The Giants either saved their season or were exposed. They were very bad for very long and very good for long enough. They fell down and got back up and fought to the end and then wanted to fight even after the end.
There was nothing that made much sense as the Giants yesterday roared back with a 25-point fourth quarter to catch and finally pass the Buccaneers 41-34 in a crazed affair at MetLife Stadium that featured Eli Manning tossing three first-half interceptions and ending up again stamping himself as the Comeback Kid with the second-highest passing yardage total (510 yards) in franchise history.
The Giants could not cover anyone but they also could not be covered, with Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz spinning the turnstiles, combining for 21 receptions for 378 yards and two touchdowns. They unveiled a new weapon in running back Andre Brown, had to endure a possibly serious knee injury to right tackle David Diehl and faced the grim reality of an 0-2 start to their post Super Bowl season. They found a way to erase a 14-point deficit but no one can rally fathom what it all means.
“I don’t have the vocabulary … I don’t have the adjectives for the day,’’ Justin Tuck said.
“It’s not the situation you always want to be in,’’ Manning said, “but it can be fun.’’
The fun finally kicked in for the Giants when Michael Boley extinguished the Bucs’ last hope with an interception of Josh Freeman with five seconds left but what ensued was not fun. Manning and the offense came out for the obligatory kneel-down but no one gave first-year Bucs coach Greg Schiano the memo that this is basically a ceremonial play. He instructed his defensive linemen to block down and try to get the ball and Manning, and actually knocked Manning down, which shocked the Giants. Coach Tom Coughlin during the postgame meeting on the field angrily wagged a finger at Schiano, the former Rutgers coach, who afterward said: “There’s nothing dirty about it.’’
The Giants ripped Schiano and the Bucs.
“I don’t think you do that at this level,’’ Coughlin said. “You don’t do that in this league.’’
Offensive tackle Sean Locklear said the Bucs defensive linemen “didn’t want to do it, but you do as you’re told.”
Guard Chris Snee called it “bush league.’’
There were stretches when Manning might as well have had a remote control in his hand rather than a football, playing pitch-and-catch with Nicks and Cruz as if this was a high-definition display.
“It was like a video game out there today,’’ said tight end Martellus Bennett, who got in the act with a 33-yard touchdown grab to put the Giants up 34-27 with 3:59 remaining.
Finally, the Giants — who trailed 27-13 late in the third quarter — had grasped the lead but it was gone in an instant. All the Bucs needed was five plays, the last one a 41-yard strike to Mike Williams out-jumping Justin Tryon in the end zone to make it 34-34. Manning got the ball with 1:58 left and all his timeouts — mere child’s play for the two-time Super Bowl MVP. His 50-yard strike to Nicks put the Giants on the Tampa 11-yard line and the Bucs tried to let the Giants score, but Brown — who replaced injured Ahmad Bradshaw (neck) — after gaining nine-yards went down on the 2-yard line to eat more time off the clock.
The Bucs let him score the next time and Brown did, putting the Giants ahead with only 31 seconds left.
In retrospect, Coughlin chastised himself for not burning even more time off the clock. When Freeman appeared to hit Williams for 29 yards on the left sideline the Bucs were on the Giants 16 with time for a few shots into the end zone. Williams looked to make the grab, but Antrel Rolle put a solid hit on him and, while tumbling out of bounds, the ball came loose. The call was a catch on the field but reversed by the replay official.
Boley came away with his interception on the next play and all that was left was the final kneel-down, which, fittingly, caused an uproar in a game that refused to go quietly all day.
“A lesser group of men would have had trouble,’’ Coughlin said of mounting the comeback. “Thank goodness, we are so happy to be 1-1 at this juncture.’’