Giants 14 - 28 Commanders
Final
  for this game

Grossman helps Redskins down hobbled Giants

Sep 12, 2011 - 2:23 AM Landover, MD (Sports Network) - Rex Grossman threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns against a patchwork Giants defense, and Ryan Kerrigan returned an interception for a touchdown, leading the Redskins to a 28-14 victory on Sunday.

Washington bounced back from deficits of 7-0 and 14-7 in the first half, with Tim Hightower scoring on a short run and Grossman throwing touchdown passes to Anthony Armstrong before halftime and Jabar Gaffney late in the fourth quarter.

In between, the rookie linebacker Kerrigan tipped an Eli Manning pass to himself at the line and ran it in for a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter.

The Redskins (1-0) held New York scoreless after Ahmad Bradshaw's six-yard touchdown run with 2:48 remaining in the first half.

The hobbled Giants (0-1) were missing a long list of injured players on defense, including captain Justin Tuck, who was inactive because of a neck injury. Fellow defensive end Osi Umenyiora and rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara were among the list of players who had long been ruled out of the game.

Manning was 18-of-32 for 268 yards, while Hakeem Nicks caught seven passes for 122 yards and Ahmad Bradshaw rushed 13 times for 44 yards.

Hightower had 25 carries for 72 yards and Santana Moss caught six balls for 76. But Fred Davis led the Redskins receivers with 105 yards on five grabs and was a reliable outlet for Grossman.

Head coach Mike Shanahan was vindicated in his decision to start Grossman over John Beck, and the Redskins' move to ship Donovan McNabb to the Vikings looked spot-on.

McNabb passed for 39 yards, a touchdown and an interception and had a 47.9 quarterback rating in a 24-17 loss to the Chargers on Sunday.

Grossman's rating was 110.5 and he went 9-of-11 for 142 yards on Washington's two scoring drives in the second quarter.

"I though Rex played excellent today," said Shanahan. "There was a lot of pressure up front and they're a talented football team."

Grossman was 5-for-5 for 80 yards on the second scoring drive, connecting with Armstrong for a six-yard touchdown that tied the game at 14-14 with 37 seconds left before halftime.

Although he couldn't pinpoint a moment when he felt like he found his rhythm, it was clear Grossman found his groove somewhere in the middle of the first half.

"After that," he said, describing when things first started clicking, "you just feel good."

On the first series of the third quarter, Manning's pass was tipped by Kerrigan and taken back nine yards into the left side of the end zone to make it 21-14.

"That's a tough way to start the second half," Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said. "I didn't like the end of our game offensively at all. ... It's totally unacceptable."

Bradshaw was stuffed on a key 4th-and-1 try for the Giants later in the third, and Lawrence Tynes' 38-yard field goal was blocked by Brian Orakpo in the fourth after New York had recovered a Grossman fumble.

Grossman's four-yard TD pass to Gaffney with 5:04 remaining capped a 70-yard drive.

Game Notes

The Giants, who lead the all-time series 91-62-4, had won nine of the previous 10 meetings...New York was 10-6 last season, but Philadelphia won the division and went to the playoffs. The Redskins were coming off a 6-10 year...Grossman started three games last season amid the McNabb drama.






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