Giants Loss in D.C. Would Raise Contenders' Hopes

Football Betting Lines

12/29/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Much of the NFL-viewing public will temporarily become Washington Redskins fans on Saturday night, when the New York Giants visit FedEx Field in a game replete with postseason implications.

Should the 5-10 Redskins upset the Giants, a trio of NFL teams - the 7-8 Falcons, Panthers, and Rams - will still be alive for the postseason, and a fourth - the Green Bay Packers - will have a prime opportunity to earn the conference's No. 6 seed with a victory on Sunday. If New York wins, however, Atlanta, Carolina, and St. Louis will all be eliminated from contention, and Green Bay will be left hoping that a somewhat unlikely strength-of-victory tie-breaker will fall in its favor heading into a Sunday night matchup at Chicago.

The Giants still own high ground in the race for the final Wild Card position in spite of themselves. Tom Coughlin's club is 1-6 over its past seven games, dropping under .500 with last week's 30-7 home defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Saints. Once firmly in control of their NFC East fate, the Giants are now third in the division pecking order, two games back of the 9-6 Eagles and Cowboys.

New York's only win since Nov. 5th was a 27-13 triumph in Carolina in Week 14, a situation that prompted Coughlin to demote offensive coordinator John Hufnagel and replace him with quarterback coach Kevin Gilbride earlier this week.

The Redskins, meanwhile, are not a team that most contenders would want to be counting on to help their cause. Washington is just 2-4 since handing the offensive controls over to second-year quarterback Jason Campbell, though it was the Skins' defense that was exposed in last Sunday's 37-31 loss in St. Louis. Joe Gibbs' squad allowed 579 total yards to the Rams in the game, extending what has been a miserable season for coordinator Gregg Williams and his defense.

Washington enters Saturday's game having forced just 12 turnovers all year, and would need to cause three miscues against the Giants to avoid claiming sole ownership of a dubious NFL record for fewest turnovers caused in a 16- game NFL season. The current record of 15 is currently shared by the 2004 Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Rams.

SERIES HISTORY

The Giants have a 83-60-4 advantage in the all-time regular season series with Washington, including a 19-3 victory when the teams met in East Rutherford in Week 5. The teams split their home-and-home in each of the previous three seasons, including a 35-20 win for the Redskins at FedEx Field in Week 16 of the 2005 campaign. The Giants are 0-2 in Washington since last winning there in 2003.

The teams have also split two postseason matchups, with the Giants' 17-0 victory in the 1986 NFC Championship countering a 28-0 Washington win in a 1943 NFC Division Playoff.

Gibbs is 14-16 against the Giants in his career, including the '86 postseason loss. New York's Coughlin is 4-4 against the Redskins all-time, including 1-2 while with the Jacksonville Jaguars (1995-2002), and is 3-2 head-to-head versus Gibbs.

GIANTS OFFENSE VS. REDSKINS DEFENSE

Most of the criticism of the Giants in the past two months has centered on quarterback Eli Manning (3143 passing yards, 23 TD, 18 INT), and justifiably so. Manning has generated a passer rating south of 70.0 five times during New York's 1-6 stretch, and the 2004 No. 1 overall pick sunk to a new low in last week's loss to the Saints. Manning completed just 9-of-24 passes for 74 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and 55 of the yards came on a touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress (61 receptions, 10 TD) early in the first quarter. That marked Burress' only catch of the day, and the Giants never ran a play in New Orleans territory the entire afternoon. Tight end Jeremy Shockey (66 receptions, 7 TD) was held to minus-three yards on two catches, the worst outing of his five-year NFL career, and No. 2 receiver Tim Carter (20 receptions, 1 TD) logged one reception. Manning was pressured relentlessly last week, with left tackle Bob Whitfield among those struggling to protect, though the quarterback was actually sacked just twice. Manning was 23-of-33 for 256 yards with a touchdown when the Giants met the Redskins on Oct. 8th, and Burress had 69 yards and a score on a season-high-tying seven grabs.

If Manning is going to snap out of his slump, a game against the Redskins will offer a golden opportunity to do so. Washington is last in the league in sacks (18), interceptions (6), passing touchdowns allowed (29), is a distant 29th in NFL passing defense (226.5 yards per game), and comes off a week in which it allowed the Rams' Marc Bulger to throw for 388 yards and four touchdowns. Complicating matters for Washington is the fact that top corner Shawn Springs (38 tackles, 1 INT) was lost for the year with a broken shoulder suffered in the St. Louis game, meaning holdovers in cornerback Carlos Rogers (76 tackles, 1 INT) and safeties Sean Taylor (102 tackles, 1 INT) and Vernon Fox (51 tackles, 1 INT) will have to pick up the slack. The journeyman Fox had a game- high 16 tackles against St. Louis last Sunday. Veteran Kenny Wright (38 tackles, 1 INT), who wasn't much of a difference-maker in eight starts earlier this season, will likely take Springs' place against New York. In the pass rush, end Andre Carter (53 tackles) notched his team-leading fifth sack against St. Louis, which marked the Skins' lone takedown of the quarterback all day.

Should the Giants not figure out a way to win in Washington, Saturday will in all likelihood mark the end of the illustrious 10-year career of running back Tiki Barber (1428 rushing yards, 2 TD, 55 receptions). Barber, who previously announced his intention to retire when 2006 was completed, is 72 yards shy of his third consecutive 1,500-yard season. The veteran has slowed down after a scorching start, however, going over the 100-yard mark just once in his last six contests. Barber carried 16 times for 71 yards against the Saints last week. Versus the Redskins in Week 5, Barber went for 123 yards on 23 totes. Seven days after losing a key fumble in a loss to Philadelphia, change-of-pace back Brandon Jacobs (398 rushing yards, 9 TD) was active but did not play versus New Orleans. Jacobs, who carried nine times for 26 yards in the previous meeting with Washington, had battled an ankle injury prior to last week's game and is questionable for Saturday.

Barber will be aiming to replicate the work done against the Redskins by the Rams' Steven Jackson last Sunday. Jackson gutted the Skins for 252 total yards and two touchdowns on 39 total touches, including an electrifying 21-yard TD run in overtime that officially handed Washington its 10th loss. That score was only the sixth rushing touchdown allowed by the Skins all year, and only Baltimore enters Week 17 having given up fewer ground scores. From a yardage standpoint, however, Gibbs' team is 22nd in the league against the run (129.1 yards per game). Rookie weak side man Rocky McIntosh (21 tackles) made his first NFL start in place of the injured Marcus Washington (knee) last week, recording 10 solo tackles and receiving generally high marks for his work. Fellow LBs Warrick Holdman (66 tackles, 1 INT) and Lemar Marshall (91 tackles, 1.5 sacks) combined for 13 tackles in the loss. Up front, defensive tackles Cornelius Griffin (46 tackles, 1 sack) and Kedric Golston (40 tackles, 0.5 sacks) have been reliable but not dominating. Griffin was able to force a Jackson fumble last week, which was recovered by Marshall to set up a game- tying fourth-quarter field goal.

REDSKINS OFFENSE VS. GIANTS DEFENSE

Befitting a player of his limited experience, Campbell (1077 passing yards, 8 TD, 5 INT) has been hot-and-cold since taking over starting quarterback duties from Mark Brunell six games ago. The Auburn product has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all six of his starts, but is completing just 50.6 percent of his passes and has a middling 73.0 passer rating. Against the Rams last week, Campbell completed 13-of-26 passes for 160 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown toss to tight end Chris Cooley (52 receptions, 6 TD) that staked Washington to a 21-14 halftime lead. Cooley led the Redskins with seven catches for 77 yards and a touchdown, and No. 1 wideout Santana Moss (49 receptions, 5 TD), the only other reliable Washington pass-catcher in 2006, chipped in with three grabs for 29 yards. Offseason free agent acquisitions and colossal disappointments Brandon Lloyd (23 receptions) and Antwaan Randle El (29 receptions, 3 TD) both went without a grab in St. Louis. The Redskin passing game compiled just 109 yards against the Giants in Week 5.

The Giants were dealt a blow on Tuesday, when it was announced that perennial Pro Bowl pass rusher Michael Strahan (38 tackles, 3 sacks) would miss the remainder of the season after re-aggravating the foot injury that had kept him on the shelf for a six-game stretch prior to the New Orleans game. His absence will place more pressure on ends Osi Umenyiora (30 tackles, 6 sacks) and Mathias Kiwanuka (47 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 INT), both of whom had an impact against the Saints but were also part of a run-stopping group that was steamrolled for 236 yards on the ground. Umenyiora had the team's only sack of Drew Brees, while the rookie Kiwanuka contributed four tackles to the proceedings. Though Brees completed just 13-of-32 passes for 132 yards in New York last Sunday, cornerbacks Sam Madison (36 tackles, 2 INT) and R.W. McQuarters (48 tackles, 2 INT, 1 sack) have not exactly been lauded for their playmaking ability this year. Safeties Will Demps (93 tackles, 2 INT, 1 sack) and Gibril Wilson (94 tackles, 2 INT), who combined for 17 tackles versus New Orleans, have been slightly better. The Giants are 28th in the league against the pass (225.6 yards per game).

The most brilliant bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the Redskins has been the play of running back Ladell Betts (1062 rushing yards, 4 TD, 47 receptions), who enters Saturday's game having reeled off five consecutive 100-yard outings. Betts, who carried 29 times for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns in St. Louis, has gone over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career despite starting just eight games. The only lowlight for the 27-year- old rusher last week was a key fourth-quarter fumble in Rams territory, a miscue that prevented the Redskins from taking a late lead. Ex-Falcon T.J. Duckett (136 rushing yards, 1 TD) has spelled Betts since Clinton Portis (broken hand) went on injured reserve in mid-November, and last week carried five times for 18 yards and scored his first touchdown in a Washington uniform. The Redskins are fourth in NFL rushing offense (139.2 yards per game).

Last week's New Orleans ground assault was something of a surprise, as the Giants came into the day ranked in the top half of the league against the run and with a generally healthy front seven present. But the Saints' duo of Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister piled up 234 yards and two touchdowns on 47 combined carries, immediately turning what was perceived to be a team strength into a possible weakness. On notice this week will be defensive tackles Barry Cofield (42 tackles, 1.5 sacks) and Fred Robbins (44 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 2 INT), who will have to slow Betts at the point of attack, and outside linebackers Brandon Short (36 tackles, 2 sacks) and Carlos Emmons (60 tackles, 1 sack), who will have to prove that they can make some plays behind the front line. Middle linebacker and ex-Redskin Antonio Pierce (127 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT), who had a team-high 12 tackles against the Saints, continues to lead the Giants in stops. New York held Washington to 78 ground yards when the teams met in Week 5.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

The Redskins and Giants recently played the Saints just seven days apart. Washington controlled New Orleans in a road win in Week 15, while New York was humiliated in a home loss the following Sunday. But comparing results against common opponents is always problematic, since that method doesn't account for desire. And there should be little doubt that the Giants are the team that enters Saturday's matchup with a stronger will to win, not to mention the fact that the G-Men are simply more talented than Washington. For all the offense's faults, Manning and Barber should have little trouble out-producing Campbell and Betts, a couple of guys who started the month of November as backups. Now that the Giants' backs are truly up against the wall, they'll come out fighting.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Giants 20, Redskins 13