Die Hard Sports Fan

My expectations of what the Giants would do to the 49ers in the week following the giant embarrassment on Monday Night Football were not fulfilled, but a win is a win is a win. This was also the last opponent on the Jints schedule that was considered relatively easy. The final 10 games on the schedule are much more difficult, and we will see just how good the G-MEN are once they start playing better competition. We’ll discuss the schedule later on in the week so let’s get back to yesterday’s game.

Offense

I was not impressed by the offense yesterday. Eli Manning did not have a good night statistically. He went 16/31 which is a 51.61% completion percentage and threw for 161 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs. The Giants defense constantly gave the offense great field position, but the offense did not capitalize on as many possessions as they should have. The Jints offense only put up 21 points on a not so good team which doesn’t leave a good taste in your mouth as the G-MEN are about to face the Steelers, the Cowboys, and the Eagles. My confidence going into these games would have been much higher if Big Blue played a nice, crisp game on offense. Even Brandon Jacobs wasn’t thrilled with how the offense played yesterday because he said, “I felt like we bounced back well enough to win the game but as far as production with our offense, I think it could have been better.” The receiving corps was not very productive either. WR Steve Smith had 4 receptions for 39 yards while RB Derrick Ward had 3 receptions for 50 yards. It isn’t necessarily bad when a running back has more receiving yards than a receiver, but it is when the top receiver only has 39 yards. Plaxico Burress was the only receiver to catch a touch down, but he only had 3 receptions for 24 yards in the game. Also, Burress got heated after being called for a questionable offensive pass interference penalty. He began screaming at the Referee, and then received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the following play. As he walked off the field, he was caught shouting 4-letter words at Cough Coughlin. Coughlin responded, and then Eli Manning and Antonio Pierce tried to calm Burress down as he was sitting on the bench. Plax is really starting to get on my nerves again like he did prior to 2007. I wouldn’t care if this was a one-off incident, but his behavior is reverting. After getting his mega-contract, he has acted like a fool. Instead, he should be helping his teammates improve. The more Burress acts like T.O. or Chad Johnson, the faster the Giants will let him go like they did with his best friend Jeremy Shockey. Speaking of Shockey, he had a big fumble yesterday which wasn’t his fault. He blamed the coaching and the doctors for that one because nothing is his own fault. Pathetic. Earth, Wind, and Fire compiled 116 yards on 29 touches is only 4 yards per carry. Jacobs had 2 rushing TDs. That number isn’t bad, but it is low for this group who average more than 6.0 yards per carry. The Giants’ offense put up 21 of the 29 points.

Defense

The Giants defense was outstanding yesterday. They 49ers scored 17 total points, but they only scored 10 points on the Giants defense. The defense sacked J.T. O’Sullivan 6 times. Justin Tuck got to him twice, and Chase Blackburn, Dave Tollefson, Fred Robbins, and Barry Cofield got to him once. Michael Johnson had 2 picks yesterday, and one of the biggest plays of the game was when he intercepted the pass in the end zone right before Halftime which stopped the Niners chances of tying the game. Tuck also forced 2 fumbles, and Blackburn forced a fumble. The defense came back and played like they are capable of. The Giants also had a safety. We know that the Giants can rush the passer, but you know that they had a great day when they add 2 picks, 3 forced fumbles, and a safety to that. The Giants’ defense put up 2 of the 29 points.

Special Teams

The worst play of the game took place on Special Teams when the 49ers blocked the field goal and returned it for a touch down. John Carney was 2/3 in Field Goal Attempts. The blocked field goal gave Carney the first missed field goal attempt of the season. The Special Teams unit needs to improve on returns and coverage. The Giants’ special teams put up 6 of the 29 points.

So the Giants won their fifth game which makes them 5-1. They now head into the real season. I’m can’t wait to watch these games. How will Big Blue fair in these next 10 games? I predicted them to be 6-0 after the first 6 games, but they are 5-1. I predicted the Giants to be 6-4 down the stretch giving them a 12-4 record. The Steelers are next on the schedule.

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The Giants beat the 49ers in a very ugly game giving them their fifth win of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

Dave Tollefson sacked J.T. O’Sullivan for a loss of 7 yards during the 49ers opening drive which ultimately led to a punt.

With 10:10 remaining, Fred Robbins sacked J.T. O’Sullivan for a 4-yard loss during the Niners second possession which led to another punt.

Manning handed the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who ran down the right sideline for a 26-yard Touch Down run to cap off a 54-yard drive with 7:52 remaining.

The 49ers got stopped at the Giants’ 22 yardline so Joe Nedney connected on his 40-yard Field Goal Attempt with 4:23 remaining.

2nd Quarter

The Niners committed three straight defensive penalties putting the Giants at the 49ers’ 19 yardline, and the Giants capitalized on this when Brandon Jacobs ran 2-yards up the gut for his second Touch Down of the game with 14:55 remaining.

The 49ers immediately countered with a 74-yard scoring drive of their own as J.T. O’Sullivan hooked up with Josh Morgan in the end zone for a 30-yard Touch Down reception with 11:25 remaining.

With 3:11 remaining, J.T. O’Sullivan threw an interception directly to Michael Johnson who returned it 19 yards to the Niners’ 9 yardline.

The Giants were unable to get the ball into the end zone, but John Carney made a 21-yard Field Goal Attempt with 1:52 remaining.

In the 2:00 offense, the 49ers were marching down the field successfully until J.T. O’Sullivan threw another interception to Michael Johnson in the middle of the end zone with 0:15 remaining.

3rd Quarter

On 3rd and 2, O’Sullivan handed the ball off poorly to Frank Gore who fumbled the ball which was recovered by Mathias Kiwanuka at the 49ers’ 18 yardline with 11:07 remaining.

Once again, the Giants were able to capitalize on another turnover as Eli Manning drilled a 6-yard Touch Down pass to Plaxico Burress in the back of the end zone with 9:01 remaining.

On 1st and 10 of another unsuccessful drive by the Niners, J.T. O’Sullivan scrambled and got sacked by Barry Cofield for a loss of 1 yard with 8:44 remaining.

Manning along with some big runs out of Ward and Bradshaw went 63 yards before getting stopped, and Manny Lawson blocked the 35-yard Field Goal Attempt by Carney and Nate Clements returned it for a 74-yard Touch Down return with 1:50 remaining.

4th Quarter

The Giants marched to the 49ers’ 30 yardline, and John Carney his 48-yard Field Goal Attempt with 12:22 remaining.

The 49ers were at their own 20 yardline when Justin Tuck knocked the ball out of J.T. O’Sullivan’s hands. The ball headed towards the end zone, and Josh Morgan kicked the ball out of the end zone which resulted in a penalty which resulted in a Giants safety with 4:57 remaining.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 16/31 and threw for 161 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts and Rushing Yards with 17 and 69 respectively.

Steve Smith led in Receptions with 4 and Derrick Ward led in Receiving Yards with 50.

Brandon Jacobs had 2 Rushing TD, and Plaxico Burress had 1 Receiving TD.

John Carney went 2/3 in Field Goal Attempts.

Chase Blackburn led the team in Tackles with 8.

Justin Tuck had 2 Sacks while Chase Blackburn, Dave Tollefson, Fred Robbins, and Barry Cofield each had 1 Sack.

Michael Johnson had 2 INTs.

Justin Tuck had 2 Forced Fumbles, and Chase Blackburn had 1 Forced Fumble.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

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There were not many positives about last night’s game between the Giants and the Browns. I have been thinking and thinking about what happened last night, and I have various ideas as to what may have caused the embarrassment that we witnessed.

Prior to the game, the only thing that I thought could’ve motivated the Browns was playing the Super Bowl champions at The Dog Pound on Monday Night Football. With that said, I still expected the Jints to come out with a ‘W’. I recall games like this in the past. Off the top of my head, I can go back to last season when the Bills were beating the Cowboys on MNF at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the 4th Quarter. The Cowboys came back to win that game, but the Giants did not. Time and time again, I’ve seen these teams that don’t get much publicity get all pumped up when they are in their city and on national television.

Simply put, the G-MEN took the night off. The Giants did not show up with any sense of urgency. The Browns dominated the physical battle on both sides of the football. The offense was awful and the defense was equally bad. I’m not sure if there was a problem with the coaching or if the players were not executing. After seeing Steve Spagnuolo successfully adjust to some of the best offenses in the NFL so many times, did he not figure out how to stop the Browns or did the team not want to do what Spags had to say? What amazed me the most was that the entire team took off on the same night. It wasn’t one of those nights were the offense played well, but the defense played poorly or vice versa.

One of the biggest things that happened is the fact that the media finally termed Big Blue as the best team in the NFL. The Giants have been playing with a chip on their shoulder for so long because nobody believed that they were the best team in the NFL. Last week, as the Giants were heading into last night’s game they answered the media regarding their status by saying things like, “but no, the media said we were the 6th best team in May.” It seemed like the Giants were trying to create an imaginary chip on their shoulder because that was so long ago. Did the G-MEN finally buy into the fact that the media finally crowned them? It’s possible because this is the first or second week that the media has been saying this, and it is the first time the Giants lost a game since Week 17 to the Patriots. Not only did they lose a game, but they lost a game that they shouldn’t have lost. If this is the case then it should be easy to fix because they got humiliated on national television in October. Coach Coughlin has every right to remind his team how much work they have ahead of them to make the Playoffs and try to repeat. The Giants did not lose a road game since Week 1 last year to the Cowboys. Did they think that they can just show up and win games? If this is the problem then the Giants have plenty of time left to figure out how to win as the favorite and not the underdog. The proof is in the pudding, the Giants will show us that they are for real if they rebound immediately and win the next four games which include the 49ers, the Steelers, the Cowboys, and the Eagles. Are three out of those four game difficult? Of course, but the Giants missed an opportunity to beat up on a weaker team so they are going to have to come out on top over the really good teams.

The most positive spin I can put on this loss is that the Giants have been playing at such a high level for so long and they are bound to lose a game. They won 4 straight Playoff Games and 4 straight regular season games before suffering a loss. How they lost is humiliating because it wasn’t even close. Maybe the fact that they got humiliated will have a positive effect on the team for the remainder of the season.

Offense

Eli Manning was horrible statistically. He went 18/28 which is a 64.29% completion percentage and threw for 196 yards, 1 TD, and 3 INTs. Every time the Giants were about to catch up, Eli threw a pick. Steve Smith was the only effective receiver, and he led the team in Receptions with 9 for 94 yards. Our running game was the best offensive weapon for the Jints last night. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward ran for 168 yards on 24 carries, but Ahmad Bradshaw never got any touches. So Jacobs and Ward were able to average of 7.0 yards per carry, but nothing else was clicking on offense. The Giants’ offense put up 14 of the 14 points.

Defense

Romeo Crennel developed a pretty good game plan because the Big Blue Wrecking Crew did not get any sacks which is two lower than they got last week against the Seahawks. The reason for this was because the Derek Anderson took 3-step drops and got rid of the ball immediately. This is something that the Giants have not seen before, and it caught them offguard. Crennel also sprinkled in some trick plays which threw the Giants’ defense offguard. Steve Spagnuolo needs to have this issue resolved immediately because other teams are going to look at tape and try to do the same thing. Spags needs to smart enough not to allow it to happen again. The defense did not do anything right so there is not much to say. The Giants’ defense put up 0 of the 14 points.

Special Teams

Did the Special Teams unit fly out to Cleveland? We know Jeff Feagles did since he kept punting the ball away, but where in the world was John Carney. Coach Coughlin didn’t even call his number last night. It was all or nothing. The Giants’ special teams put up 0 of the 14 points.

So the Giants lost their first game which makes them 4-1. They blew a perfect opportunity to go 2 games up on the division since they already knew that the Redskins and Cowboys lost. I picked the Giants to win so that gives me my first loss. Will Big Blue rebound? The 49ers will travel cross country next week to take on the Giants.

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The Browns decided to play the Giants like it was their Super Bowl on Monday Night as they overcame a ton of penalties to shock Big Blue giving them their first loss of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

During the Browns opening drive, Anderson connected with Edwards on the left side for about 4 yards, but Edwards ran 49 yards down the sideline. Anderson handed the ball off to Lewis a bunch of times which set up a 28-yard Field Goal Attempt which was made by Phil Dawson with 10:08 remaining.

The Giants were moving the chains during their first possession, but Eli Manning threw an interception to Brodney Poole who returned it to the Browns’ 29 yardline with 6:12 remaining.

Anderson marched the Browns down to the Giants’ 42 yardline where they were stopped, and Dawson missed a 51-yard Field Goal Attempt with 0:33 remaining.

2nd Quarter

Manning immediately made up for his mistake by marching the Giants down to the Browns’ 7 yardline before handing it off to Brandon Jacobs who broke a little to the left and ran it into the end zone for a 7-yard Touch Down run with 12:09 remaining.

Anderson aired it out 70 yards to Edwards in the middle of the field which set up the Browns at the Giants’ 5 yardline, and then Anderson handed it off to Jamal Lewis who ran it up the gut for a 5-yard Touch Down run with 11:10 remaining.

Derek Anderson continued to catch the Giants’ defense off guard as he led the Browns on another scoring drive, and he capped it off by gunning it to Darnell Dinkins in the middle of the end zone for a 17-yard Touch Down pass with 2:15 remaining.

Manning hit Smith over the middle a few of times along with a few other plays which was enough to get the Giants into the red zone where Eli Manning lofted a 3-yard Touch Down pass to Plaxico Burress in the left corner of the end zone with 0:12 remaining.

3rd Quarter

The Giants got the ball first at the 20 yardline, and Eli Manning threw an interception on the first play of the half to Brandon McDonald who returned it to the Giants’ 46 yardline with 14:48 remaining.

The Browns ran a trick play to pick up 33 yards, and then they ran the ball a few times before Phil Dawson made a 26-yard Field Goal Attempt with 11:58 remaining.

With 8:21 remaining, Alex Hall sacked Eli Manning for a loss of 4 yards which ultimately led to a punt.

4th Quarter

The Browns overcame multiple penalties as they had an 88-yard scoring drive, and Derek Anderson gunned a 11-yard Touch Down pass to Braylon Edwards with 14:55 remaining.

Eli Manning countered by marching the Giants all the way to the Browns’ 9 yardline before throwing an interception to Eric Wright who returned it for a 91-yard Touch Down with 8:07 remaining. The Browns converted on a 2-point conversion to take a 21-point lead.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 18/28 and threw for 196 yards, 1 TD, and 3 INTs.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts with 14, and Derrick Ward led in Rushing Yards with 101.

Steve Smith led in Receptions and in Receiving Yards with 9 and 94 respectively.

Brandon Jacobs had 1 Rushing TD, and Plaxico Burress had 1 Receiving TD.

John Carney went 0/0 in Field Goal Attempts.

James Butler, Bryan Kehl, and Justin Tuck led the team in Tackles with 5.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

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The best part of yesterday’s game between the Seahawks and the Giants was when the G-MEN roughed up Matt Hasselbeck on the first drive of the game making him ineffective and providing him with an early exit. It was similar to the last Giants game when they roughed up Carson Palmer, and the Cowboys should thank us for that since they squeaked by the Bengals yesterday. Imagine what a healthy Palmer would’ve done to the poor Cowboys defense. The Cowboys should also thank us for ending Drew Bledsoe’s time in Dallas because who knows when Tony Romo’s opportunity would’ve came if not for our nasty defense. The Road Warriors won their third home game in as many games in the early 2008 season. These are the Road Warriors that could barely win at home in ‘07.

Offense

Eli Manning had a pretty good game statistically. He went 19/25 which is a 76.00% completion percentage and threw for 267 yards and 2 TDs…in only 3 Quarters. David Carr was able to come in lead the team to a 4 Quarter Touch Down as well. The last time we saw Carr was against the Rams for a couple of minutes, but he played an entire quarter today. We knew that Eli was not going to have his favorite weapon in Plaxico so everybody needed to step up, and they did just that. Domenik Hixon, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith led the team in Receptions. Hixon had 104 yards in the 1st Half before leaving the game at Halftime due to a concussion, and I would’ve loved to have seen what he could’ve done by playing the entire game. Surprisingly, Sinorice Moss had 2 TD Catches, and Domenik Hixon had 1 TD. Earth, Wind, and Fire had an outstanding day as they steamrolled the soft Seattle defense for 241 yards on 33 attempts which is an average of 7.3 yards per carry. WOW! Jacobs led in rushing yards with 136 and 2 TDs. The Giants’ offense put up 35 of the 44 points.

Defense

Mike Holmgren developed a pretty good game plan because Big Blue was only able to get 2 Sacks which is the lowest since the Giants opened up the season against the Redskins. With that said, the hit that Justin Tuck laid on Matt Hasselbeck on the first drive of the game, which wasn’t even a sack, was enough to make him a non-factor as the Seahawks didn’t score any touch downs. Mathias Kiwanuka and Dave Tollefson were the two players that actually got to Hasselbeck. I was extremely impressed with Kevin Dockery’s pick and 46 yard return. That was the last we saw of Hasselbeck. The Giants’ defense put up 0 of the 44 points.

Special Teams

John Carney was 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts, and he hasn’t missed a field goal yet this season. It will be interesting to see what the coaches do when Lawrence Tynes is healthy and ready to return. I would suggest that they ride out it out until he misses and then put Tynes in. The Giants’ special teams put up 9 of the 44 points.

So the Giants won their first four games which makes them perfect through the first quarter of the season. I picked them to do exactly that. The last time the Giants went 4-0 was in 1990 when they won Super Bowl XXV against the Bills. This game was over after the 1st Half. When was the last time you saw both starting Quarterbacks taken out of the game after the 3rd Quarter? The team that has so much trouble coming off of the bye week had no problem in 2008. The Giants travel to Cleveland next week to take on the Browns on Monday Night Football.

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The Giants dominated the Seahawks as they scored 4 TDs and 2 FGs on their first 6 possessions of the game which was enough for both coaches to pull their starting quarterbacks out after the 3rd Quarter giving Big Blue their fourth win of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

During the opening drive of the Seahawks, Tuck took down Matt Hasselbeck which required medical attention on his knee, and the drive ultimately led to a punt.

During the Giants first possession, Eli Manning handed the ball off to Jacobs three times for 64 yards before he hooked up with Domenik Hixon in the left side of the end zone for a 32-yard Touch Down reception with 11:21 remaining.

Hasselbeck marched the Seahawks 56 yards to set up a 30-yard Field Goal Attempt which was made by Olindo Mare with 7:09 remaining.

The Giants second possession began at the 25 yardline, and Manning got Toomer involved with 3 receptions on this drive before handing the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who ran it up the gut for a 3-yard Touch Down run with 3:39 remaining.

2nd Quarter

Manning aired out a 41-yard pass to Hixon which got the Giants to the Seahawks’ 18 yardline, and John Carney made a 29-yard Field Goal Attempt with 14:50 remaining.

Manning sprinkled in some Smith, some Hedgecock, and some Manningham as he led the team 73 yards to the end zone, and he capped off the drive by handing the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who jumped over the pile for a 1-yard Touch Down run with 7:23 remaining.

On 2nd and 5, Patrick Kerney sacked Eli Manning on his blindside and knocked the ball out as well, but Kevin Boothe recovered it so the Giants did not turn the ball over. Manning got Hixon, Moss, and Ward involved as he marched the Giants into field goal range, and John Carney made a 33-yard Field Goal Attempt with 0:47 remaining.

Hasselbeck, along with a couple of bad facemask penatlies by the Giants, was able to march the Seahawks into field goal range before the 1st Half concluded, and Olindo Mare made a 29-yard Field Goal Attempt with 0:03 remaining.

3rd Quarter

Eli Manning handed the ball off Jacobs, one of which was a 28-yard run, and Ward before firing a 23-yard Touch Down pass to Sinorice Moss in the middle of the end zone with 11:58 remaining to cap off an 80 yard drive (The Giants reported that Dominek Hixon and Kareem McKenzie left the game due to concussions).

The Giants seventh possession resulted in a Punt which was the first non-scoring drive of the game for them.

On 3rd and 5, Matt Hasselbeck scrambled and threw an interception to Kevin Dockery at the Giants’ 23 yardline, and Dockery returned it to the Seahawks’ 31 yardline. The Giants were unable to get into the end zone, but John Carney made a 25-yard Field Goal Attempt with 1:38 remaining.

4th Quarter

Seneca Wallace replaced Hasselbeck on this drive, and Mathias Kiwanuka sacked Wallace for a loss of 9 on 3rd and 10 with 14:11 remaining.

David Carr replaced Manning on this drive, and Carr kept handing the ball off to Bradshaw until they got to the Seahawks’ 5 yardline where Carr hit Sinorice Moss in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard Touch Down pass with 9:25 remaining.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 19/25 and threw for 267 yards, 2 TDs, and 0 INTs.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts and Rushing Yards with 15 and 136.

Domenik Hixon, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith led in Receptions with 4, and Domenik Hixon led in Receiving Yards with 102.

Brandon Jacobs had 2 TD Runs, Sinorice Moss had 2 TD Reception, and Domenik Hixon had 1 TD Reception.

John Carney went 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts.

Aaron Ross led the team in Tackles with 6.

Mathias Kiwanuka and Dave Tollefson had 1 Sack.

Kevin Dockery had 1 INT.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

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The Giants and the Bengals went back-and-forth all game until time ran out in regulation which forced the game into overtime where the Giants won on a game winning field goal giving Big Blue their third win of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

Mathias Kiwanuka, Fred Robbins, and Barry Cofield sacked Carson Palmer on the Bengals’ first play of the game for a loss of 6 yards with 11:04 remaining.

On the same drive, Corey Webster knocked the ball out of Carson Palmer’s hand with 9:48 remaining, but Bobbie Williams fell on the ball to keep it in the Bengals’ possession.

Carson Palmer marched the Bengals 60 yards to the Giants’ 3 yardline during their second possession, but the Giants stopped the Bengals from reaching the end zone so Shayne Graham made a 22-yard Field Goal Attempt giving the Bengals a 3-0 lead with 0:38 remaining.

2nd Quarter

Since this is the first time that the Giants have been losing this year, Eli Manning immediately countered by leading the Giant offense 80 yards down the field and capped it off with a hand off to Brandon Jacobs who leaped over the pile for a 1-yard Touch Down run giving the Giants a 7-3 lead with 10:38 remaining.

Carson Palmer then countered by driving the Bengals 74 yards for another score, and Carson Palmer capped off the drive by handing it off to Chris Perry who broke right side for a 26-yard Touch Down run giving the Bengals a 10-7 lead with 7:20 remaining.

Eli Manning countered again by marching the Giants 51 yards down the field for another score, but the Bengals stopped the Giants from getting into the end zone so John Carney made a 24-yard Field Goal Attempt to tie the game at 10-10 with 3:55 remaining.

Barry Cofield sacked Carson Palmer for a 6-yard loss during the Bengals’ fourth possession with 2:26 remaining.

Also during the Bengals’ fourth possession, Carson Palmer kept this offensive showdown alive by marching the team 80 yards to the Giants’ 4 yardline before getting sacked by Mathias Kiwanuka for a loss of 8 yards on 3rd and 3 which set up a 30-yard Field Goal Attempt that Shayne Graham made with 0:32 remaining giving the Bengals a 13-10 lead.

3rd Quarter

Fred Robbins sacked Carson Palmer for a 10-yard loss during the Bengals’ sixth possession with 11:28 remaining.

During the Giants’ seventh possession, Eli Manning took the Giants to the 30 yardline which was where John Carney made a 46-yard Field Goal Attempt to tie the game at 13-13 with 6:23 remaining.

Dave Tollefson joined the party by sacking Carson Palmer for a loss of 8 on 3rd and 16 with 2:49 remaining which led to a punt.

4th Quarter

The Giants eighth possession began at the 25 yardline.

After the Giant defense made a few stops, Eli Manning took the Giants 67 yards to the 8 yardline where they had to settle for a 26-yard Field Goal Attempt that was made by John Carney which gave the Giants a 16-13 lead with 11:32 remaining.

Carson Palmer countered the Giants score by driving the Bengals 68 yards, and he capped off the drive with a 17-yard strike to T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the middle of the end zone for a Touch Down giving the Bengals a 20-16 lead with 4:39 remaining.

Eli Manning, in a hurry up offense, marched the Giants 68 yards to the 3 yardline where he fired a 3-yard TD pass to a covered and leaping Kevin Boss in the middle of the end zone giving the Giants a 23-20 lead with 1:50 remaining.

Carson Palmer was able to get the Bengals to the 3 yardline to set up a 21-yard Field Goal Attempt which was made by Shayne Graham on their final possession to tie the game at 23-23 with 0:00 remaining.

Overtime

The Giants won the toss and elected to receive, but the Bengals were successful in stopping the Giants from scoring during their first possession.

The Bengals went 3-and-out during their first possession.

The Giants began their second possession at the 29 yardline. Manning hit Burress on the left sideline for a 33-yard gain. After that, aired it out to Toomer along the left sideline who went out of bounds at the 7 yardline for a gain of 31 yards. On 2nd and Goal, John Carney made a 22-yard Field Goal Attempt to win the game by a score of 26-23 with 8:39 remaining.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 26/43 and threw for 289 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts with 14, Derrick Ward led in Rushing Yards with 80.

Steve Smith led in Receptions with 7, and Amani Toomer led in Receiving Yards with 64.

Brandon Jacobs had 1 TD Run, Kevin Boss had 1 TD Reception.

John Carney went 4/4 in Field Goal Attempts.

Antonio Pierce led the team in Tackles with 10.

Fred Robbins had 2 Sacks. Corey Webster, Barry Cofield, Mathias Kiwanuka, and Dave Tollefson each had 1 Sack.

Corey Webster had 1 Forced Fumble.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

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The best part of yesterday’s game between the Giants and the Rams was the final score which was 41-13. The Road Warriors went out to St. Louis seeking their 11th consecutive road win, and 12th if you include the Super Bowl. The G-MEN dominated the Rams in every way except for points during most of the game.

Offense

Eli Manning had a solid game as he went 20/29 which is a 68.96% completion percentage and threw for 260 yards and 3 TDs. Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress both were key contributors in the Giants aerial attack as they combined for over 150 receiving yards. The ‘running back by committee’ had a solid outing as they combined for over 200 yards. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward wore down the Rams’ defense. In the 4th Quarter, Ahmad Bradshaw ran into the end zone untouched once for a 31-yard TD run. The Bradshaw TD run was beautiful to watch because nobody got a hand on him. With all of that said, the Rams were able to keep the Giants from not getting into the end zone too much until the 4th Quarter when the Giants torched them for 3 TDs, one of which was a defensive touch down. The Giants’ offense put up 28 of the 41 points.

Defense

Big Blue was able to apply pressure on Marc Bulger all day. Justin Tuck was a beast as usual and finished the day with 3 Tackles, 2 Sacks, and 1 Interception that he returned for a Touch Down. Fred Robbins also had 2 Sacks which were his first sacks of the season. Antonio Pierce and Jay Alford also got to Bulger once. I really enjoyed the AP sack also because nobody even touched him as he went right up the middle. The Rams’ offense was unable to stop the Giants’ defense. The Giants’ defense put up 7 of the 41 points.

Special Teams

John Carney was 2/2 in Field Goal Attempts. Domenik Hixon was solid returning Kickoffs and Punts. The Giants’ special teams put up 6 of the 41 points.

So the Giants won their first two games. Big Blue turned this one into a blow out. You would’ve never known how close this game was in the 4th Quarter by looking at the final score. Next on the schedule are the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Tom Rock of Newsday put together a Q&A for the Giants, and here are two questions that I found to be the most interesting.

Is Ahmad Bradshaw still on the team?

Yes, and he did return a kickoff. But the second-year running back was left out of the rushing game. That wasn’t by design, Tom Coughlin said. “I didn’t get the rotation worked out the way I really would want to,” he said. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward took all of the team’s handoffs, and they seemed to fare rather well. Coughlin pointed out that he was pleased with how the two backs worked against a physical, stout defense. “Not that I’m not pleased with Bradshaw,” he said. “That’s not the case. I just didn’t get the right rotation.”

What was the most impressive moment of Jacobs’ night?

That would have to be the hit he put on LaRon Landry, an instant YouTube classic in which the Redskins safety was essentially spiked into the ground and had to leave the game. “I’m just glad that guy’s on my team,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “He ran over a guy while a guy was on his back, too. That’s hard to do. That’s what you get when you have a running back that looks like a lineman. I don’t know what to tell you other than I’m glad I don’t have to tackle him.”

So now we know why we only saw Bradshaw once. Jacobs is a beast, and I love it. We just have to hope that the physicality he bring does not get him injured again like last season. I am aware that we have depth at the RB position, but I would prefer to have Brandon in every game if possible. I went and found the YouTube video of when Brandon Jacobs ran over LaRon Landry and another video of when he knocked the wind out of Fred Smoot.

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To be honest, I’ve been avoiding the NFL Network, ESPN, blogs, etc., all morning. Why? Two reasons. First, I don’t want to hear others talk openly about how uncomfortable we looked on offense last night. I think there is a lesson to be learned for the team, and Zorn. Preseason does matter. Last night showed the team was not where it needs to be. Now, I don’t know exactly what happened during training camp. I don’t know if there was a sense of premature accomplishment, or what. But clearly, last night, the Giants let us know, we’re not there yet.

So, yeah, the score wasn’t that bad. We didn’t get blown out. The defense can take the credit for that. By half-time, the squad had seemed to figure it out. And, even after Fred Smoot went down, we were able to hold them back from squirting Plax juice in our face for the rest of the night. I think the defense will be fine if they can play a whole game like they played the second half last night.

As for the offense, to be certain, I do believe we will improve…dramatically. How could we not. The running game needs help. How Clinton Portis ended up with 84 total yards is amazing. Jim Zorn wants to keep the same running game. Well, he might want to think seriously about adding a few new wrinkles to it ’cause “50-gut” doesn’t work any more. Beyond that, we need to get Chris Cooley more involved. And, he needs to learn how to “crash” block down on the far side DE. On one particular play, his DE ran all the way across and down the line to stop CP for maybe a 1-yard gain. Are you kidding me?

The second reason: I don’t want to see LaRon Landry get blasted and bowled over by Brandon Jacobs, again…and again…and again.

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