For the second time ever, LB Jessie Armstead faced off against his former
team, this time at his new home of FedExField. Playing with a bruised left
knee, an injury he suffered in the Redskins' Thanksgiving Day loss to Dallas,
Armstead had another quiet game against his ex-teammates.
The Giants, knowing Armstead all too well, were able to limit him to just
four tackles. The most memorable came early in the second quarter, when
Armstead made what appeared to be a touchdown-saving tackle on Tiki Barber
near the goal line. However, the Giants were able to reach paydirt on the
next play - on a pass to Charles Stackhouse in the opposite direction of
Armstead.
Armstead may have had a quiet game on paper, but his defensive presence and
leadership helped keep his team in the game after a 14-point halftime
deficit. Washington held the Giants to just 10 second-half points.
"I feel I played solid," Armstead said. "I had a pretty good game. It's
always different when you play your whole life with the same guys, and then
have to play against them."
While Armstead and Redskins held the Giants' passing attack to just 205
yards, they were unable to stop them when most needed. Late in the third
quarter, RT Mike Rosenthal picked up a rushing Armstead, freeing up Jeremy
Shockey for a 20-yard reception to the one-yard line. Shockey, who ran his
route against LaVar Arrington, said he was unaware of Armstead on that play.
However, Collins certainly knew who was coming at him.
"It was a dog (blitz) coming off from the edge," Collins said.
That led to a one-yard touchdown run by Tiki Barber, which put the Giants up
24-14. They would never look back.
The Giants had nothing but praise for their former teammate and team leader.
"The guy's a warrior," Collins said. "I loved playing with him, and I love
playing against him."
LG Rich Seubert also knows Armstead well, having blocked him numerous times
in practice last year while Seubert was a member of New York's practice
squad.
"It was fun hitting Jessie out there," Seubert said. "He's a great player and
a leader. A couple of times, he even gave me a few chuckles."
While the Giants offensive line was determined to contain Armstead, they
would not allow one individual - no matter how motivated he was - to become
the focal point of their strategy.
"Jessie's a great player, but we didn't key in on him," RG Jason Whittle
said. "We know Jessie will play hard. We just went out there and did our
thing. Everybody just did their job."