New York Giants

Giants' Dwayne Harris: We probably took the Redskins for granted

Published Nov. 30, 2015 9:53 a.m. ET

foxsports

In a game that had major implications for the NFC East division race, the last thing the New York Giants could afford to do was start slow against the Washington Redskins. In Week 12's 20-14 loss this past Sunday, that's exactly what they did, and wide receiver Dwayne Harris wonders if the Giants overlooked the Redskins after failing to score a point for nearly 50 minutes.

"I think we were ready to play but we probably took this team a little bit for granted because ... I don't know," Harris said to reporters, per NJ Advanced Media. "I don't know everyone else's mindset but we came out slow. I think everyone was ready to play but we came out too slow."

Despite the magnitude of the game, Harris believes his team simply didn't show up the way the Redskins did. In his mind, there's no one to blame but the Giants themselves.

"I think it was us," Harris said. "We weren't feeling it early. It took us a while to get going. In the first half we had too many turnovers. It was one of those games where it was a playoff game and we didn't play the way we were capable of playing. ... The way we played today was definitely not a showing of what we can do."

The Giants had won five in a row and six of the last seven games against the Redskins prior to Sunday's meeting. So for the Redskins, this game carried an entirely different meaning to them.

"Coach [Jay Gruden] had a message for us at the beginning of the week: 'This is a team that's kind of taken it to us the past number of times we played them. This is big for us,'" Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan said to reporters after the game, per NJ Advanced Media.

"It felt a little personal because they've kicked our tail the past couple of times we've played them. This was a great feeling to get this win against them."