Giants Steal One

I still can't believe the Giants won. Is this the same team that was dead for half the game? When the score was 24-7, I was thinking 'how would Brady Quinn look in blue and red?'

Then the comeback happened, and the Gints certainly had their share of luck. The turning point was the fumble recovery TD. Plaxico caught a long pass and was trying to break a tackle; he lost the ball, it bounced into the end zone, and Tim Carter dove on it. 24-14.

Philly's offense got conservative and stopped converting 3rd downs (who knows why?). A huge defensive play occurred when FS Will Demps and LB Carlos Emmons combined to strip the ball from RB Brian Westbrook late in the 4th quarter.

Unfortunately, because the Gints were down early, they had to continure throwing. This took away from the running game, where Brandon Jacobs was having another great day. Tiki didn't fare as well, but he did most of his damage catching the ball. Manning was great in the 4th quarter and OT (despite being sacked 8 times!). If he could only play that well the whole game, the Gints would be serious Superbowl contenders.

Again, the pass D was poor. Is it my imagination, or didn't we have 2 pro-bowl DEs last year? They have 1 sack combined through 2 games. And the whole team has just 2! McNabb had all day to throw. It was only during the comeback that they seemed to get any pressure on him. Philly averaged 13 yards per pass.

Again, the run D was superb. We can thank the LBs, and the surprising play of the DTs. Philly averaged just 3.6 yards per carry - and it was only that high because of McNabb, who gained 31 yards on 4 carries.

Tiki averaged only 2.4 yards per carry, but Jacobs had a few outstanding runs. If not for a ticky-tack holding call on a 20-yard Jacobs run, his average would be about 9 instead of 7.

WR Sinorice Moss had his first NFL catch, for 4 yards. It was good to see him on the field with all the injuries he's worked through. It was also good to see Amani Toomer have a tremendous game. He was the Giants #1 receiver for years, and he can still play like one.

Plaxico again made some incredibly athletic catches, and while the game-winning one was borderline offensive pass-interference (it was more boxing-out), I won't argue after the Colts game was handed to them because of a non-existent PI call on Tim Carter.

A tough game next week in Seattle. On the bright side, the Gints have a chance to redeem themselves for last year's loss there.

30-24 Giants (1-1, 1st place)

3*: Toomer, 12 catches, 137 yards, 2 TD
2: Manning, 31-43, 371 yards, 3 TD, 1 int, 111.7 rating
1: Tiki, 28 touches, 108 yards
1: Plaxico, 6 catches, 114 yards, TD