Tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET, the New York Giants (4-7) and Washington Redskins (3-8) go head-to-head live from FedEx Field in Washington, D.C. The game can be live streamed for free here. New York fans can hear all of the action on 101.9 FM The Fan while Washington fans can do the same on ESPN 980
Despite the Giants winning the NFC East two years ago and the Redskins winning it just last year, both these teams will hit the field Sunday in the midst of disappointing seasons. Two teams that duked it out over the division crown a year ago will now look to avoid last place when they face each other in prime time.
"Everybody's got a lot of pride in the NFL regardless of what your record is," Washington coach Mike Shanahan said via ESPN. "Everybody wants to win and I'm sure the Giants feel the same way."
New York enters play looking to bounce back after its playoff hopes were all but dashed in a 24-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at home last week. The set-back was the Giants' second loss to their division rival Cowboys this season, and it seems highly unlikely that either team will catch the Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles in the chase for the division crown.
"I think that's something that we have to deal with a lot of times in this league," safety Antrel Rolle said per ESPN. "The pages have been turned. We're already looking forward to playing a game and getting the preparation in for this week."
Washington has had some problems of their own as Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III hasn't proven to be as good in his sophomore year as he was in his rookie season last year after suffering a knee injury that required major surgery last January.
RG3 is 238-for-398 (59.8%) for 2,832 yards with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions after throwing for 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 2012. Griffin has rushed for 372 yards on 70 carries without reaching the end zone after rushing for 815 yards on 121 attempts last year and reaching the end zone seven times.
"We had a dual threat. Now that threat is not quite there as strong as it was a year ago," Shanahan told ESPN. "But now we go to a different direction. We run play-action, we still run some of the zone-reads."
Griffin has been the subject of criticism throughout the league and was also victimized verbally by his own teammates for not taking the majority of the blame for the team's struggles in a 27-6 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers last week.
The Giants turn to Eli Manning under center, who most likely can understand what RG3 is going through as he too hasn't been his former two-time Super Bowl MVP self. Manning is 224-for-394 (56.9%) for 2,760 yards with more interceptions (17) than touchdowns (14) so far this season. Perhaps the most glaring statistic for Manning's struggles is his 72.5 passer rating--which is his worst mark since his rookie year.
New York will look to get its receivers going as Victor Cruz hasn't scored in seven games and Hakeem Nicks has yet to reach the end zone this season and is expected back after missing last week's game.
Washington, meanwhile, will look to keep Alfred Morris going strong as the running back ranks third in the NFL with 970 rushing yards off of 195 carries and he has five scores.
Two teams that have struggled this season look for an edge in primetime when the Giants visit their NFC East rival Redskins under the lights tonight in Washington.
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