Long TD drive capped by Bradshaw run gives Giants 7-0 lead over Redskins after 1st quarter

Giants lead Redskins 7-0 after 1st quarter

LANDOVER, Md. — Ahmad Bradshaw’s 3-yard touchdown run capped a 16-play, 80-yard game-opening drive and gave the New York Giants a 7-0 lead over the Washington Redskins after the first quarter Monday night.

Bradshaw’s plunge over the right side came on third down — and it also came at a price: Starting left guard Rich Seubert limped off with a right knee injury, and the Giants said his return was questionable. Kevin Boothe replaced Seubert on New York’s next possession.

The initial drive chewed up 9 minutes, 13 seconds, and featured a mix of nine runs and seven — mostly short — passes. Eli Manning was 5 for 7 for 47 yards.

The Giants were trying to remain a factor in the NFC playoff chase. Win or lose, they were going to end the night trailing the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in the wild-card standings, but a defeat would really make things dire.

The Redskins, meanwhile, were long ago ruled out of any postseason possibilities. But this game represented the first real chance to audition for new front-office boss Bruce Allen, who was hired last week as general manager after Vinny Cerrato resigned.

Allen, son of former Redskins coach George Allen, was at the stadium Monday night, strolling the sideline before kickoff, when the temperature was 38 degrees.

The Washington area was pounded by a blizzard that began Friday night, and the Redskins estimated that about 25 million pounds of snow were removed from the stadium and its parking lots.

When Bradshaw scored, a couple of snowballs were thrown from the stands and landed near him.

Washington’s first possession did not go smoothly. The Redskins went three-and-out, with quarterback Jason Campbell fumbling when he was sacked by Justin Tuck on third down. The Redskins recovered after a loss of 9 yards on the play, then punted the ball.

The Giants then began another methodical drive that put them at first-and-goal at the 4 as the first quarter closed.