Giants Suffer Worst Lose of the Season

CHARGERS 21

GIANTS 20

Many years ago there was Dan Marino's fake spike that stunned Jets fans at the Meadowlands in a season-shaking defeat for Gang Green.

Today, Philip Rivers had his Dan Marino moment at the Meadowlands. No, it wasn't against the snake-bitten Jets, who also call East Rutherford home, it was against the Giants.

In a game that the Giants needed to win in order to end a hideous three game losing streak and give themselves some hope of getting back into the NFC playoff chase, they choked it up in the final seconds, and, in turn, may have killed their season.

The first half of the game was a total blur. Both the Chargers and Giants traded extensive time consuming drives that ended in touchdowns that kept the game tied going into the half at 7-7. However, the Giants did have a chance to take the lead in this game. On their opening drive of the afternoon, the Giants got all the way to the Chargers 21 yard line; instead of going for it on fourth and short, Tom Coughlin elected to kick a field goal.

Tonight, he may regret that decision. Lawrence Tynes missed the ball, that's right, his foot kicked air not the football! Jeff Feagles got tackled on the play, killing the Giants opportunity to take a early 3-0 lead.

In the fourth quarter things got really interesting. With San Diego up 14-7, the Giants started to turn the tables. Manning hit Hakeem Nicks in the flat for a 29 yard gain to put the Giants in great position as the third quarter ended. The drive ended in a Tynes field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10.

Then on the Chargers next possession, Rivers was sacked by Fred Robbins for a loss of seven, and Darren Sproles was tackled by Justin Tuck for nine more yards to spot the ball at San Diego's own four yard line. The Chargers eventually punted.

Giants Stadium was rocking, and it appeared that Big Blue was ready to burst.

Manning hit Mario Manningham for 14 yards to the Chargers 20. Then Eli lobbed a touchdown pass to Kevin Boss to give the Giants a 17-14 lead.

Late in the quarter, Rivers was picked off by Tyler Thomas, which appeared to have ended the game for Big Blue, but it was not the case.

The Chargers got the ball one more time with 2:05 to go, and Rivers put on a show. Rivers hit Malcom Floyd for a 12 yard gain to move the ball from the Chargers 39 to the Giants 49 yard line. Next, Rivers hit Antonio Gates for 10 more, and Darren Sproles for 21 to set up shop at the Giants 18 yard line. Then Rivers lobbed the ball to a wide open Vincent Jackson for the 18 yard touchdown.

The Chargers bench exploded with jubilation as 78,000 people sat in silent horror. The Chargers stole the game with 21 seconds to go. Eli Manning heaved up a couple of incompletions in desperation and was then sacked by Shawn Merriman to end the contest. Box Score.

This is by far the worse loss of the year for Big Blue. They couldn't afford to lose another game with Dallas and Philadelphia well ahead of them in the NFC East. Now the Giants will have to wait 14 days before they play a game again. This game will be one very tough pill to swallow.

Are the Giants in danger of watching their 2009 season come to an end before Thanksgiving? It's possible. After the bye, the Giants play the Falcons (5-3), Broncos (6-1), Cowboys (5-2) and Eagles (5-2). If the Giants aren't careful they could be 6-7, or worse, 5-8, before anyone knows it. The Giants are clearly on the brink of extinction.