Believe it or not, the Giants won their first playoff game in seven years 24-14 on Sunday. Down 7-0 and stuffed for -2 yards of offense in the first quarter, New York responded on both sides of the ball, rattling off 24-consecutive points and forcing three turnovers. Brandon Jacobs had two touchdowns and Corey Webster played his best game as a Giant, defending passes and collecting two turnovers. And, New York put a number of questions to rest.
Did the Giants do the right thing playing all-out against the Patriots? Sunday’s game showed they absolutely did the right thing. Even with Shaun O’Hara and Sam Madison inactive and Kawika Mitchell limited (didn’t start and 2 tackles for the game) New York dominated Tampa after the first quarter.
Can Eli win a big game?Clearly, he can and don’t underestimate how much of this win was because of Manning. Tampa dared the Giants to pass, putting eight men in the box and Eli responded by completing 20-of-27 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. He did not commit a turnover. Whether Eli turns into a top QB in the league or not is still debatable, but the guy showed he has enough talent and poise to win.
Will Tom Coughlin continue to be Giants coach? After this win, Tom has earned a long contract extension. This team opened the season to low expectations, started the season 0-2 after giving up 80 points and found itself down 17-3 at halftime of their third game. They recovered from their bad start, overcame some bad losses along the way and have now won a playoff game. Coughlin deserves some credit for all of that.
But, the main focus now will be beating Dallas. Dallas won both games in the regular season and will be rested and ready. But, this Giants team is different and ready to rumble. For Giants’ fans, 4:30pm Sunday can’t get here soon enough.
Photo of Eli Manning celebrating with Guy Whimper after throwing a 4th quarter touchdown by AP/Chris O'Meara
