This may just be the irrational Giants fan in me talking, but this week’s loss to the Eagles will ultimately prove to be a game that makes the team better.
I know it’s usually a sportswriter’s job to pick apart the teams they cover, but the Giants weren’t all that bad last week. Sure, Eli Manning looked awful at times, finishing 13-of-27 for just 123 yards and a touchdown, and sure, the Eagles did a great job shutting down New York’s running game, and sure, the Giants’ defense was victimized by a couple of big plays from Brian Westbrook. But the Giants were due for a loss, especially considering the week they suffered through off the field (with the Plaxico Burress/Antonio Pierce shooting scandal) and the fact is that they had been playing over their heads for much of the last month. Manning’s receivers didn’t do him any favors, dropping several balls, including one by Burress-fill-in Domenik Hixon on a deep throw that would have gone for a touchdown. And Philadelphia was a desperate team, one loss away from falling out of the playoff race in the NFC and hungry for revenge after a tough loss to the Giants a few weeks ago.
Make no mistake, though – the Giants can’t play the same way they did yesterday in the playoffs and hope to make it very far. But the good news is that New York has responded well to adversity all season long, and even facing the loss of Plaxico for the rest of the year, they remain fairly unfazed. Head coach Tom Coughlin has done a good job of importing some of the New England “leave it on the field” mentality to this team, and they also have the benefit of Manning under center. The quarterback is an interesting study in bloodlines and leadership – for much of the first four years of his career, he looked talented but inconsistent, easily shaken on the field but with the potential to be a winner. But during last year’s stretch run through the playoffs and the first 13 games of this year, Manning has emerged as one of the most capable game managers in the league, blessed with a talented arm, toughness in the pocket and an underrated knack for improvisation. Although he still makes bad throws at time, he also knows what it takes to win, and few teams in the league have a better gunslinger under center in the fourth quarter.
But back to this week. The play of Manning and his receivers was a big reason for the Giants’ loss last Sunday, but the Eagles deserve a lot of credit too. They came into the game with a 6-5-1 record and need every win they can get to keep their playoff hopes alive. Donovan McNabb has been revitalized since his benching prior to the Thanksgiving Day game, and the Eagles will be formidable down the stretch. But with a tough game coming this week at Dallas, the Giants could use a re-focusing, particularly since Plaxico decided to throw a gigantic wrench into their defending-champion plans. After losing in Pittsburgh last week, the Cowboys are bound to be fired up at home, but if Eli and the Giants can bounce back early and put pressure on Dallas’ banged-up offense to make plays, they should be able to ride their defense for much of the game. And even if they can’t, two losses to two very good teams isn’t too disconcerting – unless that slide gets longer before the playoffs start.
And I don’t want to neglect New York’s other team, which suffered a demoralizing loss to the 49ers last Sunday. I’d love to say the same thing I said for the Giants – that the Jets were due for a wake-up call, and the ’Niners were feistier than expected, and New York still has what it takes to be a factor in the playoffs. But I’m unconvinced by the Jets’ defense, considering they’ve been shredded for the last four weeks. Granted, they’ve played some very good offenses (Tennessee, New England and Denver prior to San Francisco), but Brett Favre’s inability to guide this team when it counts has been disconcerting. Although he’s looked great at times, he’s also been wildly inconsistent and has looked hamstrung by New York’s offensive game plan. He barely looked downfield during the second half of the game on Sunday during a contest the Jets really should have won, and that failure limited their running game as well.
Even worse, they’re now in a three-way dogfight in the AFC East with the Dolphins and Patriots, both of whom have a serious chance of unseating the Jets at the top of the division. Although New York owns the tiebreaker over both squads, Miami has the easiest remaining schedule, drawing the 49ers and Chiefs before traveling to New York for the last week of the season. And the battle-tested Patriots, staying alive despite losing Tom Brady in Week 1, close at Oakland and against Arizona before traveling to Buffalo to face a reeling Bills team. Although I still like the Jets to win two out of three and clinch the division, they’ve made their path much harder after losing to the 49ers. That could come back to haunt them in the swirling winds at Giants Stadium during Week 17 with the division on the line.