GIANTS 20DOLPHINS 17
No matter how the Giants try to spin this one, they cannot be proud of the way they played in their 20-17 victory over the winless Miami Dolphins. For three quarters the Giants couldn't get out of their own way against Miami as the Dolphins held a 17-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Giants were sloppy. They couldn't tackle anybody, allowing Reggie Bush to rush for 103 yards on only 15 carries, permitting Miami to convert four straight third downs at one point in the game, and even letting Matt Moore look like Dan Marino for a better part of the first half.
The Dolphins came out of the gates with a huge burst of energy, something that caught the Giants off guard for a better part of the afternoon. On their opening drive Miami drove it down the Giants throats with an 11 play 66 yard drive, culminating in a one yard touchdown by Steve Slaton to give Miami the early 7-0 lead.
The Giants had no answer for the Dolphins. On their ensuing drive, New York committed two penalties that killed their chances of tying the game, forcing the Giants to settle for a field goal.
In turn, the Dolphins stuck it to the Giants again! Moore's shifty 11 yard run, and Reggie Bush's 35 yard scamper helped set up Miami at the Giants three yard line. On fourth and goal, Moore took it himself on the naked bootleg to give Miami a 14-3 lead.
Then, and only then, did the Giants wake up offensively. They spent much of their time throwing the ball all over the park resulting in dreary incompletions, and asking Kevin Gillbride to run the football; heaven forbid should the Giants actually run the football!
Eli Manning, who was having a rather poor afternoon, started to get enough time in the pocket to make decisions and picked apart the Dolphins secondary for eight completions in nine attempts to end the first half, leading the Giants on a desperate 84 yard drive that culminated in a seven yard touchdown to Mario Manningham, cutting the Dolphins lead to four.
But, the Dolphins continued to eat up yardage. On their opening drive of the third quarter, Reggie Bush took over with bursts of 28 yards and 13 yards respectively to put Miami in field goal range. For Bush, it was his second career 100 yard day; in fact, both of those efforts came against the Giants.
Fortunately for Big Blue, the Dolphins stalled and were forced to kick a field goal, but the Dolphins were still up 17-10.
Matt Moore, who looked so good at the start of this game, couldn't handle the pressure of the Giants defense down the stretch. He completed three of nine passes in the second half and was sacked four times. The Dolphins offense completely stalled in the fourth quarter, while the Giants offense kicked it up a notch, thanks to the great protection by the G-Men's offensive line.
Manning's 26 yard pass to Victor Cruz on third and nine put the ball at the Dolphins 47 yard line. Later in the drive, Manning hit Jake Ballard for 22 yards to the Dolphins 18. Eventually, the Giants momentum sputtered, and New York once again had to settle for a field goal, but the tables had turned.
After a Miami three and out, Manning drove the Giants down the field for the go-ahead score. He had all the time in the world to find Hakeem Nicks for 17 and then was given a week to find Victor Cruz in the corner of the end zone for a 25 yard touchdown, giving the Giants the lead.
Now out front, the Giants defense pinned their ears back and harassed Moore, sacking him three times in the final drive, and picking him off to ice the game in favor of Big Blue.
Even though the Giants won this game, they didn't play well. They looked awful against possibly the worst football team in the NFL. The offense was anemic at times, as New York continues to rely too much on the passing game. Defensively, the Giants give up chunks of yards and points like a sieve; they are embarassing to watch, and this is a team that leads the NFL in sacks with 26, but they can't tackle people in space and are terrible in coverage.
The Giants now embark on a brutal nine game stretch that begins with the New England Patriots next Sunday in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. After that, the Giants have games against the 49ers, Eagles, Saints, Packers, Cowboys, Redskins, Jets, and Cowboys once again. If the Giants continue to play sloppy football like today don't expect to see the Giants in the win again column for a very long time.
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