Giants go on the road, and Steal One

You can’t argue with the results. The Giants went on the road and faced a strong AFC opponent in a hostile environment and left with a win. The Giants played a physical game and when given a chance in the fourth quarter, they capitalized. It may not have been pretty but the Giants beat a strong Steelers team in Week 8 and improved to a strong 6-1 record, first in the NFC east.

Tom Coughlin benched Plaxico Burress for the first quarter. Burress did not come into the game until there was about eleven minutes remaining in the second quarter. This had to be a tough decision for Coach Coughlin and to his credit he made it and stuck with it. Fans’ view of the decision to bench Plaxico would have been significantly different if the end result of the game was not a 21-14 Giants victory. Mark my words that the Plaxico situation will be hyped up for the rest of the year, but more on this later. Plaixco’s absence did not affect the final result.

When they were given the ball at the end of the game with a chance to win, the offense executed. It could have been better. Eli did not throw any interceptions, but the Giants came away from several red zone trips with a meager 9 points going into half time. A big blunder came in the first half when the Giants were stuffed on the goal line on inches to go. That would have given the Giants a 10-7 lead. For good measure Coughlin called for a review of the play and burned a time out when the ruling on the field was affirmed. Give Pittsburgh credit, it was that kind of a day for the Giants run game because of the stingy Steelers defense. (Yes, I will try to reference stingy defense in just about every article going forward).

How stingy? The running game produced less than 100 yards from the 35 attempts between Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward. Pittsburgh came into the game with the second best run defense in the league. They maintained that reputation by keeping the Giants to less than 2.5 yards per carry. The Pittsburgh defense will be really tough when the weather gets cold and windy in the Autumn and Winter.

The Giants came with a little “stingy-d” of their own. The pass rush was down right scary. Roethlisberger was knocked down 16 times and sacked 5 times. Kiwanuka had a big sack at the end of the second half after the Giants took a lead 9-7 on a Carney 25 yard field goal. The sack lead to a Pittsburgh punt and a Manning kneel out as the Giants took a 3 point lead into halftime. The pass rush lead to Big Ben’s season high 4 interception game; everyone getting in the action with Kehl, Webster, Butler, and Phillips all recording one pick each. The sacks and picks seemed to come at very opportune times for the Giants. Turnovers were an undoubtedly big part of the game.

In fact, despite 2 fumbles the Giants didn’t turn the ball over once. Eli Manning was highly efficient. He was 19 for 32 with 1 touchdown and with zero interceptions. His play included a laser to Boss to take the 21-14 lead. Both Jacobs and Butler fumbled but neither fumbles were recovered by Pittsburgh. This is a significant accomplishment since Pittsburgh was sixth in the league in take-away/ give-away ratio coming into the game.

 

> Find NY Giants jerseys & merchandise through Pro Football Fans and check out our Fantasy Football updates @ ProFootball-fans.com!

Overall the Giants came into a hostile environment and played well enough to win. Championship teams need to do so. Everyone who understands the NFL knows that road games are tough, cross conference games are tough, and no matter what, a win is a win. Critics will complain about the so-so offensive game. Still, the offense can’t click on every single play. The fact that the Giants played well enough to win after all of the hype going into yesterday is a testament to their ability to focus on the task at hand. The task at hand for Week 9 is a home divisional game against the Dallas Cowboys who need to start making a push if they maintain any hope of winning the NFC East.

As an aside, Plaxico Burress missed a treatment for his sore shoulder on Saturday and as such was benched for most of the 1st half. This is not a big deal. It shows that Plaxico is a baby, and that he is extremely short sighted. This should not be a distraction to this focused Giants team. Nonetheless, every single New York paper will have some discussion on “Plax Gate” for the remainder of the week. It doesn’t scare me. The Giants won with Burress’ weak 5 catches for 15 yards yesterday, and does anyone remember the outcome of the game when he was suspended?

Ok, news is slow from Tuesday to Wednesday in October when the Yankees and the Mets are not in the Post Season. The Knicks are pathetic. Hockey doesn’t get exciting until April. Hey the Red Bulls made the Playoffs. But, since watching soccer is about as exciting as watching British Parliamentary sessions who cares? The Burress tantrum antics are old. The story deserves little coverage. It will be all that New Yorkers hear about. And, while that is going on, the Giants will be focused on beating Dallas, with or without Plaxico Burress.

By Adam Wood
ProFootball-fans.com New York Giants Correspondent