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Redskins safety Reed Doughty hangs on to Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw as he stretches into the end zone for a touchdown in the first quarter of an NFL game Monday in Landover, Md. Giants center Shaun O’Hara holds back Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher as Bradshaw scores.
AP photo
LANDOVER, Md. — The New York Giants kept themselves in the postseason hunt Monday night with a 45-12 rout of the Washington Redskins.
The Giants were efficient and dominant in one of the most lopsided victories in the long, storied series against their NFC East rival. New York led 24-0 at halftime and scored on six of its first seven possessions.
Eli Manning completed 19 of 26 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Ahmad Bradshaw ran for two scores.
New York improved to 8-6, one game behind Dallas and Green Bay in the battle for wild-card spots with two weeks left in the season.
The Redskins fell to 4-10 and failed to make a good first impression in front of new general manager Bruce Allen, who was hired Thursday in a front-office shake-up.
Each of New York’s first four possessions resulted in a score. Each of Washington’s first three possessions went three-and-out — and the Redskins’ home crowd was booing lustily. The jeers grew louder after the final play of the first half, when Washington tried a fake field goal that ended with punter-holder Hunter Smith throwing an interception.
The Giants were trying to remain a factor in the NFC playoff chase. Win or lose, they were going to end the night trailing the Cowboys and Packers in the wild-card standings, but a defeat would have really made things dire.
The Redskins, meanwhile, were long ago ruled out of any postseason possibilities. Still, this game represented the first real chance to audition for Allen, son of former Redskins coach George Allen.