Giant Football Blog

Giants cruz to 31-14 victory, Falcons next

The theme of this season for Tom Coughlin was simple: “Finish.” If he said it once in training camp, he said it a million times since then.

Finish. Finish. Finish.

The Giants did tonight — barely. And now, the Dallas Cowboys are finished.

The seeming pattern of Coughlin meltdowns, which led to the “finish” theme, was broken by a 31-14 victory at MetLife Stadium tonight that wasn’t as easy as the final score indicates.

The Giants (9-7) are NFC East champions and will host the Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday in their first playoff game following a two-year absence from the postseason.

“We straightened it around and finished the game the way we wanted to finish it, finished the regular season the way we wanted to finish it,” Coughlin said, adding four more “finishes” to his season tally, “and created an opportunity for ourselves to be in the playoffs.” (continue)

 

Giants shut up Jets 29-14

Just as Giants coach Tom Coughlin said during a week of hype, talk is cheap. You have to play the game.

The Jets failed miserably in their attempt to back tough-talking coach Rex Ryan, losing the physical battles and the turf war Saturday afternoon at Metlife Stadium by a 29-14 margin.

The 12th all-time regular-season meeting between the New York metro-area rivals had the playoff hopes of both teams riding on it. The Giants (8-7) control their own destiny heading to the final week of the regular season, needing only a home win over Dallas next Sunday night to win the NFC East title and the playoff berth that comes with it. The Jets (8-7) need a victory at Miami coupled with three losses by their wild-card rivals to gain a playoff berth.

At times, the excitement of a true backyard brawl gave way to the monotony of watching two flawed teams flail away in the attempt to escape the mire of mediocrity. But the memory of the game-breaking 99-yard touchdown pass from Giants quarterback Eli Manning to Vicor Cruz just before halftime -- the longest play of any kind in the club's history -- will live forever in the lore associated with the rivalry. (continue)

 

Giants caught flat vs Skins, lose 23-10

The Giants knew a loss to the last-place Redskins would be a costly setback in their attempt to secure a postseason berth. They just didn’t play like it.

Washington thoroughly dominated the Giants (7-7) in front of an astonished MetLife Stadium crowd, beating the hosts 23-10 and debilitating their playoff chances in the process. The victory also gave the Redskins (5-9) the season sweep.

Two of the Redskins’ first three drives began with Rex Grossman interceptions, but the Giants couldn’t take advantage with points after either turnover and the inability to score snowballed into the demoralizing loss.

On offense, Eli Manning didn’t complete a pass until his seventh attempt and Hakeem Nicks dropped three passes, two of which would’ve resulted in touchdowns. And after averaging 32 points per game in their last three contests, the Giants managed just ten points – seven of which came in garbage time at the end of the fourth quarter -- shooting themselves in the foot with penalties, drops and the inability to protect Manning in crucial situations. (continue)

 

Giants win a thriller in Dallas. 37-34

Eli Manning had just thrown an interception that the Cowboys turned into a touchdown and a 12-point lead with 5:41 remaining in the game, and the season was slipping away from the Giants. As Manning stood on the sideline preparing to go back on the field, Kevin Gilbride approached him with some words of advice.

What did the offensive coordinator say? Did he go over play-calling? Schemes? Strategy?

"He just said, 'Hey, we need two scores, go do it,' " Manning said.

Sure thing. Manning orchestrated two touchdown drives and a two-point conversion that gave the Giants a three-point lead, and Jason Pierre-Paul blocked a last-second field-goal attempt by the Cowboys that would have sent the game into overtime, preserving a 37-34 win at Cowboys Stadium.

The victory was the Giants' first in more than a month, ending a four-game losing streak, and vaulted them into a first-place tie with the Cowboys in the NFC East with three games remaining. A loss would have virtually eliminated them from contention for both the division title and a wild-card berth, but the win buoys their playoff chances immensely. The season likely will come down to the final regular-season game, when the Cowboys travel to MetLife Stadium for a Jan. 1 rematch. (continue)

 

Great effort ends in 38-35 defeat for Giants

In the NFL, being perfect doesn't mandate perfection. The Packers were hardly that tonight at MetLife Stadium, playing it tight and nearly even with the floundering Giants. In fact, two teams were even for over 59 minutes.

But Aaron Rodgers showed 58 seconds is plenty of time as he took the Packers down the field in that much time, setting up a game-winning Mason Crosby 30-yard field goal with no time remaining to give Green Bay a 38-35 win.

The Giants tied the game with 58 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter after they went 69 yards in 2:36. Eli Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for a two yard touchdown pass to bring them within two, 35-33. Then they converted the two-point conversion with a draw play with D.J. Ware, who spiked the ball emphatically to celebrate.

Rodgers drove the Packers down the field, going 57 yards in 3:34 to put their last touchdown on the board and give themselves much needed breathing room. He hit Donald Driver in the near corner of the endzone, as the receiver made the catch and kept his feet inbounds while falling out.

Rodgers finished the game 24-of-42, passing for 301 yards, four touchdowns and being intercepted once by freshly signed Chase Blackburn--who returned the ball inside to the Packers' 12-yard line and setup Brandon Jacob's one-yard score.

Eli Manning finished 23-of-40 for 347 yards. He threw three touchdown passes and one pick--which was returned for a touchdown. (continue)

 

Giants will regret loss to Eagles

With two teams whose seasons have been defined by their play in the fourth quarter, it made sense that hardly anything of note occurred in the first three.

The final 15 minutes, though, not only clarified who would win the game but muddied the standings in the NFC East. The Eagles chugged down the field on an 18-play, 80-yard drive that swallowed up 8:51 and then held on to beat the Giants, 17-10, at Metlife Stadium Sunday night.

The Eagles had allowed leads to slip away in the fourth quarter in five of their six losses, and the Giants had come from behind for five of their wins. But that had little impact on anything as Eli Manning lay face-down on the turf, having just fumbled the football away to the Eagles with 1:17 remaining.

"Confidence doesn't get it done all the time," linebacker Mathias Kiwanuku said. "You still have to go out there and back it up and perform."

The Giants now are tied with the Cowboys at 6-4 atop the NFC East, with two games remaining against each other. The Eagles kept their mathematical chances alive at 4-6. It was their seventh win in the last eight meetings between the teams. (continue)

Giants can't tie it late, lose 27-20 to 49ers

Eli Manning could not lead the Giants to a sixth straight comeback win Sunday as the Giants fell to the 49ers, 27-20. Manning looked as if he were casting his usual spell, converting two fourth-down passes on the Giants' final drive as they attempted to tie the score. But his third try, on fourth-and-2 from the 10, was batted down by Justin Smith with 34 seconds left to essentially end the game.

After the 49ers scored 15 points in 61 seconds to take a 27-13 lead with 12:21 remaining, the Giants got within seven on Manning's 32-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks with 8:37 left. Then they drove 70 yards to the 10 before turning the ball over on downs.

The 49ers took the lead with 13:22 remaining when rookie linebacker Greg Jones seemed to be playing the wrong coverage and tight end Veron Davis was able to get open for a 31-yard touchdown reception. Jones dropped back into zone coverage in the middle while Davis floated toward the left sideline. He caught the ball and leaped over Kenny Phillips at the goal line for the touchdown. The 49ers converted a pass from Alex Smith to Michael Crabtree for two points and a 20-13 edge. (continue)

Giants "Jake" Pats 24-20

Eli Manning did it to the Patriots again.

A 1-yard touchdown pass to Jake Ballard with 15 seconds left lifted the Giants to a 24-20 victory in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday with a late rally that was reminiscent of the Super Bowl XLII victory by the Giants.

The Patriots had seemed to take control of the game on Tom Brady's touchdown throw to Rob Gronkowski, meaning the Giants (6-2) had to come from behind yet again. They did -- thanks to Manning, who was spectacular once more in the fourth quarter.

Manning finished 20 of 39 for 250 yards. And the Giants survived against Brady, who threw for 334 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He did have two interceptions, however.

The Patriots (5-3) fell into a tie for first place in the AFC East with the Jets and Bills. (Ledger)

Giants win ugly, 20-17 over Dolphins

There have been many big victories worth celebrating at the Meadowlands over the years. But this wasn't one of them.

This was only worthy of a big sigh of relief.

It took more than 54 minutes for the Giants to be able to exhale, but they finally did Sunday when Eli Manning connected with Victor Cruz on a 25-yard touchdown with 5:58 remaining. That gave the Giants the lead over the winless Miami Dolphins for the first time all afternoon, and it was good enough to give them a 20-17 win.

It should not have been nearly that hard, of course, no matter how many nice things the Giants had to say about their awful opponents this week. But the combination of Matt Moore and Reggie Bush was nearly enough to do what was seemingly impossible - make everyone forget the Giants' 36-25 home loss to Seattle three weeks ago. (continue)

Giants win turn over battle vs Bills

All the turnover talk this past week centered around the Bills and their ability to take the ball away. But in the biggest spot of the game, it wound up being the Giants who were grabby.

Corey Webster intercepted a pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick at the Giants' 4-yard line to set up a drive for the winning field goal in a 27-24 victory over Buffalo at Metlife Stadium Sunday. About five minutes earlier, Webster was beaten for a touchdown by Stevie Johnson to allow the Bills (4-2) to tie the score.

Webster's second pick of the game, with 4:02 remaining, was one of the most significant of his seven-season career. It not only helped send the Giants (4-2) into first place in the NFC East but allowed them to go into their bye week basking in a win. Lawrence Tynes' 23-yard kick with 1:32 left decided it.

"This is a big-play league," linebacker Michael Boley said of Webster's timely interception. "One play can make or break a game at any moment." (continue)