Washington Redskins at New York Giants NFL Preview and Odds
The Washington Redskins and New York Giants renew their long rivalry next Sunday. As with all the NFC East matchups, this is an intense rivalry by NFL standards. These two teams have played each other many times. The rivalry dates all the way back to 1932 with the Giants holding a 91-64-1 all time advantage. The Redskins have won the last two meetings, having swept the Giants last year, a year the Giants won the Super Bowl while Washington missed the playoffs.
History
Some of the memorable moments of the Giants Redskins rivalry include linebacker Lawrence Taylor sacking quarterback Joe Theismann on a Monday Night game, breaking his leg in one off football's most gruesome plays. The linebacker immediately got up and waved frantically for the Redskins medical staff to assist Theismann. It would be the last play of his career.
The two have met twice in post-season play, each team winning once.
There was some bad blood in the 1960s after Hall of fame linebacker Sam Huff was traded from the Giants to the Redskins. In 1966 the Redskins led 69-41 on the last play of the game and the Redskins kicked a field goal to rub it in. Redskins coach Otto Graham claimed the kick was to give his kicker some work. But others claim Huff requested it.
Washington would seem to have an even better team this season. They have explosive rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, last season's Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor University. Griffin is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. Against the Minnesota Vikings last week he ran out of the pocket and outran the defense down the left sideline 76 yards to put the game away.
Washington beat New Orleans in the opening week and then beat Tampa Bay in the fourth week. They are currently 3-3 tied with the Philadelphia Eagles, one game behind the Giants in the NFC East.
The Giants are coming off a huge win on the road against the San Francisco 49ers 26-3. The Giants defense was dominating, forcing several Niners turnovers. Antrel Rolle picked 49er quarterback Alex Smith on back to back possessions in the third quarter to set the Giants up in San Francisco territory. If there was a negative not for the Giants it was they had to settle for field goals quite a bit. But considering many felt the Niners were the best team in the NFC, that's not a huge thing.
When the Giants seem to have trouble is inside their own division. They've lost twice this season. They lost to the Dallas Cowboys in week one 24-17, then lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in week four 19-17. Losing to division opponents can be a dangerous thing if teams end up tied for playoff spots at the end of the season. The Giants will be looking to fix this problem against the Redskins on Sunday.
Our Pick
Bodog has the Redskins at +6. Over/under on the game is +50. We like the Redskins with the points and we also like the under.
