Redskins Rewind: Redskins vs. Giants

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Redskins vs. Giants

The landscape of the NFC East, in fact the entire NFL was changed in 1981 when the Washington Redskins and New York Giants each made a key addition to their franchise. In the second week of the 1981 season, rookie head coach Joe Gibbs and his Washington Redskins played host to the New York Giants and their highly touted rookie linebacker Lawrence Taylor. It would be the first of many classic battles of brains versus brawn. The two teams would go to six Super Bowls, winning five, over the next ten years. And Gibbs and Taylor were major reasons why.

In Lawrence Taylor’s first game against the Redskins he sacked Joe Theismann twice. The second sack came with less than three minutes left in the game and resulted in a fumble. The Giants recovered the fumble and rumbled in for what proved to be the winning score as the Giants won an ugly game 17-7.

A year later the playoffs were on the line for the Redskins when they faced the Giants on a snowy December day at RFK. The first half was ugly for the Redskins who turned the ball over five times, including four Theismann interceptions. At halftime the Redskins were trailing 14-3. Washington got off to a good start in the second half with an 80 yard drive that was capped by a botched play that turned into a touchdown. At the Giants’ 20 yard line, the call was for Joe Washington to sweep right and throw the halfback option to Art Monk. When Monk couldn’t get open JW reversed field and took off around the left end. Thanks to a key block by Joe Theismann Washington was able to easily score the touchdown. Moseley missed the extra point attempt and the score was 14-9. But Moseley would have the last laugh on this day. With nine seconds left in the game, Moseley lined up for a 42 yard field goal as the snow came down heavily. The kick was good and Moseley had set an NFL record for consecutive field goals made with 21.

The 1983 showdown against the Giants at RFK was another record-setting performance. Trailing 19-7 early in the third quarter the Redskins clamped down on defense and Riggo took over on offense as the Redskins clinched home field advantage with a 31-22 win over the Giants. The 31 points gave the Redskins an NFL record 541 for the season and John Riggins’ 24th TD of the year beat the record previously held by OJ Simpson. This game would also mark Bill Parcells’ first trip to RFK as a head coach.

November 18, 1985. Monday Night Football. I suppose at this point is where I talk about one of the most gruesome injuries in the history of sports, when Lawrence Taylor landed on Joey T’s leg instantly ending his career. But I won’t, instead I’ll talk about the resilience of that team. I’ll talk about how at 5-5 going into that game most thought the Redskins were slipping from their perch at the top of the NFC. And when untested Jay Schroeder came in for Theismann Redskins fans and football experts across the country contemplated a long losing streak. Instead, on his second play Schroeder fired a bullet down the sidelines to Art Monk and the message was sent that the Redskins were a team with everybody ready to play at any time. Schroeder led the Redskins to a 23-21 win and Washington would win five of its next six to finish the year 10-6. They didn’t make the playoffs, but 1985 was one of those seasons that showed just how good a coach Gibbs was and is. When the team could have been demoralized by a crushing injury they stepped up to the challenge because they were prepared and worked together.

Four years later the Redskins and Giants met on opening day. The Redskins were coming off their worst season yet under Gibbs, finishing 7-9 in 1988. And it looked like 1989 would be more of the same as they entered the locker room at halftime trailing 14-3. Redskins fans caught a glimpse of the future in the second half as Mark Rypien showed what he could do when given time to throw. Rypien threw a mix of short strikes and long bombs en route to two touchdown passes. With the scored tied at 24 and just over two minutes left Gibbs called for a bomb on 3rd and 2. The attempt to surprise the Giants backfired and the Redskins were forced to punt. Given one final chance to win the game the Giants complied when Raul Allegre drilled a 52-yarder to give the Giants a 27-24 opening day win.

The last time Gibbs 1.0 would lead the Redskins at RFK against the Giants came in early November 1992. The Redskins’ Brian Mitchell returned a first quarter punt 84 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Redskins would do nothing more after. The Giants played text book smashed-mouth NFC East football. Rodney Hampton rushed for 138 yards as the Giants controlled the clock for 40 minutes and cruised to an easy 24-7 victory.

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dmek25

tafkas great job as usual.the one thing you left out was the highest scoring game in nfl history was played between these 2 teams