New York Giants 19, Washington Redskins 10
Here are the top-graded players and biggest takeaways from the Giants' 19-10 win over the Redskins in Week 17:
Quarterback grade: Eli Manning, 62.5
Manning manages game well enough to get the win
Eli Manning was by no means good in this game, but he did enough to allow his defense to take control of the game and win it. Manning opened the game unsteadily by throwing a ball to Sterling Shepard late and behind that was almost picked off by Redskins corner Josh Norman and could have been returned for a touchdown. But Manning settled down and made his best throw of the day to Tavarres King down the left sideline for 44 yards to put the Giants in field-goal range to take the lead. If Manning can limit his errors that put the team at risk, then he’d be putting his team in a great position to win with their defense.
Top offensive grades:
G Marshall Newhouse, 77.0
WR Odell Beckham Jr., 76.4
C Weston Richburg, 76.2
G Justin Pugh, 76.2
RB Paul Perkins, 75.6
Development of running game a big step forward for Giants offense
The Giants have made their way into the playoffs off the backs of their defense. With Eli Manning having a poor season and not being able to find much offense outside of Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard, the Giants have struggled to control the ball or put a lot of points on the board. On Sunday the Giants put forward one of their best team rushing performances of the year. Rookie RB Paul Perkins was able to break the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career, and with good grades in the past two weeks, he looks to be taking the lead back role. Justin Pugh had a solid-run blocking game also, with a 77.7 run-blocking grade. If the Giants running game can continue its upward trend, it would be extremely helpful in the playoffs.
Top defensive grades:
CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, 92.0
LB Jonathan Casillas, 86.9
ED Olivier Vernon, 79.4
DI Damon Harrison, 79.2
DI Jonathan Hankins, 78.6
Rodgers-Cromartie has career day in win for Giants
With most of the pregame attention being put on cornerbacks Josh Norman of the Redskins and Janoris Jenkins of the Giants, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie made all the headlines by the end of the game. He was targeted five times and only allowed one catch for five yards. He also had two interceptions, including the backbreaker for the Redskins that essentially ended their shot at a win. His emergence this season along with Jenkins on the other side puts the Giants in position to be able to compete against the best passing attacks the NFC has to offer in the postseason.
Quarterback grade: Kirk Cousins, 74.9
Late fourth-quarter comeback attempt not enough as Redskins are eliminated
Kirk Cousins and the Redskins' offense struggled their way through the vast majority of the day, but their defense was good enough to keep them in the game as they scored their first points with under a minute to go in the third quarter. Although Cousins led the team down the field for the tying score, he threw a backbreaking interception, as the Redskins were not far from field-goal range at the time.
Top offensive grades:
TE Jordan Reed, 78.0
OT Trent Williams, 77.2
QB Kirk Cousins, 74.9
OT Morgan Moses, 73.6
WR Pierre Garcon, 73.2
Redskins' offense struggles across the board and ends their playoff hopes
On an afternoon where the Redskins limited the Giants' offense to just 13 points, the Washington offense let the team down. On the ground they were unable to get Rob Kelley going, as he rushed for just 33 yards on 12 carries. Shawn Lauvao was the biggest problem for the Skins in this area, with only a 35.1 run-blocking grade. Because of the unreliability of the running game, the Redskins were unable to string long drives together and only able to manage two scores on the day.
Top defensive grades:
LB Mason Foster, 85.1
S Duke Ihenacho, 79.8
DI Ziggy Hood, 79.1
DI Ricky Jean-Francois, 78.8
DI Cullen Jenkins, 76.8
Defense does enough to get win, but cannot get any help from offense
The Redskins defense put together a strong performance that should have been enough to keep their playoff hopes alive against a team with nothing to play for. Linebacker Mason Foster led the effort on defense in coverage and with his run defense. Foster had 14 solo tackles, seven of which resulted in an offensive failure. He finished with an 81.2 run-defense grade and a 81.6 coverage grade.
PFF Game-Ball Winner: Giants CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
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