Redskins–Giants: Game Balls, Gassers and Observations — Defense

Against four pass rushers, QB Eli Manning was 12 of 19 for 185 yards and two sacks. Against more than four, he was 6 of 13 for 83 yards, two sacks and an interception.

The blitzes were effective in the second half partly because the Redskins were sound in coverage.

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Washington struggled to generate a pass rush with only four rushers until DEs Stephen Bowenand Adam Carriker took turns beating LG David Diehl in the final minutes. Both Bowen and Carriker had better leverage than Diehl, and they were easily able to get him off balance and go around him.

Bowen held his ground in the run game exceptionally well.

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ILB London Fletcher missed a few tackles, but again, those are mistakes made at full speed. They result from him constantly being around the ball. His energy and effort are entertaining. He helped NT Chris Neildclean up his second sack on a delayed blitz, and he almost created a turnover by jarring the ball loose.

Fletcher also made a great tackle in run defense by diving under LG David Diehl, who was pulling on the play. He stopped RB Ahmad Bradshaw for a 1-yard gain, which put the Giants in third-and-10. That allowed for defensive coordinator Jim Haslett to blitz seven, and OLB Ryan Kerrigan came up with the game-changing interception.

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ROLB Brian Orakpo rushed from a four-point stance in several obvious passing situations. I didn’t see LOLB Ryan Kerrigan do that, though. Rushing from the two-point stance is necessary to disguise coverages, but clearly there were times when Orakpo wasn’t required to do that. Kerrigan probably would be more explosive if he put his hand down on occasion because he’s used to generating power that way.

(To read the review of the offense, click here.)

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