LANDOVER, Md. — You watched Stephen Davis dominate the Giants yesterday. You saw him rush for an NFL-best this season 183 yards on 33 attempts. You know that he became the first back to total more than 1,000 yards (1,034). Well, here is something else:
He’s smart.
“The offensive line did a great job,” Davis said after the Redskins defeated the Giants 23-13 at FedEx Field.
Running backs with any kind of brain power always thank the O-Line first. They realize what it means. They know it translates back onto the field.
“[Davis] is a great guy to block for because he always gives the credit back to the offensive line,” said rookie tackle Jon Jansen, who again held his own (with help) against Michael Strahan. “And he doesn’t have to because a lot of times he makes those holes on his own.”
Davis set the tone for this game in the first half, running for 111 yards and his only touchdown on 15 carries. To exemplfy how far Davis has come from last season when he sat behind Terry Allen, realize that Davis gained 109 yards in all of 1998.
The Giants could not stop Davis in the game; only Davis and his teammates could, and they only did so in the first half. Davis scored once, had a touchdown called back due to holding and, at the Giants’ one-yard line, he mishandled an exchange with quarterback Brad Johnson.
According to his coach, Davis wasn’t even to blame on the mis-exchange.
“It wasn’t Stephen’s fault,” Norv Turner said. “We had a formation alignment [mix- up.] We should’ve called timeout on the play. The ball never should’ve been handed to Stephen.”
Davis is rushing his way to the Pro Bowl and will definitely be in Honululu. Turner said that the 25-year-old Davis is more mature this season. Perhaps that is why he is getting more of a chance.
“I just wanted the opportunity,” said Davis, who played with a bruised thigh. “Right now, I’m just making the best of my opportunity. I’m just doing the things I need to do get better.”
Davis’ longest run yesterday came on a 49-yarder in the second quarter. On the play, Davis exploded through the middle of the Giant defense and took the ball to the Giant 11.
“He hits the ball a thousand miles per hour,” left tackle Andy Heck said. “He has great effort. He has great vision. I love playing with him.”
This 49-yard run led to a 24-yard field goal by Brett Conway and gave the Redskins a 10-3 lead, which was cut to 10-6 at the half.
In the second half, Davis helped ice the game by going for 72 yards on 18 carries.
