Giants vs. Redskins: New York Grades, Notes and Quotes

Coming off a heartbreaking loss to the New England Patriots and their bye week, laying an egg in a division rivalry game with playoff implications is absolutely unacceptable for the New York Giants. 

On Sunday afternoon, the Giants were equivalent to the guy who shows up late to the party and then goes crazy to try and make up for lost time. Unfortunately for the Giants, they ran out of time as their comeback fell short and they lost to the Washington Redskins, 20-14.

The Redskins now shockingly find themselves tied atop the NFC East with a 5-6 record, and the Giants found yet another new way of breaking the hearts of all their fans. 

I'll break the game down further by position and include some interesting notes and quotes in the coming slides. 

On the bright side, at least the Giants showed up in the fourth quarter, right? That was nice of them. 

Dan Ferrara is the New York Giants Gameday Correspondent for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@BigRed_BR) for more New York Giants analysis.

Position Grades for New York Giants

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Kirk Cousins threw for over 300 yards on the afternoon.

Position	Grade
QB	D
RB	F
WR	C
TE	B+
OL	F
DL	F
LB	F
DB	C
Special Teams	C-
Coaching	C

Quarterback

Eli Manning's final stat line was boosted by two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but in reality, he had a poor game. 

In what was the Giants' biggest game of the season to date, Manning was nowhere to be found in the first three quarters, where he amassed three interceptions, including one in the end zone.

A touchdown to Rueben Randle on fourth down and Odell Beckham Jr.'s incredible diving grab made his numbers look a bit better, but Manning let his team down on the road on Sunday. 

Running Backs

As usual, the Giants group of running backs was dreadful. It's actually astounding how poor they were against the Redskins, however.

The "committee," which features at least two and possibly three players who don't belong on active rosters, amassed a total of 33 yards on the ground. Their leading rusher was Shane Vereen, who had 15 yards on two carries (why didn't he get the ball more?), and they averaged just 2.5 yards per carry as a team.

Ray Rice, anyone? Trent Richardson? Tiki Barber?

Wide Receivers

Beckham Jr. had a huge day, but the rest of the group struggled as a whole. 

In his first game back with the Giants, Hakeem Nicks showed just why nobody signed him until now, as he was a non-factor and caught just one pass for four yards. 

Dwayne Harris and Randle had three total catches on 11 targets, a heinous percentage that badly needs to improve next weekend when Beckham is on Revis Island.

Tight End

Will Tye is quickly making Larry Donnell a thing of the past as the rookie continues to produce. 

Tye finished second on the team in receptions (6) and yards (74) on Sunday and was one of the few bright spots for Big Blue. 

Offensive Line

It's hard to bash them too much since practically everyone was out of position during this game. 

Playing without Weston Richburg and Justin Pugh from the start due to injuries, the Giants also lost Geoff Schwartz to a broken leg in the first half. 

The makeshift offensive line failed to create running lanes for the backs, and Manning was sacked three times on the afternoon.

Defensive Line

The Giants should just start playing games without a defensive line; it would save them payroll and wouldn't make much difference in the outcome of the game.

Once again, the Giants failed to record a sack, something that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Jason Pierre-Paul has made it quite evident that he isn't a savior for this team or even a shell of his former self, totaling six tackles and no sacks in three games.

Linebackers

It's hard to judge a group that has absolutely no expectations on them.

The Giants linebackers aren't expected to do anything because history has said that they won't do anything. In this game, they failed to bring pressure on Kirk Cousins, couldn't stop Alfred Morris from keeping the chains moving and didn't have an answer for tight end Jordan Reed. They were also scorched by the Redkins RBs out of the backfield in the passing game. 

That's enough to earn an F grade. They eventually have to do something, whether they're expected to or not. 

Defensive Backs

As soon as Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie left the game briefly with an ankle injury, Cousins found DeSean Jackson deep downfield for a 63-yard touchdown. 

They were otherwise solid on the afternoon, but that quick strike was a killer and put the Redskins up 10-0 in what became a big second quarter for Washington.

Special Teams

The good news is that the Giants blocked a field-goal attempt in the first quarter to keep the game scoreless following Manning's second interception of the day.

The bad news is that Dwayne Harris looked lost on the afternoon.

He fumbled a punt (though he recovered), totaled 14 yards on four returns and then inexplicably fielded a punt on the 1-yard line in the game's waning seconds. 

Coaching

You can question the decision to kick the ball deep rather than try for the onside kick with 4:50 remaining, but with three timeouts that was the right call. 

There were no late-game time-management issues, though the coaching staff didn't really do much to get the Giants right as the game progressed. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo still can't find a way to pressure the other team's quarterback, though his roster is bereft of talent.

Michelangelo can't paint without a brush. 

Important Note No. 1: Beckham Ties Season High in Yards, Makes Amazing TD Catch

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Even on an awful day for his team, Odell Beckham Jr. shined.

In what amounted to an awful day for his Giants, Beckham Jr. continued to shine. 

He tied a season high with 142 receiving yards and hauled in an amazing one-handed diving touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. You can watch the play HERE. 

Beckham did his best to get the Giants back in the game, cutting the deficit to six points with just under five minutes remaining. The defense couldn't get timely stops, however, giving the Giants the ball back with just 19 seconds remaining. 

Important Note No. 2: Manning Sets Season High in INT

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Manning came into the game with just six interceptions in 10 games but tossed a season-high three in Sunday's tilt against Washington.

They weren't all his fault, as the first two came off drops from Vereen and Harris. His pick in the end zone was a soul-crusher and drive-killer, taking the wind out of the Giants' sails at the time and keeping them off the scoreboard.

Manning will have to be much better against the Jets next week, whose defense is much better than that of the Redskins. 

Quote No. 1: Coughlin Credits Losing Effort

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Since when is applauding a failed rally a good route to take?

"I gave the players credit for the way they came back in the fourth quarter," head coach Tom Coughlin said, per the team's Twitter account. 

Coughlin probably likes participation trophies at the grassroots level, as well.

Rather than commending his team for finally showing up in the game's final 10 minutes, he should be scolding them for being MIA in the first three quarters of a game for first place. They were well-rested and fully knew the situation coming into the game yet played brutal football in all phases over the first 45 minutes. 

It's time to stop taking moral victories out of awful losses and face reality. The record is the only thing that counts, not the "maybes" or the "close calls."

Quote No. 2: It's Going to Come Down to How We Finish

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Manning is keeping his eyes on the coming weeks rather than living in the past in what has become another frustrating season for Big Blue. 

"We still have a lot of football left ... it's going to come down to how we finish," Manning said, according to the team's Twitter account. 

Still, it's hard to not think back at what could have been. The four games squandered in the final seconds. The two division losses they didn't even bother to show up for.

It's knowing that the Giants could probably be 9-2 right now that hurts the most, especially when you factor in that the division is both awful and wide open. 

It'll come down to the final five games of the season, as Manning pointed out, though the Giants should be so far ahead by now that it gives you chest pains.