THE Washington Redskins and the New York Giants are two teams going in entirely opposite directions. The Redskins are finally coming out of a long slump, while the Giants are still trapped in a web of failure.

In a steady drizzle at RFK Stadium in Washington, the two teams stuck to the script in the first half. The Redskins performed with confidence and polish while the Giants played like a team down on its luck. Terry Allen rushed for a touchdown on their opening drive and had scored three before the half was over.

To cap New York's problems, a pass from Dave Brown, the Giants quarterback, skipped out of Thomas Lewis's hands straight to Darell Green, the speedster in the Washington defence. He raced down the right sideline to score a 68 yard touchdown. The half ended with the Redskins leading 28-0.

If the Redskins thought they could coast to victory in the second half, they received a nasty surprise. The raucous Washington fans were soon reduced to nervous silence as the Giants steadily whittled down the Redskins' lead. Brown threw touchdown passes to Lewis and Christ Calloway, while Tyrone Wheat Icy rushed for another to cut Washington's lead to only seven points. It was as if the two teams had switched uniforms at half time.

The Redskins woke up in time. The offence re ignited and ground out a time consuming drive late in the fourth quarter. They did not score a touchdown but drove deep enough into Giants territory to set up a 45 yard field goal from Scott Blanton that put the game beyond New York's reach. The final score was 31-21.

With a 6-1 record, the Redskins are off to their best start in five years and they lead the NFC East, the playpen of the Dallas Cowboys in recent years. But the really tough matches lie ahead for Washington, against the likes of the Indianapolis Colts and the Buffalo Bills. But at least they have beaten the teams they should have, which can hardly he said for the Giants.

At Texas Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys were lucky to scrape a 32-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were leading 28-25 in the closing minutes, but Troy Aikman found Kelvin Martin, who broke through the middle for the game winning touchdown.

The Bills and the San Francisco 49ers also had close shaves. The Bills only just beat the New York Jets 25-22 on a late field goal. San Francisco, meanwhile, overcame a 21-0 deficit to beat Cincinnati 28-21.