Doug Mills/The New York Times
Quarterback Robert Griffin III ran for 72 yards and passed for 163 in the Redskins' victory. More Photos »
LANDOVER, Md. — It seemed as if the Giants were past this. Their second-half slump, an apparent staple under Coach Tom Coughlin lately, appeared to hit its nadir a few weeks back with their disaster in Cincinnati, and the Giants had rebounded from that to play as well as they have all season in an utter demolition of Green Bay two Sundays ago.
So it all seemed behind them. In the days after that victory, the Giants talked about how they had come together. Had snapped out of it. Had found their focus, a critical development that would allow them to begin the kind of upswing that marked last season's Super Bowl run, and to begin it even earlier this time.
Instead, they slipped back. Faced with an opportunity to put a stranglehold on their division lead and solidify their playoff standing, the Giants melted down on Monday night, blowing a fourth-quarter lead and losing to the Washington Redskins, 17-16, before a frenzied crowd at FedEx Field.
A victory would have given the Giants a two-game lead over the Dallas Cowboys in the N.F.C. East with four games remaining; with a loss, the Giants' advantage dropped to a single game over both the Cowboys and the Redskins, who have won three games in a row behind the wunderkind quarterback Robert Griffin III.
"We had an opportunity here today," Coughlin said of the division race. "It's highly competitive. We knew it would be."
As good as Griffin was on Monday, however, the Giants will rue the loss because of what might have been. They dominated possession, running more than twice as many plays as Washington through three quarters (55-26) and holding the ball seven minutes more than the Redskins. But the Giants let opportunities to pull away slip by when kicker Lawrence Tynes missed just his fourth field-goal attempt of the season in the second quarter and, more glaringly, when they could not get into the end zone after a deflating Redskins turnover late in the third.
That sequence was the game's turning point. Washington, which trailed by 3 points at the time, seemed poised to take the lead as Griffin sprinted 46 yards around left end on a dazzling option play to the Giants' 15. On the next play, however, Alfred Morris fumbled and — after a heated scrum that led to offsetting unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties — the Giants survived a replay review and took possession. A touchdown on the ensuing drive would give them a 10-point lead.
But they could not convert. Eli Manning drove the team to the Washington 17-yard line but watched his pass on third down bounce off Victor Cruz's hands, forcing the Giants to settle for a field goal. That left their lead vulnerable, and Griffin took advantage, leading a 12-play, 86-yard drive that he finished with an 8-yard scoring pass to Pierre Garcon. That the Redskins an unlikely lead, one they would not surrender.
"It's a game that we should have won," Jason Pierre-Paul said.
Manning finished the game 20 of 33 passing for 280 yards but could not rally the Giants to another late comeback. At one point during the fourth quarter, as the Giants tried to rally, Manning was sacked for a 7-yard loss and got up shaking his head in frustration, over and over, as he jogged to the sideline.
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy," Osi Umenyiora said. "We have to find a way to close this out."
Manning's counterpart, Griffin, was more buoyant all night, bouncing around the field in his usual style. For all the attention Manning receives in New York, even his scrutiny cannot compare to the phenomenon that Griffin has become in Washington. Griffin jerseys were ubiquitous in the crowd Monday night — as always — and fans chanted Griffin's nickname, RG3, before the game even began.
Disgruntled Redskins fans, beaten down by seasons of losing and a disappointing cavalcade of quarterbacks in recent years, have quickly become enamored of Griffin's versatility. He is explosive, a hybrid of a quarterback who appears equally at ease sprinting around the edge with the ball as he does dropping back in the pocket. Griffin has also proved to be an intriguing personality and savvy businessman; as part of the company he started, Thr3escompany, he sought to trademark a number of terms including his own nickname and the phrase "Unbelievably Believable," which he memorably used in his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech.
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