National Football League

Redskins-Giants Preview

Published Sep. 22, 2015 2:00 p.m. ET

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No team is running for as many yards as the Washington Redskins.

The New York Giants have been stout against the run, though they have been plagued by woes on offense.

The Giants look to avoid an 0-3 start with a fifth straight win over the Redskins on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium.

Washington finished with 182 yards on the ground in Sunday's 24-10 win over St. Louis, with rookie Matt Jones gaining 123 yards. That effort came after Alfred Morris rushed for 121 in a season-opening 17-10 loss to Miami.

The Redskins are the first team since the 2006 Chargers to have two backs each gain at least 100 yards on the ground in a season's first two games.

''To have that solid, 1-2 punch - and both of those guys are so much alike - keeps the pressure on the defense,'' left tackle Trent Williams said. ''It takes a gang to tackle them. It's priceless, man, to have that type of backfield. It don't come too often.''

New York has yielded an average of 68.0 yards rushing to rank third in the NFL, though the club is off to a third straight 0-2 start after blowing second-half 10-point leads in both games. The Giants took a 20-10 lead into the fourth quarter of Sunday's 24-20 defeat to Atlanta.

''We talk every week about finishing," coach Tom Coughlin said. "That wasn't a finish for me."

New York's three offensive touchdowns match the league's lowest total. One of them was Rashad Jennings' 1-yard run in the opener at Dallas on a drive that started after an interception was returned to the 1-yard line.

Eli Manning has been pedestrian, throwing for 485 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. More alarmingly, he has been prone to some poor execution down the stretch.

In the opener, he lost track of how many timeouts the Cowboys had and told running back Rashad Jennings not to score on two consecutive plays late in the contest. Last weekend, he lost a fumble when he was sacked in the third quarter and took a costly delay of game penalty in a fourth period in which he was 5 of 11 for 25 yards.

"We're not making the plays in the crucial moments, we're having penalties and mistakes at different times that are preventing us from being as good as we can be," Manning said.

Odell Beckham Jr. had seven catches for 146 yards and his first touchdown on Sunday. He had 12 receptions for 143 yards and his first three-touchdown game the last time these teams met, a 24-13 victory for New York on Dec. 14.

The Giants are 4-0 against the Redskins since 2013 and 9-21 against everyone else. That has called into question whether the team has enough talent, though Coughlin insisted that is not the issue.

"I really do think we should be better than 0-2," he said. "And I told them that right away on Monday afternoon."

Rookie left tackle Ereck Flowers sat out Tuesday's practice after he left the Atlanta game with an ankle injury. Justin Pugh moved from left guard to his spot.

Manning's 63.3 passer rating in the fourth quarter is the league's fifth-worst mark while Washington's Kirk Cousins is third-worst at 58.9.

Cousins was 23 of 27 for a career-best 85.2 completion percentage as a starter with a 4-yard TD pass to Pierre Garcon last weekend. The Redskins improved to 3-8 in his starts.

Tight end Jordan Reed has emerged as his most reliable target with 13 receptions for 145 yards and a score.

Washington plays its first road game after going 1-7 each of the past two seasons. The Redskins have lost 12 of their last 14 NFC East games.

"We've got a lot of young players playing and we've got to get them used to winning and show them how to win and then building off a win and how to prepare after a win," coach Jay Gruden said.

The Giants are one of four teams tied with a league-low one turnover and the Redskins are one of six with one takeaway - the NFL's lowest total.

Former New York defensive coordinator Perry Fewell will return as Washington's defensive backs coach.