NFL

Whoever is throwing, Washington passes

By wire services
Published December 25, 2005

LANDOVER, Md. - The Giants' NFC East Champions paraphernalia won't make it out of the boxes at least for another week.

That's because the Redskins - on the strength of three Santana Moss touchdowns - blocked the Giants' shot at clinching the division with a triumph at FedEx Field. A victory Jan. 1 at Philadelphia would put the Redskins in the playoffs.

"I love hearing all the know-it-alls say that we couldn't do it," Redskins defensive end Phillip Daniels said. "Some of those guys might need to be fired."

Perhaps the Giants' secondary can be thrown into that mix. New York gave up 224 yards through the air and four touchdown passes from three players. Quarterback Mark Brunell hit Moss for a pair of touchdowns.

Backup Patrick Ramsey replaced Brunell, who sprained his knee, in the third quarter and found Moss for a 72-yard touchdown to give Washington a 28-17 lead. Brunell sprained his right MCL. He is scheduled to have an MRI exam Monday.

And running back Clinton Portis threw a touchdown to go with his team-record eighth 100-yard rushing performance of the season. He carried 27 times for 108 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Washington avenged a 36-0 loss to New York in October. Tiki Barber was held to 80 yards and no TDs on 16 attempts after gaining 206 yards in the previous meeting.

Down 21-17 in the third quarter, New York squandered opportunities on consecutive plays. Quarterback Eli Manning threw incomplete on third and 3. Then Renaldo Wynn blocked Jay Feely's 29-yard attempt with 7:57 left in the quarter and Walt Harris recovered the loose ball.

"I don't know that it changed the momentum of the game," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "Certainly that was a negative when a positive could have been there with the points."

[Last modified December 24, 2005, 23:43:13]