The Sports Xchange

ASHBURN, Va. — Another game in the Meadowlands. Another defeat for the Washington Redskins. Thursday night’s 32-21 loss to the New York Giants was Washington’s 23rd in its last 32 visits to the swamps of Jersey and its 15th in its last 19 games to Big Blue. Over the last four seasons, the Redskins are 1-6 against the Giants.

Instead of being 2-1 and pressing defending NFC East champion Dallas for the top spot in the division, Washington is 1-2. If Philadelphia beats the New York Jets on Sunday, the Redskins, Giants and Eagles will be tied for the division basement — where Washington finished in six of the past seven seasons — ahead of the latter’s Oct. 4 visit to Landover.

“We’re a good team, but we have to come out and prove it every time we step on the field and we’re just not doing that right now,” lamented tackle Trent Williams, Washington’s offensive captain.

Last year in MetLife Stadium, Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III had an apparent touchdown run reversed when the officials ruled that he had fumbled as he hit the pylon. Thursday night, rookie running back Matt Jones’ touchdown was overturned because replays showed that he had fumbled before crossing the goal line. Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions and punter Tress Way had his first attempt blocked for a safety.

If the previous Sunday’s 24-10 triumph over St. Louis was an all-around success with Jones, Cousins, the offensive line, tight end Jordan Reed, a stalwart defense, and neophyte kicker Dustin Hopkins all taking bows, there was plenty of blame to go around in the loss to the Giants.

When the game’s outcome was still in doubt, Cousins often threw behind receivers while facing New York’s league-worst pass defense. The line, which lost left guard Shawn Lauvao to a sprained ankle during the first quarter and backup Josh LeRibeus to a calf injury later on, didn’t open many holes for Morris or Jones (57 yards on 17 carries between them), who had powered to the league rushing lead through two games.

Meanwhile, Giants quarterback Eli Manning was rarely under pressure while facing the top-ranked defense. Manning efficiently picked apart Washington’s secondary, which lost three-time Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall to a sprained toe, in finding receivers Rueben Randle and Odell Beckham Jr. for 14 catches, 195 yards and two touchdowns.

“We didn’t force them into any third and longs,” nose tackle Terrance Knighton said. “They had third-and-three, third-and-four the whole game and with an elite quarterback like that, you can almost guarantee he’ll get the first downs.”

The Giants didn’t need a first down to score first as a pass interference call on Reed negated a 33-yard completion from Cousins to third-down back Chris Thompson. A play later, New York’s Rashad Jennings ran over rookie free agent Terrance Plummer to block Way’s punt out of the end zone.

“If you go on the road and you play a big division rivalry game like this and you turn the ball over three times and have a punt blocked, I would say it’s going to be very tough to overcome,” Redskins head coach Jay Gruden lamented. “Nobody played good enough tonight. Nobody coached good enough. Last week, I thought was a total team effort in the victory. This week it was a total team effort in a loss. We’re consistent in that regard.”

REPORT CARD VS. GIANTS

–PASSING OFFENSE: B- — QB Kirk Cousins completed 30 of 49 passes for 316 yards, but most of the completions and yards, as well as his lone TD to backup RB Chris Thompson, came after the Redskins trailed 25-6. Cousins also threw two interceptions when the outcome was still in doubt. With deep threat DeSean Jackson (hamstring) still sidelined, head coach Jay Gruden’s game plan called for mostly underneath routes. Thompson led the pass-catchers with eight grabs while TE Jordan Reed and rookie WR Jamison Crowder had six apiece and WR Pierre Garcon had five. Reed led the way with 96 yards. Despite the loss of LG Shawn Lauvao (calf) and replacement Josh LeRibeus (calf) during the game, the line didn’t allow much pressure on Cousins, who was only sacked once. Tom Compton, normally a tackle, finished the game at left guard.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: C — In the opener, Pro Bowl RB Alfred Morris powered for 121 yards on 25 carries against Miami. The next week, Jones thundered for 123 yards in 19 carries. Against the Giants, the 1-2 punch was sheathed, carrying just 17 times for 57 yards as the Redskins fell behind 12-0 in the first quarter and never got closer than nine points. Losing Lauvao hampered the ground game against New York’s fine run defense although Thompson did dart for 26 yards on a late-game burst.

–PASS DEFENSE: D — The Redskins just can’t cover Giants’ pass-catchers. In 2012, Victor Cruz tormented them. Last year, it was TE Larry Donnell and WR Odell Beckham Jr. On Thursday night, Beckham and Rueben Randle combined for 14 catches for 195 yards and two TDs as Eli Manning completed 23 of 32 passes for 279 yards and the two scores. Manning wasn’t sacked and hardly ever had a pass rusher in his face. Washington CBs Bashaud Breeland and Chris Culliver were victimized often while fellow CB DeAngelo Hall departed with a toe injury that will sideline him at least three or four weeks. Donnell and fellow TE Daniel Fells each had a catch for at least 22 yards. Star OLB Ryan Kerrigan hasn’t been much of a factor so far.

–RUSH DEFENSE: A — New York gained just 84 yards despite 31 attempts. ILB Keenan Robinson (game-high 13 tackles) was superb. ILB Will Compton, who started for the injured Perry Riley, added 11 stops, one more than FS Dashon Goldson.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: C-plus — Rookie free agent Terrance Plummer failed to block Rashad Jennings on the opening punt and Jennings blocked the ball out of the end zone for a safety. Way’s only other punt went 36 yards with no return. Rashad Ross returned a kickoff 101 yards for a TD after not making anything happen on his first three returns. K Dustin Hopkins hit field goals of 37 and 44 yards in his second game. The Redskins failed to recover either of his onside kickoffs. Both of his long kickoffs were touchbacks. Crowder took his lone punt return back 10 yards.

–COACHING: C – Playing on the road in the division on a short week isn’t easy, but the Redskins went to New Jersey feeling good after dominating St. Louis and quickly lost that momentum against the more desperate Giants, falling behind 12-0 in the first quarter and never really getting back in the game en route to trailing 25-6 with 13:40 remaining. Much of the blame for that failure to keep the good times going has to rest with head coach Jay Gruden and his staff. New coordinator Joe Barry’s defense hasn’t generated much of a pass rush. And coordinator Ben Kotwica’s special teams have given up points in both defeats although they did score themselves against New York.