LANDOVER, Md. – Things had gotten so bad, the criticism so constant, that Giant nose tackle Barry Cofield avoided showing his face in public last week.
“I wasn’t going out to dinner,” he said. “I was eating at home, eating soup, and I was depressed.”
Being part of a defense that had surrendered a league-high 80 points in the first two games of an NFL season will create that kind of shame. Especially when that defense is betraying a heritage of great units that have defined a storied franchise.
“We knew we were better than what we had played,” Cofield said, “but when you go out there and give up 40 points a game, you have to start questioning whether we’re cursed.”
Alas, there is no need for any voodoo or magic potions, and no need for Cofield to bury his 6-foot-4, 306-pound body in his bedroom any longer.
Not after the Giant defense finally arrived for the 2007 season, securing a 24-17 victory over the Redskins yesterday with a game-winning goal-line stand that would have made Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor proud.
Finally, the Giant defense showed some moxie, spotting the Redskins a 17-3 lead before posting a second-half shutout that allowed Eli Manning and the Giants offense to score 21 unanswered points and turn a must-win game into a much-needed victory.
The 1-2 Giants still have a season, especially if the defense continues its second-half performance, where it limited the Redskins to 81 net yards and forced four punts and a fumble before securing the game with a goal-line stand on the Redskins’ final possession.
If the Giants make the postseason (which is still a big if), they will point to this goal-line stand as the turning point. After watching the Giants rally to tie the game at 17-17 on two touchdown runs by Reuben Droughns and taking the lead 24-17 on a 33-yard catch and run by wide receiver Plaxico Burress, the Redskins tried to answer, moving from the Giant 35 to a first down at the Giant 1 with 58 seconds left.
“The only thing we’re thinking is to stop them,” said linebacker Antonio Pierce.
On first down, the Redskins spiked the ball to stop the clock. On second down, fullback Mike Sellers dropped a pass in the flat. On third down, running back Ladell Betts tried to bull through the middle of the line but was stopped cold by Kawika Mitchell.
Then it was fourth down with 25 seconds left and counting. Betts tried the left side, where the Redskins had running success earlier in the game. But he ran into a wall of blue led by safety James Butler.
“That feeling I had running off the field after making that stop, I’ll never forget it,” Cofield said. “To be able to get a stop like that in a division game on the road, it’s a great feeling.”
No doubt the Redskins helped with some questionable play calling and defensive lapses, but the Giant defense enjoyed its moment of vindication after a week of getting trashed for being among the worst in the NFL over the first two weeks.
“You can’t ask for [the defense] to play much better than they did,” said Burress. “They stopped those guys on the 12-inch line for three plays. They’ve taken a lot of [criticism] the last few weeks. I’m just happy those guys can smile a little bit.”
There weren’t a lot of “I told you so’s” being tossed around the Giant locker room after the win. It was more relief than anything else.
“We’re really fed up with all of the things that have been said about us,” said Giant defensive end Osi Umenyiora. “We knew we were better than the way we played.”
Yesterday they proved it. Finally.