After an all-around difficult outing for the Redskins, quarterback Kirk Cousins said the interceptions he threw -- along with special teams and defensive woes -- made it a frustrating night for the team.
When push came to shove Thursday night in the Redskins' 32-21 loss to the Giants, Washington simply didn't match the number of big plays New York made throughout the night.
The quarterback position was example of that, as Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw two touchdowns to no interceptions while Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins threw one touchdown to two interceptions.
"Credit the Giants – they did a good job and made the plays, but it's a frustrating one for us," Cousins said.
On the Redskins' second drive of the game, on 2nd and 7 from their own 9-yard line, Cousins dropped back, looking for wide receiver Pierre Garçon to his left. But the ball would be picked off by Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara, who jumped the route.
"I thought the corner made a great play," Cousins told the media after the game. "He jumped the route and it was a bang-bang play. I believe there are some throws in this league that if you don't let that one go, you're never going to let a ball go, and you're never going to be able to complete some of those tight window throws that you've got to be able to make in this league to move the football. I would credit the corner more on that one, making a great play and recognizing the route ahead of time."
Cousins' struggles continued throughout the game, as a few of his passes were either batted down by the Giants or underthrown.
On the Redskins' first drive of the second half – with the Redskins trailing 18-6 – Cousins was once again intercepted, this time by Giants linebacker Uani Unga on a ball that bounced into his possession.
Cousins said he'll learn from the mistake, perhaps by throwing the ball out of bounds in situations when windows tighten quickly.
Check out these top photos from the Washington Redskins 2015 Week 3 matchup against the New York Giants Sept. 24, 2015, at MetLife Stadium.
"You can call it whatever you want – trying to do too much or forcing it or whatever, but I'm just trying to find a completion and get it to somebody and trying to throw it to a safe spot," Cousins said. "But a bounce goes up and when it hangs in the air as long as it did, it's easy to intercept. Stuff like that, it's just the part that I can control, where I can look at myself and say, 'Just throw it out of bounds.'"
Through their first two games of the season, the Redskins controlled the time of possession battle with both the Dolphins and Rams. This, in turn, allowed for the run game to lead the way for the offense.
But after getting down by 12 after one quarter and the run game struggling to get it going this week, the Redskins were forced to throw it more frequently, as Cousins attempted 49 passes on the night.
"We have to try to stay balanced," said Redskins head coach Jay Gruden. "They controlled the clock. I think in the third quarter their opening drive was nine or ten minutes. It felt like forever. We have to do some things around him. We can't make this all about the quarterback. We have to create some throwers on defense. We have to continue to run the ball and receivers have to make some plays. Kirk's got to be better. We've all got to be better."
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