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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –** Tom Coughlin joined some impressive company last week when the Giants defeated the Washington Redskins for their first victory of the season.
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Coughlin – who was 69 years and 24 days old when the game was played on Thursday – became just the fourth head coach in NFL history to lead his team to a victory after his 69th birthday.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only coaches older than Coughlin to win a game are two Pro Football Hall of Famers, George Halas and Marv Levy, and a Super Bowl winner, Dick Vermeil.
Halas, who first coached the Chicago Bears in 1920, was 72 years and 318 days old when he earned the last of his 318 regular-season victories in 1967. Halas, who also won six postseason games, is No. 2 on the career victories list, trailing only Don Shula.
Levy was 72 years and 119 days old when he won for the final time with the Buffalo Bills on Nov. 30, 1997. He won 143 regular-season and 11 postseason games with Kansas City and Buffalo. Levy is 20th on the victory list.
Vermeil, who coached Philadelphia, St. Louis and Kansas City, was 69 years and 63 days old when he won the final game of his career on Jan. 1, 2006, a 37-3 Chiefs victory over Cincinnati.
He is 27th on the all-time list with 120 regular-season and six postseason victories, including a triumph with the Rams over Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Coughlin has the fourth-highest victory total among coaches after turning 65 years old. Three of the top five coaches in that category are Hall of Famers:
82 - Marv Levy
59 - George Halas
43 - Dick Vermeil
32 - Tom Coughlin
28 - Paul Brown
The victory over Washington was Coughlin's 165th in the regular season. He is 13th on the career list, just one behind Brown.
Coughlin also has 12 postseason victories for a total of 177, which is 12th on that list, one less than Mike Shanahan.
Coughlin has 97 regular-season victories with the Giants and needs three more to become the second coach in franchise history with 100. Hall of Famer Steve Owen had 153 victories from 1930-53.
Finally, Coughlin has coached in 307 regular-season games and 326 total games (including postseason). The first figure is the 12th-highest total in history, the second is 10th.
- The victory over Washington was the Giants' 50th at home in the regular season under Coughlin. He is 50-40 in home games with the Giants and 90-64 at home in his career.
- The Giants had no turnovers and did not allow a sack vs. Washington. It was the 12th time in Coughlin's 12 seasons they accomplished that exacta. The Giants are 11-1 in those games. The only loss was on Dec. 7, 2008 vs. Philadelphia.
- The Giants are 24-10 when Eli Manning is not sacked and 68-68 when he is.
Manning has thrown 108 passes without an interception, the second-longest streak to begin a season in Giants history. Fran Tarkenton was not intercepted in his first 163 passes in 1969 (when he finished the 14-game season with eight picks).
Manning's interception-free streak is the third-longest overall in his career. He threw 176 passes without a pick last season before Seattle's Earl Thomas intercepted a throw that was tipped by Odell Beckham Jr. Manning had a 124-pass streak without an interception from Sept. 11-Oct. 16, 2005. His third-longest streak had been 107 passes in 2007, which he surpassed with his final throw vs. Washington.
- The Giants are 42-18 when Manning is not intercepted, 50-60 when he is.
- Manning's 279 passing yards against Washington increased his career total to 40,519. That places him 14th on the NFL career list. Manning needs to throw for just 33 yards in Buffalo Sunday to move past Hall of Famer Joe Montana (40,551) and into 13th place.
- The Giants have just one turnover in their first three games, the first time they've done that since 2008. That season, the Giants set what was then an NFL record with only 13 turnovers in 16 games (as did the Miami Dolphins). New England (2010) and San Francisco (2011) have since lowered the mark to 11 turnovers in a 16-game season.
The Giants' one turnover is tied with Green Bay for the NFL-low through three games.
- The Giants' first three opponents – Dallas, Atlanta and Washington – had 356, 346 and 305 passing yards, respectively.
It's the first time Giants opponents have thrown for more than 300 yards in three consecutive games since Nov. 28-Dec. 11, 2011, when New Orleans (372), Green Bay (360) and Dallas (305) did it. This is the first time it's happened in the opening three games of a season.
- Quarterbacks Tony Romo (36), Matt Ryan (30) and Kirk Cousins (30), each completed at least 30 passes. It's the first time in Giants history opposing quarterbacks have completed 30 or more passes in three consecutive games.
The Giants scored first against Washington when Rashad Jennings blocked Tress Way's punt, and the ball bounced out of the end zone for a safety. After the game Jennings said, "That's my 10th one (punt) I got my hand on." That might be true, but they're not all official blocks. When a rushing defender gets his hand on a punt, but the ball travels past the line of scrimmage, it's a punt and not a block. Officially, Jennings has three blocked punts since he entered the NFL in 2009. That is tied for the league's highest total during that span with Philadelphia's Bryan Braman, Dekoda Watson (currently with New England) and Jimmy Wilson (now with San Diego).
- Before Thursday, the last time the Giants' first score of a game was a safety was on Dec. 11, 2011, when Jason Pierre-Paul sacked Romo in the end zone.
- Beckham will complete his first full season Sunday in Buffalo when he plays in his 16th game. His 15-game totals are 110 receptions for 1,574 yards and 14 touchdowns. He already owns the record for most catches in the first 16 games of a career, he will almost certainly be the yardage record-holder, and he has a shot to at least tie the touchdown mark:
Receiving Records through the first 16 games of a career:**
MOST RECEPTIONSOdell Beckham Jr. 110*
Anquan Boldin 101
Terry Glenn 93
Eddie Royal 93
Reggie Bush 88
MOST RECEIVING YARDS**
Bill Groman 1,593Odell Beckham Jr. 1,574
Billy Howton 1,500
Charley Hennigan 1,426
Lance Alworth 1,399*
MOST RECEIVING TDs**
Randy Moss 17
Bob Hayes 16
Billy Howton 16Odell Beckham Jr. 14*
Lance Alworth 14
Bill Groman 14
John Jefferson 14
*Through 15 games
- Josh Brown, who has made all nine of his field goal attempts this season, is first in the NFC and second in the NFL with 34 points. He trails New England's Stephen Gostkowski by just one point.
Brown has succeeded on 13 consecutive field goal attempts dating back to last season. He holds the Giants record with 17 in a row from Oct. 6-Dec. 29, 2013.
- New punter Brad Wing leads the NFL with eight punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
The Giants broadcast team hand out their game balls after the Giants top Washington
DT Johnathan Hankins (presented by Bob Papa) Collapsed the line of scrimmage in the Giants' favor as the defense held the No. 1 rushing attack to 88 yards, 26 of which came on the final play with the game well out of reach.
PK Josh Brown (presented by Jeff Feagles) Remained perfect on the season by making all three of his field goal attempts, including a long of 48 yards.
WR Rueben Randle (presented by Paul Dottino) Put the Giants over the top with a 41-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter as part of a seven-catch, 116-yard performance.
CB Prince Amukamara (presented by John Schmeelk) Sparked the team to a quick 9-0 lead with a first-quarter interception deep in Washington territory. Amukamara finished with eight tackles and three passes defensed.
LB Uani 'Unga (presented by Lance Medow) Alternated with Jon Beason in the middle and led the team again with nine tackles (six solo), two passes defensed and his second interception of the season.
LB Devon Kennard (presented by Dan Salomone) Continued to emerge as a playmaker on defense with five tackles (one for loss), a quarterback hit, and a tipped pass that led to 'Unga's interception.
