Corey Webster saved the Giants’ defense from having to answer some unpleasant questions by making two crucial interceptions in yesterday’s 27-24 victory over the Bills at MetLife Stadium.
Webster picked off Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick at the Giants’ 4-yard line with 4:10 left in the game and the score tied 24-24. The Giants went on to kick the game-winning field goal on the ensuing possession.
Webster was victimized on the previous series when Fitzpatrick connected with Stevie Johnson for a game-tying 9-yard touchdown pass.
PHOTOS: GIANTS BEAT BILLS, 27-24
“You want to the chance, the opportunity, to even the score,” Webster said. “You want to go out there and have a chance to either play that slant route or play that exact same route again.”
That’s exactly what happened. Johnson ran the same route and Fitzpatrick tried to beat Webster again, but the veteran would not be exploited twice in a row.
“He focused on his technique all week and playing the ball, and it paid off for him,” Antrel Rolle said.
Webster’s first interception came with 4:22 left in the third quarter with the Giants ahead 24-17 and the Bills driving into Giants territory. He returned it 25 yards to the Bills’ 48, but later Lawrence Tynes’ 51-yard field-goal attempt was blocked.
“He made two super plays,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “The [first] interception in front of our bench, it is going to be hard to say he even saw the ball. The [second], they are moving down the field. They had hit us on a fade stop and so they decide to go over the top and he makes a hell of a play.”
Safety Kenny Phillips added, “He’s one of our leaders. He made some great plays when we needed them.”
If Webster hadn’t made those plays, which were his first two picks of the season, and the Giants had lost, the talk would have been about the two huge plays the defense allowed in the first half — an 80-yard touchdown run by Fred Jackson and a 60-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick to Naaman Roosevelt.
“We didn’t start off well early on in the game,” Webster said. “After giving up those two big plays, we needed to make a couple of stops to make up for those. We hate to start off behind the eight ball like we did, but we persevered.”
Webster has a history of big plays against the Bills. He had the game-clinching interception in their 2007 game, which secured the Giants a playoff spot en route to their Super Bowl triumph.