• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Giants Lose Tough One In Home Opener

[wpdevart_youtube playlist=”PL6Eah_mOIglLcVOsHoQ0kyJg1z2gjF7HT” width=”640″ height=”385″ autoplay=”0″ theme=”dark” loop_video=”0″ enable_fullscreen=”1″ show_related=”1″ show_popup=”0″ thumb_popup_width=”213″ thumb_popup_height=”128″ show_title=”1″ show_youtube_icon=”1″ show_annotations=”1″ show_progress_bar_color=”red” autohide_parameters=”1″ set_initial_volume=”false” initial_volume=”100″ disable_keyboard=”0″]qgY9hLCAuB8[/wpdevart_youtube]EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – There were high hopes coming into the new season for the New York Giants. However the common theme for this early season has been finishing games for New York. Unfortunately, the Giants have not been able to finish games, and it has resulted in a 0-2 start.

In Week 1, Eli Manning told Rashad Jennings not to score late in the 4th quarter against the Dallas Cowboys. This was so that the Giants in theory could eat up clock, and leave the Cowboys little time for a comeback. However Manning threw an incomplete pass on 3rd down to stop the clock, and the Giants settled for a field goal. Tony Romo then lead his team down the field to score a touchdown, and gave the Cowboys a 27-26 win.

In Week 2, the Giants played a solid 3 quarters. The defense looked good and did a great job limiting the Atlanta Falcons‘ run game. Although both Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman scored a TD, they combined for just 57 yards of rushing (Coleman, 32 yds & Freeman, 25 yds). The Giants were able to hold an explosive Falcons offense to just 10 points in the 1st half, and scoreless in the 3rd quarter.

Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY ... The New York Giants making a gang tackle on Tevin Coleman in the 1st Quarter of Sunday's game.
Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY … The New York Giants making a gang tackle on Tevin Coleman in the 1st Quarter of Sunday’s game.

One person the Giants could not stop all day long was Julio Jones. Jones put on a show at MetLife Stadium, tallying 13 receptions for 135 yards. This included a highlight reel catch in the 4th quarter, where he made a juggling catch in double coverage. Odell Beckham Jr. did his best to try and upstage Jones. Beckham Jr. finished with 7 receptions for 146 yards and a TD.

Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY ... Leonard Hankerson catching a 10 yard TD pass from Matt Ryan in the 4th quarter to make it a 20-17 game.
Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY … Leonard Hankerson catching a 10 yard TD pass from Matt Ryan in the 4th quarter to make it a 20-17 game.

New York went into the fourth quarter up 20-10. A costly fumble by Manning in the 3rd quarter, led to a 12 play 91 yard touchdown drive by the Falcons to make the score 20-17. The Giants were not able to continue moving the football like they did in the previous 3 quarters. The Giants would punt twice following the Falcons score, including a crucial three and out.

Matt Ryan then showed why he’s nicknamed “Matty Ice”, and led the Falcons down the field on a 7 play 70 yard drive to take the 24-20 lead. Ryan connected with Jones on a beautiful 37 yard pass which put them in position to score.

Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY ... Julio Jones was unstoppable at MetLife Stadium Sunday afternoon
Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY … Julio Jones was unstoppable at MetLife Stadium Sunday afternoon

Manning on the last drive couldn’t complete a single pass. On the last play of the game, Preston Parker dropped a pass that he should have caught, which would have kept the drive alive. Instead, it was a turnover on downs and the Falcons went into victory formation.

This undoubtedly was a game that the Giants dominated for most of the contest. New York should have came away with this win, but they let the Falcons hang around too long. You have to be able to put teams away when you have them on the ropes.

The Giants didn’t get much production from Jennings, who managed just 12 yards on 9 carries. Shane Vereen has emerged more as the Giants running back threat. Vereen finished with 19 rushing yards on 6 carries and 8 catches for 76 receiving yards. It will be interesting to see who will get the majority of the touches next week.

Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY ... Jerome Cunningham was unable to come up with a crucial catch late in the 4th quarter.
Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY … Jerome Cunningham was unable to come up with a crucial catch late in the 4th quarter.

The Giants receiving core hasn’t been that productive either. Outside of Beckham Jr., no one has been able to step up and make plays in the absence of Victor Cruz. Rueben Randle, Geremy Davis, and Jerome Cunningham each only had one catch for five yards. That doesn’t cut it in the NFL for winning teams. Opponents are going to key in on Beckham Jr., and the supporting cast needs to do its job to free Beckham Jr. up.

Manning finished with 292 yards on 27/40 passing and 2 TDs. However, when it got to be crunch time Manning did not play his best. The Giants will go as far as Manning takes them. Manning needs to be clutch, which he hasn’t been to start this early season.

The Giants will go on to face their division rivals the Washington Redskins on Thursday night. If there is no production from the other receivers besides Beckham Jr. or the inability to finish the game strong, New York very well could start the season 0-3.

Barry Holmes is a Feature Writer for PureSportsNY.com. Follow him on Twitter @BHO732.

 

By Barry Holmes

Graduate of Millersville University, with a BS in Communications focused in Broadcast. Senior Writer & Social Media Manager for PureSportsNY.

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