EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Redskins defensive lineman Anthony Lanier was the closest defender to Orleans Darkwa as the New York Giants running back sprinted down the field for a 75-yard touchdown.
Darkwa’s score — which happened on just the second play of Sunday’s 18-10 loss to the Giants — was part of an early series of mistakes that ultimately cost the Redskins.
By 12:42 left in the first quarter, the Redskins faced a 12-0 deficit that proved too much for a frigid offense to climb out of.
“That was it for the Giants offense,” Gruden said “We just couldn’t score enough for the offense to catch up.”
So how did the early mistakes happen? Each Giants scoring drive featured just two plays. There wasn’t much room for error.
On Darkwa’s run, linebacker Zach Vigil said there was poor communication. Vigil, the linebacker responsible for calling out plays and protections, missed the initial tackle and safety D.J. Swearinger missed, too.
“The linebackers and safeties weren’t on the same page,” Vigil said. “We weren’t in the right position. We didn’t make it happen. That’s a play that we saw all day, and for the most part, we handled it, except for the one right out of the gate.”
The next Redskins error came on offense. Facing third and 7, Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins threw an interception to Giants linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, who returned the ball to Washington’s 19. The Giants initially looked like they were sending an all-out blitz.
Cousins said the throw boiled down to a “protection issue” where he set the offensive line to a different direction from where the blitz actually came from. Hurried to throw, Cousins didn’t see Sheppard, who dropped back into coverage.
“In hindsight, I should have just thrown it at [Josh Doctson’s] cleats because I put myself in a bad situation,” Cousins said. “I shouldn’t have made it worse.”
The Redskins defense then gave up the short field, with Eli Manning completing a 16-yard touchdown to Travis Rudolph. Rudolph beat cornerback Kendall Fuller on a post route and the window was enough for Manning to deliver the ball.
The Giants went on to score just six more points the rest of the game. The Redskins put up 10, but couldn’t make up the difference from the errors at beginning of the game.
“We don’t start flat in terms of not coming ready to play,” Cousins said. “It’s just they just made a couple of plays. I, we, made a few mistakes that lead to a flat start. I had a great week of practice and was feeling really confident coming into the game and was ready to go.
“That’s where it’s always hard to predict what’s going to take place until you play the game.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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