Washington Redskins: 7 Keys To Win over the New York Giants

An offense that scores points, a defense that creates turnovers and keeps opponents off the scoreboard? These can't possibly be the same Washington Redskins who lost six in a row coming out of the bye week, can they?

Whether you blame the loss on the shockingly flat New York Giants or credit the Redskins for playing like they have nothing to lose, someone deserves recognition.

The Redskins have no shot at the playoffs, but can still play for pride and close out the season on a high note. They have a good collection of young talent to develop, and the rest of the season to test it out. It wasn't the prettiest win, but any win the Redskins can muster at this point is worth some praise.

Here are some of the keys to Washington's win over the New York Giants.

Time of Possession

When the season started, the Redskins won games by scoring a decent amount of points and controlling the clock. Against the Giants, the Redskins put 23 points on the board and finished the game with 10 more minutes in time of possession.

Turnovers led to the change in possession, but consistency on offense led to the time of possession victory.

The Redskins are 5-1 when winning the time of possession battle, with the lone loss coming against the New England Patriots. Against the Giants, they ran the ball 40 times at an unimpressive 3.1 yards per carry pace but kept the Giants defense on the field.

Washington knows more than anyone how a defense can get tired the longer an offense sustains drives against it.

Third-Down Conversions

The Redskins offense converted eight of 15 third-down plays, while their defense held the Giants offense to just three converted third downs on nine attempts. Facing so many third downs is not good for an offense, but completing passes beyond the first-down marker, fighting for yards after the catch, and bursting off the line on running plays are exactly what the Redskins offense should have done all season.

Washington's defense remained strong and stopped the Giants in the red zone and created turnovers when New Yorks offense looked like it was gaining some momentum.

Winning the battle in the trenches has been an issue all season for the Redskins. Crucial third-down plays have been blown up by sacks or free-rushers hitting the ball carrier before he can look up field.

Keeping a player like Jason Pierre-Paul off the highlight reel and limiting him to one sack is a huge victory for the offensive line.

Mistakes by Giants Receivers

Hakeem Nicks and D.J. Ware have a lot of explaining to do when they get back to work this week.

Nicks dropped a sure touchdown that Eli Manning dropped right over his shoulder in stride, and Ware failed to maintain possession on a play that was originally ruled a touchdown.

Two possessions that should have scored for New York that the Redskins can consider themselves lucky to have avoided.

However unlucky the Giants offense was on the day, the Redskins defense deserves credit for not letting the close calls shake their confidence.

The secondary made the Giants pay for bad throws and bad routes, keeping Manning off the field and the Giants out of the end zone for all but the final minute of play.

Offensive Balance

Since assuming his position as offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan's play-calling has left a lot to be desired. He began the season with a nice balance of pass and run but immediately shied away at the first signs of adversity.

Learning from his mistakes, Shanahan shied away from Rex Grossman following early mistakes.

Against the Eagles in Week 5, Grossman threw four interceptions on 22 attempts before being benched late in the game. Against the Giants, Grossman threw two interceptions in the first quarter, and Shanahan took to the ground with Roy Helu and Evan Royster.

It was an ugly 100 yards, but between Helu, Royster and fullback Darrell Young, the Redskins backfield earned a tough 103 yards on the game.

With the commitment to the ground game, the Redskins forced the Giants defense up which left receivers open in the passing game.

That's Mike Shanahan football at its best.

Giants' Penalties

The Redskins were flagged on two plays for a big 48 yards, but the Giants were unable to get out of their own way to get into the end zone. The Giants had eight penalties for 75 yards worth of penalties that extended drives and helped the Redskins on early scoring drives.

The officiating missed some apparent pass interference on the Redskins, but based on what the Giants did for most of the game, it wouldn't have mattered much.

The biggest penalty for the Giants came on their late-game scoring drive when Brian Orakpo was held rushing off the edge. Anyone who watches Redskins' games knows that refs could call holding every week if they focus on Orakpo, but having it called on a scoring play really helped Washington.

Winning teams don't hurt themselves, and minimizing penalties played as much a part in the win as the points on the scoreboard.

Consistent Pressure

Though the Redskins defense only managed three sacks on the game, they did a good job of making Eli Manning look uncomfortable in the pocket. Manning moved away from pressure well but didn't get into a rhythm until late in the game when the game was too far out of hand.

Pressure has been the name of the game for the Redskins defense, and it paid off at crucial times against the Giants.

Ryan Kerrigan added another sack to his team-leading 7.5 total, and Brian Orakpo recorded his first full sack against an NFC East opponent in his career.

The best sack of the game came from Stephen Bowen, not because it was gaudy or explosive, but because he's playing with a torn PCL and hasn't slowed down since suffering the injury against Seattle.

More Takeaways Than Giveaways

Week in and week out, you will hear experts and commentators alike talk about winning the turnover battle. After two early interceptions thrown by Rex Grossman, the Redskins defense decided it wasn't going to let the offense lose another game.

Washington's secondary entered the game with just six interceptions as a unit but nabbed three against New York this week.

It wasn't as if Eli Manning was having an awful day, though he was underwhelming for most of the game. O.J. Atogwe made a great diving catch on a ball that bounced off London Fletcher in coverage.

DeAngelo Hall made a one-handed catch over his shoulder, and Josh Wilson jumped in front of a pass in the end zone.

This is the kind of game that everyone expected this unit to turn in on a regular basis.