Things started promisingly for the Washington Redskins. They were favorites entering Thursday night's Thanksgiving dessert game against the New York Giants. Their defense held things down in the first half, limiting the Giants to a field goal (while only knocking one through themselves). Then, receiver Jamison Crowder decided it was time to make some big plays and move the home team closer to victory. That was well and good until the receiver went down with an injury, forcing him out of the game.

Crowder down for the count

There was a sense that Crowder could have a big night towards the end of the first half.

With neither team accomplishing much on the offensive end of the field, the receiver ran an excellent route, opening up a passageway for a Kirk Cousins ball down the middle of the field. The 38-yard gain helped set the Redskins up for a field goal that led to a tie game entering the locker rooms.

The receiver managed to finish the job in the third quarter. With the Redskins facing 3rd-and-goal from the 15-yard line, Cousins managed to scramble out of trouble and find Crowder open in the end zone for the first touchdown of the evening from either team, putting Washington up 10-3 in the middle of the third quarter.

It wouldn't be long before disaster struck, though. The Redskins' best player on the night suffered a knee injury, leaving him questionable to return. Crowder's injury could have been a devastating blow for the home team.

But the question turned to an exclamation just a little while later, with Crowder returning to the Redskins offense and continuing to torture Giants defensive backs, as he had been all night. He finished the night with seven receptions and 141 yards - the latter being a career-high - to go with his touchdown. It was the first time he had even scored since this time last season.

He also had almost double the receiving yards the entire Giants offense had.

Meanwhile, Washington walked away with a 20-10 victory.

What Washington's win means

The Redskins needed somebody in the receiving corps to step up in a major way on Thursday night and Crowder stepped into the void. The team can now feel comfortable in its passing game (Josh Doctson scored as well) as the team tried to weather a multitude of injuries among its skill players.

With the win, Washington improved to 5-6 on the season. The NFC East has likely slipped away already, but the Redskins could be within a game of a Wild Card spot by the end of the week.
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