Up 28-0 at halftime against the bumbling Giants, the Redskins tried to play the second half on cruise control. It almost didn’t work.
The Redskins withstood a furious second-half New York rally led by Dave Brown, but held on to extend their winning streak to six games and keep first place in the NFC East.
“I think everybody was just going out, just trying to get the game over in the second half instead of putting it to ’em,” Redskins lineman Joe Patton said. “This is a great lesson for us to learn. I’m happy we had to learn it with a 28-0 lead.”
Terry Allen scored three touchdowns and Darrell Green returned an interception 68 yards for another score in the first half for the Redskins (6-1).
Brown, who finished two yards shy of his first 300-yard NFL game, threw touchdown passes to Thomas Lewis and Chris Calloway and Tyrone Wheatley ran for another score for the Giants (2-5).
The Redskins’ offense, which had 252 yards at halftime, had only one first down and 35 yards in the second half until Scott Blanton’s 45-yard field goal with 2:33 left capped a 47-yard drive and made it 31-21.
