Rex Grossman threw a pair of touchdown passes, rookie Ryan Kerrigan returned an interception for the go-ahead score and the Washington Redskins ended a six-game losing streak to the visiting New York Giants with a 28-14 victory on Sunday.

Virginia native Tim Hightower had a touchdown run for Washington (1-0), which beat its NFC East rivals for the first time in four years. It was also the Redskins' first season-opening win over New York since 1976.

Grossman, who was named the starter over John Beck last Monday, took advantage of a banged-up Giants defense to record his fourth career 300-yard game in his first season-opening start since 2007.

The opener was a continuation of a nightmarish preseason for New York (0-1), which entered the contest without six defensive contributors, most notably defensive ends Justin Tuck (stinger) and Osi Umenyiora (knee) and top cornerback Terrell Thomas (torn ACL).

The Redskins, on the other hand, showed just how improved their beleaguered defense is by holding New York scoreless in the second half and coming up with the game-changing play early in the third quarter.

Washington took a 21-14 lead just 1:50 into the second half when Kerrigan – the 16th pick of April’s draft – made a tremendous play by tipping a pass to himself and returning it nine yards for a score.

After Brian Orakpo blocked a punt in the fourth quarter, Grossman put the game out of reach with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney with just over five minutes to play.

It was an emotionally charged day all across the league, but especially in suburban Virginia.

On the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, the teams representing the cities most affected held a pregame ceremony remembering the victims and honoring the families. General Colin Powell was the Redskins’ honorary captain.