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Redskins stay alive with win over Giants

Dec 17, 2007 - 6:35 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Eli Manning and the New York Giants continue to feel unwelcome at home.

Manning struggled and the Giants missed an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot in a 22-10 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday night.

New York could have clinched a playoff spot - a third straight playoff berth under coach Tom Coughlin - with a win or tie. Instead the Giants (9-5) dropped to 3-4 at home.

"It is frustrating no doubt," Coughlin said. "We just did some things that didn't add up and didn't make a lot of sense and didn't, I don't want to characterize it or to generalize and say they weren't smart, but there just wasn't a lot of feeling that we were doing things that we needed to do to win."

"I've got to tell you I couldn't be prouder of our football team," Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. "They've been through a lot. This football team has been through a lot and I just appreciate the way they keep fighting."

It could still happen, but clinching will have to come at a later date. The Giants finish with a pair of tough tests - at Buffalo and home for the undefeated New England Patriots.

Ladell Betts plowed into the end zone from 14 yards out on a draw play and Shaun Suisham kicked three field goals to give the Redskins (7-7) a 16-3 lead at the half.

Clinton Portis, who ran for 126 yards on 25 carries, had a five-yard touchdown run to cap Washington's opening possession of the second half. The Redskins failed on a two-point conversion but still led 22-3.

"I would say tonight being in the position we were in made tonight special," Portis said of the win. "Under the lights, back up against the wall, I think that made tonight special.

"Our defense went out and played great. Our offensive line played great. Todd kind of got them to get out of the box. They couldn't stick eight or nine in the box. We hit a couple of big plays early down the field that kind of loosened things up."

Kevin Boss hauled in a 19-yard touchdown reception from Manning with 4:37 left in the third quarter to make it 22-10. Boss got extended playing time in the second half after starting tight end Jeremy Shockey broke his left fibula on New York's opening possession of the second half.

With starting quarterback Jason Campbell out with a dislocated kneecap, the Redskins turned to Portis, as quarterback Todd Collins struggled with the windy conditions.

Making his first start in 10 years, Collins completed 8-of-25 passes for 166 yards. The gap between starts for Collins set a new record for the longest span between starts since the 1970 merger.

Collins last started for the Buffalo Bills on December 14, 1997. He surpassed the record of 9 years, 298 days between Tommy Maddox's starts in 1992 with Denver and 2002 with Pittsburgh.

"Todd, he's spent seven years in that situation and you think a guy would get mentally lazy," Gibbs said. "How many times can you sit in meetings and hear all that knowing that you're probably not going to play? Now getting his chance, I couldn't be happier for a guy."

Manning was plagued by the wind and at least 10 drops by his receivers. He was 18-for-52 for 184 yards.

"We had so many missed opportunities, so many mistakes. From my part, the receivers and drops, everybody," Manning said. "You can't have that many mistakes in a game and put yourself in a bad situation and expect to win and play well. It's just disappointing, with everything on the line and everything we had, win a game and you're in the playoffs and that situation, and come out and play as poorly as we did."