EAST RUTHERFORD – Long before Kevin Boss scored the touchdown to help win a ball game the team needed to have in order to save their season, the big question coming into the game was “How would the Giants be able to move the ball?”
It was a fair question.
They did so with stunning efficiency and resiliency in their 11-point second half rally, resulting in their 24-20 win at New Meadowlands Stadium.
“We executed really great when we had to, said Ahmad Bradshaw. “We are really excited about this win, especially coming from behind.”
“This win is a huge confidence builder for this team.”
With all the injuries, their once potent offense that once shot bazookas was now shooting water, and with their nasty penchant for turning the football over, their margin of error had slipped to zero coming into the game.
Steve Smith was out for the third straight week. Ramses Barden was out for the season after loss to the Cowboys. To top it all off, second-year standout Hakeem Nicks injured his leg in last week’s loss to the Eagles that needed surgery, putting him on the shelf.
Did I mention that three-fifths of the offensive line was out?
“We simplified some things a little bit,” said Eli Manning.
No one is going to confuse the Jaguars with the 1985 Bears, but it was up to the offense to be as resourceful as possible and find creative ways to move the ball.
To the surprise of many, Jacksonville did not stack the line and force Eli Manning to throw the ball to the inexperienced receivers that found their way into the lineup due to all the injuries and force the makeshift offensive line to protect.
Instead, on the Giants first possession, they moved the ball well. Derek Hagan quickly got involved with a 15-yard catch and Brandon Jacobs showed flashes of former self, ripping off two runs for
double-digit yards.
Luckily, a fumble by Hagan at the Jaguars 3 was overturned after a replay challenge showing that the pass was incomplete. They had to settle for a field goal, but it set the tone for day in many ways.
“We had some good plays (called), Manning said. We just have to fix things up there.”
The problem with the offense was despite their ability to move the ball up and down the Jaguars porous defense, drives would stall inside the red zone. This was normally their strength during the year until the injuries began to decimate that side of the ball.
“We had a drop here. We had a hold there. We had a wrong route on one. You can’t afford to make mistakes and a lot of those brought touchdowns back.”
Manning is referring to a play in the second quarter, as a touchdown pass to Mario Manningham was negated by a clear holding penalty on Boss that would have tied the score at 10 late in the first half.
There were different looks. Gone was many of the multiple receiver sets because the team did not have enough receivers to begin with. After Manningham, Hagan had the most experience of anyone at the position. he was only signed by the team two weeks ago.
This meant that Bradshaw would be split out as a receiver. Travis Beckum became a part of the offense along with Boss as the Giants anticipated double coverage on Manningham as the Jaguars would force anyone else to beat them.
All the changes meant they had to simplify would they do. Only using the plays that would generate a high percentage of success and trimming the fat.
The Giants only had to punt three times in the game as they showed an ability to establish a run game that had been dormant for the previous two games and that allowed the offense to open up.
None of this would have been possible without the great play of the offensive line. The remade group was tremendous despite the losses of David Diehl, Shaun O’Hara and Shaun Andrews. Second year man Will Beatty got the start at left tackle and was a monster protecting Manning blind slide and providing terrific protection, opening up running lanes.
“(Today) those guys came off the ball,” said Jacobs. “They knocked people off the ball. They created holes. They played their butts off.”
Jacobs took the ball and run hard, breaking several nice runs, including one nearly taking off what could have been a 50-yard burst if not a last second ankle tackle.
His 87 yards on 14 carries kept the balance the offense wanted to achieve. It also justified Coughlin’s decision to bench Bradshaw after watching him lose another fumble in Philadelphia last Sunday night.
He would make the most of his nine carries, running for 49 yards.
Coughlin felt after the game that both Jacobs and Bradshaw provided sparks to the running game.
Trailing 17-9 late in the third quarter, the Giants offense came to life with an 88 yard drive, finishing with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham to pull within two and Bradshaw’s two-point conversion tied the game.
Manningham would say later, “I just had to make a play.”
With the game on the line with less than six minutes left, the drive would start at their own 31 trailing by three points. Manning found Manningham on a great scooping catch for 18 yards and when Jacobs followed that up with a 18 yard run of his own.
On third-and-10, the Jaguars sent an all-out blitz at Manning, leaving Boss as the “hot” read. Boss and Manning were the only two receivers on the field with the most experience, so it was no surprise the two were on the same page before the snap.
The blitz came, and Manning quickly spotted Boss to his left side and he made the catch, escaped an ankle tackle from safety Courtney Greene and outran everyone into the end zone.
“It’s important to be on the same page as the quarterback,” Boss said. “Eli and I were both able to see the pressure coming.”
“The last two weeks have been pretty frustrating, We definitely wanted to come in here and get a victory.”
Another reason for their success was their ball security, not turning the ball over for the first time all season.
While they had problems converting on third down and not able to score touchdowns in the red zone, the Giants found a way.
Playing conservative and smart is not a bad plan of action.
“We did a few things really well and I think that paid off,” Manning would say.
Perhaps less is more.
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