. If we want to be a winning football team, we’ve got to prepare hard and string wins together, so you know, it’s — the emotion’s high, everyone’s excited, but we need to use this for momentum, learn from the film and use it to get the ball rolling next week.”
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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