NFC East: Giants block out yet another Burress distraction

Football Betting Lines

12/02/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Plaxico Burress has done his best to internally sabotage the New York Giants' goal of a second straight Super Bowl victory, but the NFL's most resilient team wasn't fazed one bit by the latest -- and most serious -- episode of bad behavior by the troublesome wide receiver.

The team was able to maintain its focus for a big division game at Washington amidst a swarm of media attention stemming from Burress' apparent self- inflicted gunshot wound at a Manhattan nightclub during the wee hours of Saturday morning. The disturbing incident wound up making a far greater impact off the field than on it, as the Giants ran their impressive winning streak to seven games with a convincing 23-7 win over the slumping Redskins on Sunday.

New York was able to compensate for the loss of its most accomplished receiver with a noticeably sharp showing by quarterback Eli Manning and the ability of a number of role players to step up as an expanded part of the offensive game plan.

Manning took full advantage of a Washington defense that was hell-bent on neutralizing the Giants' top-ranked running game by crowding the line of scrimmage, with the level-headed signal-caller amassing a season-best 305 yards on 21-of-34 passing. Most of the damage was done in the first half, when Manning racked up 239 yards through the air and helped stake his team to a 13-0 lead just three minutes into the second quarter.

Burress' part was played capably by reserve Domenik Hixon, with the return specialist hauling in five Manning strikes for 71 yards. Second-string running back Derrick Ward also was a surprising factor in New York's persistent passing attack, gaining a career-best 75 receiving yards on five grabs on the afternoon.

Those efforts helped the Giants amass 404 total yards on one of the NFL's better defenses, while the club's own formidable stop unit allowed the Redskins' out-of-sync offense to put together only one sustained drive until the outcome was essentially decided in the final minutes.

"We knew the quality of the game we were going to have to play to win," said Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. "Our guys rose up again. They are mentally tough, they work hard, they work as a team and we had a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys."

New York improved to 11-1 with Sunday's triumph, the best record after 12 games in the franchise's long and storied history, and can clinch first place in the NFC East with a win over visiting Philadelphia this weekend.

QUICK HITS: Burress, who had already been ruled out of Sunday's contest with a hamstring injury, shot himself in the right thigh and was released from an area hospital Saturday afternoon. He was charged with two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon on Monday, since the handgun in question was not registered in the State of New York...Ward added 30 rushing yards on 10 carries in the win and now has 1,001 yards from scrimmage (670 rushing, 371 receiving) on the season...Defensive tackle Fred Robbins was inactive against the Redskins due to a jammed shoulder, and missed his first game since October of 2004...The Giants placed veteran safety Sammy Knight on injured reserve with a hip problem prior to Sunday's tilt.

NEXT UP: New York closes out its season series with the Eagles, who posted a much-needed 48-20 victory over NFC West leader Arizona on Thanksgiving, this Sunday at Giants Stadium. Big Blue ousted Philadelphia in a 36-31 thriller back in Week 10 and has won six of the last seven regular-season matchups between the division rivals.

DALLAS: The Cowboys will be entering a make-or-break four-game stretch over the season's final month with a renewed sense of confidence provided by a current three-game win streak, which was extended with a 34-9 Thanksgiving Day rout of Seattle at Texas Stadium.

Not coincidentally, Dallas' surge has corresponded with quarterback Tony Romo's return under center following a three-game hiatus due to a broken pinkie finger on his throwing hand. The two-time Pro Bowl honoree delivered a second straight big-time performance in the Seattle game, completing 22-of-34 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

Romo was equally as prolific in the Cowboys' 35-22 decision over San Francisco on November 23, when the star triggerman put up a season-best 341 yards and three scores while hitting on 23-of-39 throws.

The three straight victories, which succeeded a string of three losses in a four-game span, has placed the 8-4 Cowboys back into a tie with upstart Atlanta in the race for the second of the NFC's two available Wild Card spots. Whether Dallas can garner one of those postseason berths will eventually be determined by how the team navigates a challenging December slate that begins with this Sunday's visit to Heinz Field to battle AFC North-leading Pittsburgh.

After facing the 9-3 Steelers, Dallas will host a pivotal divisional clash with the powerful Giants before the eight-win Baltimore Ravens invade Texas Stadium on December 20. The Cowboys then conclude the regular season with a trip to the hostile environs of Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field for a matchup with the Eagles.

Dallas will not only be entering this crucial sequence on a roll, but with some good fortune as well. Two of the Cowboys' most important players -- running back Marion Barber and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware -- left the Turkey Day encounter with the Seahawks with injuries, but neither appears significant enough to keep them from competing against the Steelers.

Ware was removed in the third quarter with a hyperextended left knee, although the elite pass rusher certainly made his presence felt before exiting. He sacked Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck three times and now has a league-best 15 on the season.

Barber was held out the majority of the second half with a dislocated small right toe and missed Monday's practice session as a precautionary measure. The Cowboys' leading rusher could split carries on Sunday with rookie Tashard Choice, who ran for 57 yards on 11 attempts versus Seattle.

QUICK HITS: Tight end Jason Witten recorded season-highs of nine catches and 115 receiving yards in Thursday's win. It was the Pro Bowler's first 100-yard outing since Dallas' 41-37 victory over Philadelphia in Week 2...Backup tight end Martellus Bennett opened the scoring of the Seattle game with a 16-yard touchdown reception, giving the rookie a scoring catch in three straight weeks...Starting left guard Kyle Kosier, who has played in just three games this year due to torn ligaments in his right foot, was placed on injured reserve on Sunday...Rookie cornerback Mike Jenkins missed the Thanksgiving tilt with a hamstring strain and won't be available this week as well...The Cowboys have won on Thanksgiving three straight years, the team's longest win streak on the holiday since 1994-96.

NEXT UP: The Cowboys will take on a similarly hot team in the Steelers, who have won three in a row as well and handed the defending AFC champion New England Patriots a humbling 33-10 loss on the road this past Sunday. Pittsburgh is just 1-2 against NFC East clubs this year, however, having lost to the Giants and Eagles and defeating Washington in Week 9.

PHILADELPHIA: In the NFL, it pays to have a short memory. So when Donovan McNabb was able to quickly put one of the lowest points of his 10-year tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles out of his mind, his team responded with arguably its best game of what's been a frustratingly inconsistent season.

Just four days after being benched in the second half of a forgettable 26-7 loss at Baltimore, McNabb was back under center for the Eagles' Thanksgiving night tilt against Arizona, and back to the form that made the highly- scrutinized quarterback one of the league's most decorated players over the last decade.

McNabb shredded the Cardinals' secondary for 260 yards and a season-high four touchdown passes to spur Philadelphia to an imperative 48-20 victory last Thursday. The veteran field general completed 27-of-39 throws on the evening and appeared to have fully overcome a puzzling slump that played a large part in the Eagles' three-game winless streak that preceded the Arizona contest.

The 32-year-old had thrown five interceptions over the previous two games and connected on a poor 47.3 percent of his pass attempts during an 0-2-1 stretch that put the Eagles' playoff hopes in obvious peril.

"Adversity always happens in our position; it's how you pull yourself out of it," McNabb said afterward. "I know coming into this game if I just continue to be myself and know what I'm seeing out there and react, good things would happen."

McNabb had plenty of support from his teammates as well during the win. Receiving his heaviest workload in a month, banged-up running back Brian Westbrook totaled 110 rushing yards and two scores on 22 attempts while catching two of McNabb's four touchdown strikes. An inspired Philadelphia defense picked off prolific Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner three times in the game, while holding an anemic Arizona ground game to a paltry 25 yards.

The 25 rushing yards ranked as the lowest single-game total allowed by the Eagles since the team limited San Diego to 21 on October 23, 2005.

Westbrook, who had not scored a touchdown since a home win over Atlanta in Week 8, became the first Philadelphia player to reach paydirt four times in a game since Irving Fryar did so against Miami on October 20, 1996.

QUICK HITS: The Eagles played Thursday's test without cornerback Asante Samuel (neck stinger) and backup running Correll Buckhalter (MCL sprain)...Starting right guard Max Jean-Gilles fractured his right ankle in the second quarter of the game and was placed on injured reserve on Friday. With two-time Pro Bowl participant Shawn Andrews still recovering from back surgery, Nick Cole will likely take over that spot for the time being...Safety Brian Dawkins registered his 34th career interception during the game, which matches the team record shared by Eric Allen and Bill Bradley...The Eagles have won all four meetings with NFC West teams this season and have outscored the division by a 152-56 margin in those matchups.

NEXT UP: Philadelphia will be seeking its first win over a divisional foe this season when it heads up the New Jersey Turnpike to take on the NFC East front- running Giants. The Eagles are 0-3 in divisional play so far this year and have dropped seven of their last nine meetings against fellow NFC East members.

WASHINGTON: An uplifting ceremony prior to Sunday's game with the Giants still wasn't enough to awaken the Redskins' offense from its perpetual slumber.

On the day in which Sean Taylor was inducted into Washington's Ring of Fame, it was the visiting defense that paid a more fitting tribute to the late former Redskins safety. Washington's sputtering offense gained a meager 47 yards and one first down over its first three possessions, which helped put the team in a 13-0 hole that it would never dig its way out from.

Even during the few times the unit was able to make some headway in the 23-7 loss, the Redskins often failed to cash in. Kicker Shaun Suisham missed a 42- yard field goal try that would have trimmed the Giants' lead to three points at halftime. Quarterback Jason Campbell underthrew a deep ball in New York territory in the third quarter that was intercepted. Another late drive was stopped on downs at the Giants' 34-yard line.

"I think the plays were there and we just didn't capitalize," remarked running back Clinton Portis. "I just don't think we executed the gameplan the way that we should have. If we would have executed the things that were called, I think we would have been in better position."

Such missed opportunities have been nothing new for the Redskins in recent weeks. The team has lost three of its last four games and scored 10 points or fewer in each of those defeats, while Washington's 208 points for the season presently rank 28th in the NFL.

A breakout performance doesn't appear to be on the horizon, either. Up next for Washington is a date with the stingy Baltimore Ravens, a team that stands second in the league in total defense and third overall in scoring defense.

An ailing Portis, by far the offense's most important member, hasn't helped matters either. The NFL's second-leading rusher posted season lows of 22 yards and 11 carries against the Giants while sitting out a portion of the game after jamming his neck during the second quarter.

The Redskins are 5-1 when Portis, who has also valiantly fought through knee, ankle and rib injuries, has run for over 100 yards this season. When he hasn't, the team has gone just 2-4.

QUICK HITS: The Redskins' lone touchdown came on a 29-yard end-around from rookie wide receiver Devin Thomas, the second-round draft pick's first career score...Middle linebacker London Fletcher, considered a game-time decision due to a bruised left foot, was active on Sunday and racked up 14 tackles (11 solo). Fletcher has not missed a game during his 11-year career and extended his streak of consecutive starts to 131 straight contests...Starting defensive tackle Kedric Golston and strongside linebacker Marcus Washington did not play on Sunday with ankle injuries...Anthony Montgomery took Golston's place and recorded a season-best five tackles along with a sack.

NEXT UP: The Redskins will travel up Interstate 95 for a key interconference clash with the surprising Ravens, who are right in the thick of the AFC playoff hunt with an 8-4 record and will enter Sunday's showdown with victories in six of their last seven games. The Redskins are 4-1 on the road in 2008 and play three of their final four regular-season outings away from home.