The Sports Xchange

ASHBURN, Va. — The New York Giants are the only one of the four NFC East teams not to win the division the past three years, but while the Washington redskins were just 3-3 against Dallas and Philadelphia, the Redskins were just 1-5 against the Giants while getting outscored by 66 points.

So, while there is renewed hope about the Redskins in the wake of last Sunday’s impressive 24-10 victory over St. Louis combined with New York’s 0-2 start after a pair of blown, 10-point fourth-quarter leads, the Washington faithful need to temper their excitement heading into Thursday’s game.

Meanwhile, the Giants’ losses have come by a total of five points, the first to the Cowboys and the second to a seemingly much-improved Atlanta team that has beaten the Eagles and the Giants.

And then there are the Giants of ever-scowling head coach Tom Coughlin. They’re 0-2 even though quarterback Eli Manning hasn’t thrown an interception. Leading rusher Rashad Jennings is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry and Manning has just two touchdown passes for an offense that’s averaging just 25:38 of ball possession. The defense, which starts safety Brandon Meriweather, who was given up on by the Redskins, has just two sacks and two interceptions while being part of a defense that has surrendered 351 passing yards per game.

Meanwhile, only seven current Redskins – fullback Darrel Young, tackle Trent Williams, defensive lineman Kedric Golston, linebackers Ryan Kerrigan and Perry Riley, cornerback DeAngelo Hall and long snapper Nick Sundberg — have won a game in the swamps of New Jersey while wearing a Washington uniform. Oddly, those victories in 2007 (only Golston played in that one) and 2011 came in seasons in which the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl.

“They had a run there where they had arguably the best offensive and defensive lines in football and a franchise quarterback with playmakers on the outside,” said Golston, whose 10 years in Washington make him the senior Redskin. “The Giants are 0-2, but they could have easily won both of their games. Tom Coughlin’s a great coach. He’s won two Super Bowls. They’ve still got that franchise quarterback in Eli and that’s an organization with a lot of pride. We’ve got a format for how we can win, stop the run and run the football. We have to put our best foot forward and try to go into the Meadowlands and win a game.”

In contrast, 27 of their teammates have only known defeat against the Giants as Redskins.

Washington actually led host New York 13-10 with less than five minutes left last Dec. 14 despite having quarterback Robert Griffin’s apparent touchdown run overturned before Manning and otherworldly rookie receiver Odell Beckham hooked up for their second and third touchdowns of the day.

That 24-13 loss was a delight compared to the 45-14 devastation the Giants dealt rookie head coach Jay Gruden and the Redskins in Week 4 in Landover. Previously nondescript New York tight end Larry Donnell caught three touchdowns before halftime while Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins threw four interceptions and lost a fumble.

“I hadn’t really thrown four interceptions in a game before that I could remember,” Cousins said. “It was difficult. We had come off a tough loss against the Eagles and then the loss to the Giants was tough. Facing adversity, I believe it’s made me stronger as a quarterback, as a player, as a person. … I learned that when you get down and you want to get back in the game, you can’t get it all back in one play. It’s better to take what they give you and punt. Maybe you’re not going to come back as quickly, but at least you’re not turning the ball over and giving them an even greater chance of pulling away.”

And the Redskins’ Mike Shanahan era ended with a 20-6 loss in the Week 17 finale of 2013 in cold and damp MetLife Stadium as Cousins completed just 19 of 49 passes for 169 yards with two picks in his only other appearance against Big Blue.

Those New York defenses were coordinated by Perry Fewell, who now coaches Washington’s secondary, the critical component of a defense that’s second in the league against the pass and first overall after ranking in the bottom half in those areas in 2014. The Redskins are also first in rushing (after ranking 19th last year) and second in time of possession, but the Giants are third in run defense under once-and-again coordinator Steve Spagunolo.

–Thursday’s game will be the first, including preseason, that the Redskins have all three of their top cornerbacks, Chris Culliver, DeAngelo Hall and Bashaud Breeland, available. Culliver was suspended for Week 2. Hall, who missed the final 13 games of last season with a torn Achilles, missed some time this August with toe and groin ailments. Breeland missed the first three preseason games with a knee injury and was suspended for Week 1.

“I got back in the groove last week and I feel pretty good,” said Breeland, who replaced Hall as a regular as a rookie in 2014.

“It feels real good to have three solid guys on the field, three playmakers,” said Trenton Robinson, who took over as the starting safety when Duke Ihenacho suffered a season-ending broken wrist in the opener against Miami. “There’s going to be competition every time the ball’s in the air. It makes me feel real safe to be out there with them.”