LANDOVER, Md. _ Sterling Shepard was on one knee, pumping his fist in the air, after having just crashed into Josh Norman 40 yards away from the line of scrimmage. The wide receiver had bolted down the field to throw a key open-field block that allowed Saquon Barkley to pick up another dozen or so yards on his 52-yard run just before the two-minute warning. It wasn't a touchdown _ that would come two snaps later _ but it was the kind of play that summed up just about every element of Sunday's Giants game against the Redskins.
Domination followed by celebration.
The Giants took out nearly three years of offensive frustration on a division rival that spent most of the game in the fetal position, plastering Washington with a 40-16 beatdown at FedEx Field. A team that had gone almost two-and-a-half full seasons without ever scoring 30 points in a game until a few weeks ago erupted for 34 by halftime and scored 27 in the second quarter alone. A defense that had not been able to hold onto double-digit leads in the previous three contests chased Mark Sanchez from the game. Sanchez was so bad he was replaced by Josh Johnson, a quarterback who hadn't thrown an NFL pass since 2011 and was signed by the Redskins on Wednesday.
They did both in a game in which they were without Pro Bowlers Odell Beckham Jr. and Landon Collins.
The fourth win in five games improved the Giants' record to 5-8. More importantly it kept their still-slim playoff hopes alive with three games to play.
It was a stat-padding kind of day for the Giants. Eight different defensive players had either part of a sack or a takeaway. Seven different offensive players caught passes. Eli Manning completed 14 of 22 passes for 197 yards and three TDs before yielding the stage to backup Kyle Lauletta, who was 0-for-5 with an interception in his NFL debut.
No one piled up the numbers like Barkley, though. The rookie running back finished with 197 yards from scrimmage, 170 of those on 14 carries. He topped 1,000 rushing yards for the season on a day when it felt like he might have been able to do it in a game had he played the entire day. It was the 12th time in 13 games he posted 100 or more yards from scrimmage and the fourth straight game with 100 or more rushing.
His first explosive run came with the Giants already ahead 10-0, thanks to a pick-six by safety Curtis Riley and a field goal. On first-and-10 from the Giants' 22, Barkley took a handoff up the middle then cut to the left behind a block from tackle Nate Solder. From there it was a relatively straight path to the end zone and a 78-yard touchdown run that made it 17-0. The rout was on.
But far from over.
Alec Ogletree intercepted Sanchez and returned it to the Redskins' 10 to set up a 3-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Shepard. On the next series, Barkley had the 52-yard run _ aided by Shepard's block _ in which he took a toss left behind a block from Scott Simonson, juked Pro Bowl safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and was run out of bounds at the 6. Two plays later Manning hit Bennie Fowler for a touchdown and a 31-0 lead.
Barkley even added a one-handed catch in the third quarter on a drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Russell Shepard, making it 40-0. Aldrick Rosas missed the extra point, his first of the season.
Lauletta threw an interception before he threw a completion, with Mason Foster picking him off early in the fourth. That allowed Washington to get on the board with Johnson scrambling for an 8-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion made it 40-8. A 79-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Jamison Crowder and another two-point conversion pass made it 40-16 with 8:48 left.
Michael Thomas' interception with 4:24 left after Washington had reached the 3 quelled any nervous anxiety the Giants might have been starting to feel.
