Giants vs. Redskins: Score and Twitter Reaction for Thursday Night Football

Larry Donnell entered the 2014 season as anonymous as an NFL player can be. Eli Manning was the opposite, the highly publicized and highly criticized scourge of the Giants organization. 

Both left as heroes Thursday night.

Manning and Donnell connected for three touchdown passes, all in the first half, as the Giants went into Washington and blew out the Redskins, 45-14, to earn their second straight impressive win.

After losing a combined 60-28 the first two weeks, New York has outscored Houston and Washington 75-31 in its two wins. And one could argue neither victory was as close as the final score indicates.

Manning was poised and accurate throughout the contest, completing 28 of 39 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns against a lone interception. Though much of the preseason was spent with hands wringing to the bone over his acclimation to offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's system, Manning was masterful at picking the Washington secondary apart.

He hit Donnell on a series of short touchdown passes—one of five yards in the first quarter and two from six yards out in the second—as the Giants held a 24-7 halftime lead. He also connected with Victor Cruz six times for 108 yards, the second straight bounce-back contest for the Pro Bowl wideout.

Heck, for good measure, Manning even took the ball in himself from one yard out in the fourth quarter.

“I think just getting used to the timing of the offense, how quickly guys are going to pop open,” Manning told Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post. “Get my feet to kind of work with my eyes so I’m ready to throw, and going through my progressions quickly enough, and moving everything in the right way to be able to throw the ball accurately and on time. I think it’s getting there.”

Manning's re-ascent opened the door for Donnell, perhaps the least likely rising star on the roster. An undrafted free agent out of Grambling, Donnell latched on with the Giants in 2012 when they were the only team to give him a chance. His career stat line coming into this season was three catches for 31 yards, and he spent most of of the preseason battling to ensure his roster spot.

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Four games into 2014, it's clear he's here to stay. Donnell is the first Giants tight end with multiple touchdown receptions in a game since Kevin Boss on Nov. 22, 2009; he's the first to have three in the same game since a time in history where the AFL and NFL were separate entities. 

"It's a confidence builder, giving faith to Eli knowing that if he throws it, he doesn't have to worry about anything," Donnell recently told Tom Rock of Newsday. "He has a reliable target to go to underneath if he has to get the ball out.''

Donnell wasn't the only Giants tight end to get in on the action. Manning's fourth touchdown, which gave New York a three-score lead after Washington had gotten into the end zone early in the third quarter, went to backup Daniel Fells. 

The Giants were able to take advantage of the Washington secondary in part due to the loss of DeAngelo Hall, who will miss the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles. Hall, while inconsistent at times, is Washington's best and most experienced defensive back.

His absence forced defensive coordinator to rely on the inexperienced David Amerson to be his top cornerback and sent a replacement-level player in E.J. Biggers into the starting lineup.

“I think it’s going to change a lot,” Cruz told reporters. “I think he was such a stable guy that they revolved that style of defense around him being a ball-hawk and being so intuitive to where the quarterback is going to throw the football that he can really dictate the flow of the game. I think losing him is a big blow."

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Hall's wasn't the only absence felt on the Washington sideline. After two weeks of excellent play in place of an injured Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins regressed hard to his 2013 form. The Redskins quarterback fumbled deep inside his own territory in the first quarter and threw three interceptions in the third quarter alone, helping put to bed any chance Washington had of coming back.

Cousins had been the Beltway's golden boy in recent weeks, with frustrated fans and some pundits arguing he was a better fit for Jay Gruden's system than Griffin. There certainly seemed to be some merit to those claims coming into Thursday night, as he'd thrown for 677 yards and five touchdowns against a single interception in 2014.

But the Giants made very clear early on that Cousins has some major holes in his game. With the Giants getting solid pressure from their front four, the third-year quarterback seemed at times overwhelmed, flinging dangerous and inaccurate passes to covered receivers. 

Mike Jones of The Washington Post and Zac Boyer of the Washington Times provide postgame comments from Gruden, who spoke about the loss:

Poor passes under duress were Cousins' modus operandi before 2014. He threw an interception every 20.3 passes in his first two seasons, a rate roughly equivalent to Manning's nightmare 2013 campaign. With his four interceptions against New York, Cousins' goodwill is essentially out the window. His interception rate for 2014 is now back up to 4.4 percent. 

Quarterback wasn't the only position affected by injuries. The Redskins lost tight end Niles Paul late in the second quarter due to a possible concussion. Paul was knocked unconscious after making a catch and colliding with Giants safeties Quintin Demps and Antrel Rolle. Washington was already without starter Jordan Reed, who missed his third straight game while recovering from a hamstring injury.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Left tackle Trent Williams and defensive lineman Jarvis Jenkins also exited the game in the second half and did not return. Williams, one of the best tackles in football, suffered a right knee injury in the third quarter. The severity of his condition is unknown, as it's possible Washington decided to keep him off the field in a blowout.

Thursday's loss puts the Redskins back in a similar position: sole possession of last place in the NFC East. Washington has finished in last place six times in the last decade, including five of the last six years.

The Giants, meanwhile, have to feel like their season is in the midst of a turnaround. The 0-2 start shined the spotlight in the direction of Manning and coach Tom Coughlin, mainstays in the organization now for more than a decade. After 2013's disaster, some thought it might to be best to move on from one if not both.

Instead, the Mara family stuck with their guys and replaced only the offensive coordinator. If the last two weeks are any indication, they've made the right decision.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter