Giants lose to Redskins in turkey of a Thanksgiving night game, 20-10
By the time the New York Giants and Washington Redskins took the field in the final Thanksgiving Day game on the NFL schedule, dinner was settled in everyone’s stomachs. That sleepy feeling that comes with feasting on turkey with all the trimmings is a common occurrence on the fourth Thursday in November.
At FedEx Field, that tired sensation was transferred to these two NFC East rivals. The Giants and Redskins played a lethargic, inert game, the by-product of both teams playing into overtime just four days earlier. Eventually, the Redskins woke up enough to defeat the Giants 20-10.
The Giants offense was sluggish to say the least. They only managed 55 yards in the first half and 170 yards total for the game. This was the Giants’ most lackluster offensive showing since gaining a paltry 150 yards in a 38-0 shutout at the hands of the Carolina Panthers in Week 3 of the 2013 season.
The Giants’ only touchdown of the game came courtesy of a 53-yard interception return by Janoris Jenkins in the third quarter.
To say the Giants have offensive issues is like saying the Atlantic Ocean is a little wet. They have struggled to score, averaging just 15.6 points per game. Only the winless Cleveland Browns currently rank lower than the Giants in scoring. On Thanksgiving night, the lack of offensive output combined with a feast of turkey and the trimmings was enough to put even the most ardent Giants fan to sleep.
Struggling to score without Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall is a given. Sterling Shepard has been in and out of the lineup with injuries himself. Rookie Evan Engram has played like a rookie as of late.
The Giants have also used eight different combinations on the offensive line because of injury and a makeshift receiving corps that forces the team to play a conservative style because of a lack of speed.
The Giants offense has only scored 15 points in their past two games, with the only touchdown coming on a 14-yard drive after a turnover in this past Sunday’s surprising win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Now the Giants sit at 2-9, with losses to all three of their division mates. Their season is over, that’s a given. It’s the manner in which these nine losses have occurred that is most startling.
The first five losses were games that could have been won, the direct result of the Giants shooting themselves in the foot. The following three losses were good ol’ fashioned whoopings where it looked like the team just quit.
On Thanksgiving night, the Giants hit a new low: a game so boring that the ninth loss in 11 tries is almost an afterthought. It’s one thing to lose, it’s another thing entirely to play a game that could cure insomnia.
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for cover32 and covers the NFL and the New York Giants. Please like and follow on Facebook and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.
