LANDOVER, Md. -
The
are a .500 team that admittedly struggles to close out games. They're in the midst of a topsy-turvy season littered with inconceivable moments.
These aren't the 1986 or '90, or even the 2007 or '11 Giants. These Giants were an unproven team (they haven't make the playoffs in four years) leading the woeful NFC East and graced with an opportunity on Sunday against the Washington Redskins to put their competition deep in the rearview mirror. They shouldn't have been overlooking anyone, especially the team within striking distance.
But maybe they did. At least that was the opinion of wide receiver Dwayne Harris, who
through most of
at FedEx Field that put the Giants (5-6) and Redskins (5-6) in a tie for first place in the NFC East.
The game wasn't even as close as the score indicated. The Giants trailed by 20 in the fourth quarter.
"I think we were ready to play but we probably took this team a little bit for granted because ... I don't know," Harris said. "I don't know everyone else's mindset but we came out slow. I think everyone was ready to play but we came out too slow."
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Taking the Redskins lightly could've stemmed from the past meetings between the teams. The Giants had Washington's number in recent years. They'd won the last five meetings between the teams, including a thorough 32-21 domination earlier this season.
So while the Giants were perhaps overconfident, the Redskins were extra-motivated.
"Coach [Jay Gruden] had a message for us at the beginning of the week: 'This is a team that's kind of taken it to us the past number of times we played them. This is big for us,'" Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan said.
"It felt a little personal because they've kicked our tail the past couple of times we've played them. This was a great feeling to get this win against them."
It's even better considering there is now a logjam atop the division, and Washington is a legitimate contender. If they had lost on Sunday, the Redskins would've been close to buried - 21/2 games behind the Giants with five to play.
Instead, it's anyone's division -- first to seven or eight? -- and the Giants have nobody to blame but themselves.
"I think it was us," Harris said. "We weren't feeling it early. It took us a while to get going. In the first half we had too many turnovers. It was one of those games where it was a playoff game and we didn't play the way we were capable of playing. ... The way we played today was definitely not a showing of what we can do."
Most of Harris' teammates agreed after the contest. They were disappointed in how they played, right from the opening whistle.
The Giants definitely didn't start strong. Quarterback Eli Manning threw interceptions on each of the first two possessions. He finished with three and a 59.4 QB rating, his lowest of the season. Manning was probably fortunate it wasn't four or five interceptions as he played under heavy pressure behind a makeshift offensive line.
Off a bye week, the Giants laid an egg for three-plus quarters. They know it. No excuses.
"I knew we had some issues, there's no doubt, but we'd overcome some things before. Next guy up, blah, blah, blah ... but we just started in such a poor fashion that we didn't give anybody any reason to think that we were going to be able to turn the thing around," coach Tom Coughlin said.
They didn't. In the end, they just made the final score closer. And now they're left to ponder what went wrong and why. One of the theories is that they inexplicably took the Redskins for granted.
Jordan Raanan may be reached at jraanan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanRaanan. Find NJ.com Giants on Facebook.