Giants make it exciting as they beat Washington 9-7.
Giants at 9-4 sit alone atop the NFC East.
Brad Daluiso did all the scoring for the Giants with 3 field goals.
Giants held Redskins to just 29 total yards rushing.
Jeff George almost turned the game around in the fourth quarter.
Eddie Murray's 49-yard field goal attempt fell short with 50 seconds left.
Redskins are close to losing any chance of making the playoffs.
Giants prove they can step up and win a big game.

What did you think of this one Gamegirl?
"The Giants win. The Giants win! The Giants WINNNN!!!! That's what I think. They put you and me and all the fans through pure HELL, but they won! That's the way we like it, and that's why we're all Giants fans. Now we're 9-4, and leading the East!"

There were also a lot of good things that happened in that game.
"You're right, I did sort of get a good vibe when I heard that 'THUMP' sound on the Redskins first scoring attempt. Of course, it wasn't long after that when Joe Jurevicius caught a nice pass and was well on his way for some big yardage, and maybe a touchdown, right? Of course, the ball gets knocked loose, and it goes back to the Redskins."

Still the Giants went on to win the game.
"Now we're 9-4, and that guarantees us a winning season, most likely a playoff shot, and some more games just like this. By the way, you have Mikefan to thank for this thriller of a game."

How do you figure that?
"Last week after the easy 31-7 game over the Cards, Mikefan had me bundle up all the e-mail we got from fans complaining that it was the most boring game they ever sat through, and send it on to Giants Headquarters. I'm sure each e-mail was carefully reviewed, and just as Jim Fassel had guaranteed us all that the Giants would be in the playoffs, I'm sure that he made a solemn oath to never have the Giants play such a boring one sided game ever again. It's so un-Giants like. So now we're back to football the way we Giants fans love it."

It sort of makes you feel sorry for all those Ram fans last year.
"Sure, and can you imagine going though life like that? Like one of those old 49er fans, knowing that no matter what was happening in a game you were going to win anyway? You call that fun? You call that football? Those Ram fans probably sent in a bunch of e-mail of their own, because just look what's happening now! Next time they come away with a win, the fans will really enjoy it, just like we all enjoyed this one over the Redskins."

What's your take on all this Mikefan?
"The Giants were awesome on defense, except at the end, but I'll get to that later. The offense was effective except for scoring. It was a real Giants game. It had all the things in it you've come to expect. The Giants dominated the game without really scoring any points. You kept waiting for the Giants to put the game away, but they never did. You kept waiting for the BIG mistake that was bound to happen, and it did, quite a few times. You kept waiting for the Redskins to come out of their sleepwalk, which they finally did in the fourth quarter. Any Giants real fan could have written this script. The Giants dominated the Redskins without really delivering the killer punch, keeping them on the ropes round after round, absorbing their lucky punches here and there, and then in a flash, the Redskins come alive in the form of Jeff George."

He really turned the game around fast.
"Suddenly the Giants were scrambling to survive the heroics of Jeff George playing as if he were the annointed God of all quarterbacks. The Giants showed no respect towards any Redskin up until then. They were throwing on Deion Sanders' side of the field. They were all over quarterback Brad Johnson as if he hadn't beaten them the last three games straight. They were shutting down Stephen Davis worse than any other running back all season. Bruce Smith, Lavar Arrington, it didn't matter, they didn't care.
Now suddenly Jeff George stops bad mouthing Brad Johnson from the sidelines long enough to actually hear coach Norv Turner saying to him, 'Yes go out there and win this game for me.' George jogs onto the field and takes over the game. He immediately gets tons of respect from the Giants as they back off and let him begin to slice and dice them up with continuous first downs, and a drive that ends with a touchdown, and suddenly the Giants lead is down to a measly 2 points that no one in the world expects to hold up."

They did though, and it was a big win.
"Yes, and whoever wrote this script did a thorough job, because it just about leaves the Redskins in shambles. They are 7-6, behind the 9-5 Eagles and the 9-4 Giants, after spending a ton of money on a super team of players. Now there's doubt about the head coach and his choice of quarterbacks, and play calling, losing important football games back to back by opting for field goal attempts, while knowing how poor the kicking is. There aren't many games left to catch up. And last, it doesn't matter how much money the Redskins have to spend, there are no reliable field goal kickers left to buy, and you have to thank Jim Fassel for that."

How do you figure that?
"Once Brad Daluiso was healthy again, Fassel could have cut Jaret Holmes who was doing a more than adequate job as a fill in. Instead, he chose to keep him around on the team. He said he kept him just in case Brad's injury returned. If Fassel had cut Holmes loose, the Redskins would have grabbed him, and he'd be kicking instead of Eddie Murray who is their fourth kicker of the season. This close game could easily have gone to the Redskins, not to mention the game before against the Eagles. How's that for some script? Hey, do you think Jim Fassel is the one writing them?"

Stats

Passing
Giants - Kerry Collins 18-29 for 164 yards, 1 INT.
Redskins - Jeff George 10-19 for 143 yards, 0 INT, Brad Johnson 14-29 for 126 yards, 2 INT.

Rushing
Giants - Tiki Barber 14-82, Ron Dayne 18-57, Kerry Collins 3-1, Greg Comella 1-1.
Redskins - Stephen Davis 12-29, Brad Johnson 1-0.

Receiving
Giants - Joe Jurevicius 6-83, Amani Toomer 3-26, Tiki Barber 4-26, Daniel Campbell 1-11, Pete Mitchell 2-10, Ron Dixon 1-7, Ron Dayne 1-1.
Redskins - James Thrash 4-73, Irving Fryar 4-55, Albert Connell 5-55, Larry Centers 5-33, Stephen Alexander 2-32, Stephen Davis 4-21.

Interceptions
Giants - Emmanuel McDaniel 1 for 17, Sam Garnes 1 for 4
Redskins - Deion Sanders 1 for 6.

Kickoff Returns
Giants - Tiki Barber 1 for 28, Ron Dixon 1 for 18.
Redskins - Adrian Murrell 2 for 45, Skip Hicks 1 for 17.

Punt Returns
Giants - Tiki Barber 2 for 25.
Redskins - James Thrash 1 for 16.

Fumbles lost
Giants - Joe Jurevicius 1, Daniel Campbell 1.

Opponent's fumbles recovered
Redskins - Shawn Barber 2.

Missed field goals
Redskins - Eddie Murray 39, 49.

Tackles-assists-sacks (unofficial)
Giants - Jessie Armstead 5-0-0, Michael Barrow 5-0-1, Jason Sehorn 5-0-0, Shaun Williams 4-0-0, Sam Garnes 3-0-0, Dave Thomas 3-0-0, Ryan Phillips 2-0-0, Cornelius Griffin 2-0-1, Keith Hamilton 2-0-0, Michael Strahan 2-0-0, Pete Monty 1-1-0, Cedric Jones 1-1-0, Emmanuel Mcdaniel 1-0-0, Christian Peter 0-1-0.
Redskins - Sam Shade 10-1-0, Lavar Arrington 5-2-0, Mark Carrier 5-1-0, Marco Coleman 4-2-0, Derek M Smith 4-1-0, Champ Bailey 4-0-0, Shawn Barber 4-0-0, Darrell Green 3-1-0, Deion Sanders 2-0-0, Bruce Smith 2-0-0, Matt Stevens 1-0-0, Greg Jones 1-0-0, Dana Stubblefield 1-0-0.

Net yards rushing
Giants - 141
Redskins - 29

Net yards passing
Giants - 164
Redskins - 261

Time of Possession
Giants - 33:18
Redskins - 26:42

Scoring:

1ST QUARTER:
NONE
2ND QUARTER:
NYG - Brad Daluiso 46 Yard Field Goal, 3:32. N.Y. Giants 3-0
NYG - Brad Daluiso 27 Yard Field Goal, 0:04. N.Y. Giants 6-0
3RD QUARTER:
NYG - Brad Daluiso 28 Yard Field Goal, 6:18. N.Y. Giants 9-0
4TH QUARTER:
WAS - Irving Fryar 5 Yard TD Pass from Jeff George (Eddie Murray Extra Point), 4:48. N.Y. Giants 9-7

Notes

Giants are 6-1 against the NFC East.

Giants have won 28 in a row when leading after 3 quarters.

Giants broke a four game losing streak to the Redskins.

Redskins 6 losses have been by a total of 23 points.

It was the 2nd loss of the season where the Redskins didn't allow a touchdown.

Next Game
Dec 10, Pittsburgh at Giants, 1PM (CBS)

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