Shockey Takes Redskins by Storm

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —  In a sloppy game played on an ugly, rainy day there was one shining performance -- that of New York Giants’ rookie tight end Jeremy Shockey.

Shockey caught 11 passes for 111 yards and Matt Bryant kicked four field goals, leading the Giants to a 19-17 victory over the Washington Redskins in a game delayed more than 10 minutes in the fourth quarter by the review of a play.

The game had been hyped as the return of five-time Pro Bowl linebacker Jessie Armstead, who played at Giants Stadium for the first time since he was waived by New York (6-4) and signed by the Redskins (4-6).

Shockey, the 14th pick overall in this year’s draft out of Miami, stole the show by coming within two catches of tying the team’s single-game record. Giant tight ends had only 17 catches all last season.

“I knew he was a go-to guy,” said Armstead, who had six tackles. “You can’t name too many tight ends who are better than Shockey in this league. Although he is a rookie, he’s an advanced rookie.”

Shockey caught a 13-yard third-down pass from Kerry Collins that helped set up Bryant’s game-deciding 19-yard field goal with 11:56 to play.

“I guess Kerry felt comfortable delivering it to me, and the timing was good,” said Shockey.

What wasn’t good was the time it took to unravel a Redskin challenge with less than eight minutes left in the game.

Referee Tom White took more than 10 minutes to decide that Giant halfback Tiki Barber had gone out of bounds on a third-down run short of a first down at the Giant 34.

Washington Coach Steve Spurrier initially contended that Barber fumbled before going out of bounds and that the Redskins recovered.

White eventually decided Barber had not fumbled before going out of bounds. He did allow Spurrier to challenge the spot -- and after more deliberation it was determined Barber had gone out of bounds short of a first down.

“I don’t know what the heck was going on,” Washington cornerback Champ Bailey said. “I was talking to the field judge for five minutes, and he didn’t have a clue what was going on either.”

After a Giant punt, the Redskins drove 60 yards in 12 plays before stalling at the New York 25 with just over three minutes remaining.

James Tuthill lost his footing on a 42-yard field-goal attempt that could have given Washington the lead and the low line drive kick was blocked by Lance Legree.