It’s complete and utter disappointment to be knocked out of the playoffs as the number one seed, especially to a division rival. The Giants have no one to blame but themselves in a game that was eerily similar to the previous meeting with Philly.
The key play in the game was easily the third and 20 play that McNabb converted from deep in his own end in the third quarter, and it was big. The Giants led 11-10, and a hold there would most likely have gotten them great field position to finally cash in that TD they desperately needed. Instead, the Eagles went down the field and into the wind to grab a 13-11 lead. Then when Manning finally hit a big 34 yard play to Dominik Hixon to get the Giants in Eagle territory yet again, another stalled drive resulted in Jon Carney’s second miss. Game over. If you aren’t going to score TD’s, you don’t deserve to win. And if you don’t hit your makeable field goals, you certainly won’t win.
Let’s get to the particulars. Eli Manning played a bad game. He missed Steve Smith twice in the first half which could have been big plays. Still, those two plays don’t make a football game. Beyond that, I didn’t see many receivers breaking free the rest of the day. Was Manning just throwing into coverage, or was everyone blanketed? I think the latter. And it’s quite clear not having Plax affected the way this team played down the stretch. The evidence is very apparent and that played to Philly’s strength: their secondary. While Manning’s performance disappointed for sure, I really was actually more annoyed with Kevin Gilbride’s game calling. Cases in point:
- Electing to throw from deep in their own end on the first play, into the wind, on their second possession that resulted in an interception and subsequent score. Yes, that ball either needs to be thrown away, and certainly not delivered with an off balance throw. But why are you being bold in that situation? Establish power and run the ball.
- You’ve just moved down to the Eagles’ 21 yard line at the two minute warning, down 7-5. The next three plays are passes? So not only do you end up settling for a FG, but you leave enough time for the Eagles to potentially get points at the end of the half…which they did, taking their own 10-8 half time lead.
- With eight minutes and change to go in the fourth quarter, and down by two scores, the Giants were running their offense as if they had all day to come back. The three straight runs at one point, including going for it on fourth and two, was exasperating. If you desperate enough to go for it on fourth down in your own territory, that tells me time is a factor and you should be passing the ball, regardless of wind conditions.
Poor in-game play calling, simply put. The coaching staff failed to realize that the passing game was not in rhythm and failed to adjust. I’ve been critical on this blog of the team’s pass happy tendencies. It’s about putting your players in a better position to be successful.
The defense played reasonably well, but that third and 20 was the killer and the drive at the end of the half by the Eagles hurt as well. Good enough to win, but not an “A†game IMO. And no sacks again (sans the safety).
There were a multitude of woulda, coulda, shoulda’s in this game, just like that second meeting between the two teams. In fact, there were plenty more opportunities in this contest, and the Giants whiffed on every single one. Last post season they made them. This year, not even close.
That’s the problem with winning a Super Bowl. The next season, unless you repeat, you’re dissapointed.
