Redskins defeat Giants on Monday Night Football

The Washington Redskins won a must win game against the New York Giants in front of a national audience on ESPN's Monday Night Football in order to keep their once improbable playoff hopes alive.  By defeating the Eagles, Cowboys and Giants in consecutive division games, the Redskins resuscitated what once appeared to be a yet another disappointing season for the team.

Robert Griffin III continued his magnificent rookie season
(Geoff Burke/US Presswire)

Quarterback Robert Griffin III did not put up the gaudy stats that Redskins fans have become accustomed to, but he made plays when it counted against an elite defensive front, and yet again did not turn the ball over.  In the first quarter Griffin III fumbled the ball after a run of 12 yards, but miraculously while lying on his back Griffin III was able to push the ball up into the hands of receiver Josh Morgan.  Morgan scampered into the end zone untouched for the first touchdown of the game

Washington's oft maligned defense held the Giants potentially explosive offense in check.  The secondary yielded only one big gain in the passing game, after giving up a 77 yard game winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz in the first meeting between the two teams in October.  Most importantly, the defense held the Giants offense to field goals instead of touchdowns.  The Giants were forced to take 4 field goals, as opposed to scoring only 1 touchdown, a crucial factor in the game.

For the majority of the game the Redskins operated out of the pistol formation, a modified version of the shotgun in which the quarterback stands 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage rather than the customary 8 yards.  Thanks in part to the formation, which allows the runner to hit his holes quicker than he would in the shotgun, the Redskins running game flourished.  The team finished with an astounding 207 rushing yards on 6.7 yards per carry.  Griffin III finished with 72 rushing yards including one run of 46 yards on which he showed of his highly touted athleticism.

Alfred Morris was a workhorse for the Redskins
(NYGiants.com)

Running back Alfred Morris, the Redskins 6th round draft pick out of Florida Atlantic, broke the Redskins rookie rushing record and had a career high 124 rushing yards in the game.  Morris displayed the mental fortitude necessary to be a star in the NFL by overcoming a red zone fumble and continuing to produce big run after big run.  Morris showed off his hard nosed difficult to tackle running style by picking up 8 first downs for the Redskins.  Morris is ranked 3rd in the NFL with 1106 rushing yards on the season, and has really opened up the play action passing game, a staple of the Redskins highly productive offense.The threat of Morris running the ball helped the Redskins offense convert 9 of 11 play-action passes, as opposed to 4 of 10 on regular drop-back passes.

In the beginning of the 4th quarter, Griffin III and Morris marched the Skins down the field all the way to the Giants 8 yard line.  The Redskins then ran a play action fake out of the pistol formation.  The fake to Morris made the Giants Tampa-2 defense hesitate for long enough to allow Griffin III to roll to his right and hit receiver Pierre Garçon in the end zone for a touchdown that gave the Redskins a 17-16 lead.  Garçon has been extremely productive when healthy, and has made a tremendous impact in providing Griffin III with a sure handed target who has the ability to make very difficult catches.

After the Redskins defense did its part in shutting down the Giants late in the 4th quarter, the Redskins received the ball with 3:51 left in the game.  Over the years, Eli Manning and the Giants have had numerous come from behind victories with limited time left on the clock.  Morris and Griffin III took matters into their own hands and moved the chains to prevent the Giants from having an opportunity to win the game.  Morris' 6 yard run on third and three with under 2 minutes left ensured the Redskins victory and kept them alive in the NFC playoff hunt.