The New York Giants comes to town for the Washington Redskins' first-ever Thanksgiving home game in a fierce NFC East matchup that will take place at FedExField in Landover, Md.
A familiar foe returns to Washington next week as the Redskins take on the New York Giants at FedExField in Landover, Md. for the 171st installment in a rivalry that dates back to the 1930s.
The nationally televised game will serve as NBC's primetime Thanksgiving matchup with an 8:30 p.m. EST kickoff.
The 2017 season could not have started worse for the Giants. After going 2-2 in the preseason, the Giants looked prepped for another run at the playoffs before the season quickly collapsed on New York.
New York lost its first five games, a brutal start to the season that ended with an injury-plagued afternoon that knocked out three wide receivers.
Odell Beckham Jr., quarterback Eli Manning's top target at the time, suffered a fractured ankle during the Giant's Week 5 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Receivers Brandon Marshall, and Sterling Shephard left the field due to injury as well. Marshall and Beckham underwent surgery to repair their injuries.
Shephard, meanwhile, missed the next two games.
With three receivers missing, the Giants miraculously pulled off a victory in Denver the very next week, beating the Broncos 23-10. In that game, New York found its newest and youngest star: tight end Evan Engram.
With Shephard, Marshall and Beckham all out, Engram put the passing game on his back, catching five balls for 82 yards and a touchdown in the Giants' first victory. Engram caught touchdown passes in each of the next three contests and recorded 60 and 70-yard games against the Seahawks and Rams.
At running back, New York has leaned on Orleans Darkwa. The fourth-year Giant is enjoying his first year as the clear No. 1 back with Paul Perkins fighting a nagging rib injury and Shane Vereen taking a backseat in the rushing attack. Darkwa recorded his season high in rusing yards against Denver with a 117-yard performance, but has yet to come close to that mark since, leading to an added pressure on Manning and Engram to pick up the slack in the offense.
Check out the top images from the Washington Redskins' offense in their 2016 Week 17 matchup against the New York Giants Jan. 1, 2017, at FedExField.
Defensively, the Giants did the most they could in the first half of the season while the team battled with injuries on the offense.
Two weeks after the win against the Broncos, however, the New York defense swayed, crumbled and finally collapsed against the Los Angeles Rams. Rams quarterback Jared Goff threw for 211 yards and four touchdowns. The Ram's running game netted 162 yards with an extra two touchdowns and Los Angeles prevailed 51-17 in the Meadowlands. Four Rams receivers had plays of 40 yards or more and Goff went untouched as the Giants failed to record a single sack.
The matchup against the New York defense will come as a relief to the Redskins' offense, which is coming off a three-week stretch against the Seahawks, Vikings and Saints.
The Redskins, despite losing tough matchups early in the year to the Eagles and Cowboys, will look to snag a valuable division victory as the season draws to a close.
Thursday's game will be the first time the Redskins have hosted a game on Thanksgiving. It will also mark the first time Washington has played against New York on the holiday. The Giants lead the series against the Redskins 99-67 with four ties.
