After the Redskins were forced to punt on their opening possession, punter Steve Cox could only manage to kick the ball in the strong wind 23 yards to the Washington 47-yard line. Six plays and 17 yards later, the Giants scored on Raul Allegre's 47-yard field goal, his longest of the season after joining the team in week 4. After the ensuing kickoff, the Redskins were forced to punt again and Cox managed to only punt the ball 27 yards to the Washington 38-yard line. From there, New York advanced to the Redskins 26. On third down and 10, quarterback Phil Simms threw an incomplete pass and center Bart Oates was called for holding. Rather than take the incompletion to bring up fourth down, Redskins coach Joe Gibbs accepted the holding penalty, hoping to push and keep the Giants out of field goal range. But on the next play, Simms completed a 25-yard pass to Lionel Manuel for a first down. A few plays later, Simms finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Manuel on third down and goal.[http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/ny-giants-nfc-championship-rewind-giants-stadium-wind-big-blue-blanks-redskins-17-0-article-1.1007564?pgno=2]