Redskins vs Giants: Players Prepped for Excellence

A week removed from a 38-31 Thanksgiving Day win against the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Redskins return to the national spotlight in Week 13 as they host the New York Giants on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

The Redskins are riding a two-game winning streak, with both victories coming against division opponents. A win Monday would mark the first time since 2005 that the Redskins had won three games against NFC East opponents in three consecutive weeks.

Rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III is coming off the most efficient two weeks by a rookie passer in league history. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Griffin’s 146.1 passer rating in the last two weeks is the best among rookie passers with at least 40 attempts in NFL history, surpassing Matt Ryan’s 136.2 two-week passer rating in 2008. Last week, Griffin became the first player in Redskins history to pass for four touchdowns in consecutive weeks.

A win Monday would be the 171st combined regular season and play-off victory in the head coaching career of Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan. His 171st combined victory will tie him with Redskins legend Joe Gibbs for 12th all-time in NFL history.

Players prepped for excellence is a weekly game preview listing two players from the Redskins’ offense and defense that are destined for a strong performance in the team’s upcoming match-up. 

Alfred Morris is Prepped for Excellence - Alfred Morris is set for a huge game, even if he only rushes for 18 yards. Morris is 18 yards from becoming the first 1,000-yard rusher for the Redskins since Clinton Portis in 2008.

With 82 yards, Morris would break the Redskins record for rushing yards by a rookie (1,063, set by Reggie Brooks in 1993), and 28 rushing attempts would tie Mike Thomas’ Redskins rookie record for carries by a rookie (235 in 1975).

Not to mention, if Alfred Morris rushes for 100 yards, he would become the first Redskin with five 100-yard rushing games in a season since Portis in 2008.

Barry Cofield is Prepped for Excellence -  Barry Cofield is facing his former team, again, and he always seems to come up with big plays in this match-up. From film study, the Redskins have moved Cofield all over the place on the defensive line, and he’s quietly putting together a decent season. With Cofield playing a lot more 2 and 3 technique as of late, he could have more opportunities to make plays in the backfield.

Joshua Morgan is Prepped for Excellence -  Morgan was set for a breakout game in the first Giants – Redskins match-up, but with Fred Davis going down early in the game and Pierre Garcon not being active – it was hard for Joshua to flourish. Morgan has been the Redskins’ top possession receiver, but he has yet to turn a catch into a big play. He’s more than capable of doing that and it could happen tonight.

With Garcon back in the lineup, and the vertical pass game being implemented with Aldrick Robinson – Morgan will have plenty of opportunities to make plays underneath.

Cedric Griffin is Prepped for Excellence -  Griffin was not able to play in the first Giants- Redskins match-up, and I think the team missed his services. Griffin is not the Redskins’ best corner, but he has enough length to match-up against Hakeem Nicks. If Griffin can hold his own against Nicks, the Redskins can place DeAngelo Hall on Victor Cruz in the slot, which would be an ideal match-up for the team.