Giants Outlast Redskins, Cardinals Drop First to 49ers in Ho-Hum Afternoon

Is the NFC East as wide open as it seems? The Giants and the Eagles are the division’s prohibitive favorites, but the Redskins are no slouches, which they proved today in a close, hard-fought loss to the aforementioned Giants.

The Redskins trailed for much of the game -- let’s not get ahead of ourselves here -- but a late touchdown brought the score to 23-17, and a recovered onside kick by Giants wideout Steve Smith kept the Redskins from stealing the game away.

With Seattle pinned at their 1-yard line, the Rams looked to be on the fast track to a comeback--or at the very least, they’d stop the bleeding. Instead, Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle offense worked its way out of its own end, and a 99-yard drive ensued. It culminated with a 38-yard pass to TE John Carlson, and then on the next play, a 33-yard touchdown, again on a pass to Carlson (his second TD of the day). If Steve Spagnuolo, the mastermind of the New York Giants’ defenses the past few years, is going to lead a renaissance in St. Louis, it looks as though it’ll have to wait a week. At least.

As the first half wound down, the 49ers added a touchdown to their lead after a 50-yard pass to from Shaun Hill to the ageless Issac Bruce set up a 1-yard Frank Gore touchdown run. The Cardinals are keeping it close, though, as they responded with a 29-yard Neil Rackers field goal to keep it a one-score game.

After the Rams blocked a field goal and returned it for a game-tying touchdown, it looked as though we were in for quite a ballgame. Not so fast. The touchdown was called back, as the Rams had too many players on the field.

That penalty gave Seattle a first down, and the Seahawks moved quickly from there, as Matt Hasselbeck hit Nate Burleson for a 12-yard touchdown two plays later. When you’re the Rams/Lions/Browns/Bills, fate won’t allow you to succeed. That’s just the way it works.

After a 15-play, 65-yard drive, the Seahawks capped it with a goaline touchdown pass to John Carlson. Matt Hasselbeck’s had an uneven performance thus far, with two interceptions, but he’s managed 135 yards, and the Seahawks have outgained the Rams by 80 yards. Annnd... that’s all I got on this one.

The Redskins have made the game close with the fake field goal of all things. Punter Hunter Smith ran the fake from the 8 yard line and ran completely untouched into the end zone.

A gutsy call by Zorn considering that the Giants have had all of the momentum and everything going their way. This at least swings some of that momentum back toward the Giants and with the Redskins getting the ball to start the half, the Giants lead could be three before they know it.

With the Redskins driving and just under 3 minutes left in the half, my friend Muse just groaned, “Please just get to halftime...”

And yes, they’ll get there, I thought, but not before a crippling interception. Turns out I was only sorta right. Osi Umenyora forced a fumble, recovered it, and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.

Out west, there are a pair of divisional contests that are, indeed, happening. The San Francisco 49ers are trading field goals with the Cardinals in Arizona (Kurt Warner has an interception), while the Rams and Seahawks are so far embroiled in a defensive battle, knotted at 0-0.

Eli Manning just threw his 99th career touchdown pass to Mario Manningham, giving the Giants 10-0 lead. And despite the impressive stands in short yardage situations, it’s official: the Redskins defense has been horrendous this afternoon. Sure, they’ve only surrendered 10 points, but save for short yardage, the Giants have moved the ball at will, to the tune of 172 yards and a de-pantsed Redskins secondary. This will get ugly before all’s said and done.

After the Giants were forced to settle for a field goal on their opening drive, the Redskins took over and immediately did what they do best: that is, hand the ball to Clinton Portis. And he took it from there, rushing 34 yards to the Giants 37 yard-line (read: just about field goal range, tie game, etc).

Then Jim Zorn tried to fool the Giants, and the Skins paid dearly. Antwaan Randle-El lost 11 yards on the reverse, and the Skins’ offense stalled from there.

Three games will kick off later this beautiful Sunday afternoon, at 4:15 ET. If it’s not beautiful outside where you are, well, that’s what televised football is for.

49ers at Cardinals