NFL: Eli Must Play Well for Giants to Win

If the New York Giants want to keep their season alive, they will have to do something that they have not been able to do so far this season: beat the Dallas Cowboys.
After watching the talk shows with the so-called experts stating what their keys to the game are, I noticed that they all left out an ingredient that is key for the Giants to win: Eli Manning must play well.
You may say that there is nothing profound in that statement, that anyone could have said it, but guess what – they didn’t, but I did.
The panel of ESPN’s NFL crew – Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, and Emmitt Smith, all spoke of different aspects of the game that they thought were most important – the Giants’ pass rush, Michael Strahan, the Dallas running game, etc., etc.
But what the point that they all failed to bring up is how Manning is such a perfect example of the Jeckyl and Hyde syndrome. From week to week, you don’t know what you’re going to get out of Eli until the game is played.
The Giants lost just one game on the road this year, and it was week 1 against Dallas. Manning played well in that game as he was 28-for-41 for 312 yards, four touchdowns, and a pick.
Plaxico Burress had one of his best games of the season, with eight receptions for 144 yards and three TD’s, and they ran the ball for more than 100 yards.
The Giants lost that game because the secondary simply fell apart in the fourth quarter. The Giants lost the game by 10 points, and two fourth-quarter touchdowns by the Cowboys were the difference.
Entering the final period, the Giants were trailing 31-19. A Giants’ field goal made it 31-22, but then Romo connected with T.O. for a 47-yard strike, as Dallas went 71 yards in three plays and less than two minutes. That made it 38-22, and things didn’t look good for New York.
However, the Giants came back after that, as two straight touchdown passes by Manning pulled the Giants to within 38-35 with time winding down. New York needed a defensive stop and a score to tie or win the game.
But, the secondary let the team down for the second time in the quarter, as Romo hit Sam Hurd (who?) for a 51-yard bomb that put the game away.
Week 2 was another disappointment, as the Giants were beaten by a Green Bay team that nobody expected anything from. Eli’s numbers were average, going 16-for-29 for 211 yards, a TD, and a pick. The offense wasn’t terrible in the loss, but for the defense, it was a complete meltdown.
Brett Favre played the game that propelled the Packers to the unbelievable season that they have had. Favre was 29-for-38 with three TD’s, and his confidence was completely restored.
After six straight wins, the Giants went into the bye week on an incredible high. I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth from New York defeating the then 0-7 Miami Dolphins by a mere three points in London.
The rest didn’t seem to help New York, because the Giants were again thumped by Dallas. The Giants stayed with the Cowboys for most of the game, but another meltdown gave Dallas the easy win.
Manning threw a pair of picks, and the defense collapsed, giving Owens two more touchdowns in the final 25 minutes. One was in the third quarter that went for 25 yards about midway through the quarter, and then in the fourth another bomb, this one for 50 yards, completed the scoring as Dallas outscored the Giants 14-3 in the last quarter-and-a-half to make it look easy.
New York lost three more games down the stretch, against Minnesota, Washington, and New England. And all three of those games were played at Giants Stadium.
The game against the Vikings was simply awful, and by far Manning’s worst outing of the season. He went 21-for-49 for a mere 273 yards one TD, and four – count ‘em – four picks – and three of them, including one in the fourth quarter that was returned 93 yards, went for touchdowns.
Against Washington, Manning was again poor, completing just 18 out of 52 passes for 184 yards, a lost fumble, and a TD. Even Brandon Jacobs’ big game of 130 yards couldn’t give the G-men a win and his fine performance went to waste.
Eli was good against the Patriots, as the Giants scored more points against New England than any other team that the Pats faced all year.
Of course, Manning had to throw a fourth-quarter interception that killed a Giants’ drive and helped lead to the loss.
The defense didn’t help, however. In the fourth quarter, they gave up a 65-yard touchdown to Moss, and then with less than five minutes left they gave up a score on the ground to Maroney for the game-winner.
So, as we see the pattern, it’s quite clear. It doesn’t matter how stingy the defense is, and it doesn’t matter if Jacobs runs for 500 yards. If Manning doesn’t play well and protect the ball even better, the Giants have no chance to beat Dallas.