Justin Tuck is convinced Eli Manning is doing it on purpose. All these late-game heroics the Giants quarterback keeps compiling aren’t just by happenstance. Tuck is beginning to think it’s all part of a master plan Manning has hatched to enhance his NFL legacy.
“I think he does that on purpose so at the end of his career he can have all these fourth-quarter comebacks to his credit,” Tuck said. “I think that’s what he’s doing.”
Tuck is only kidding. At least we think he is if for no other reason than Manning’s reputation for fourth-quarter excellence has been sealed with two Super Bowl victories.
“He’s the best second-half quarterback in the league,” Bucs 16-year veteran Ronde Barber said. “The numbers don’t lie.”
If there are any non-believers, Manning offered yet another reminder yesterday at MetLife Stadium in rallying the Giants to a nerve-wrecking 41-34 win over the Bucs. Manning completed 31 of 51 passes for 510 yards and three touchdowns, in the second-most prolific passing day in Giants history. But he didn’t play worth a darn until the final two quarters.
MANNING’S 510 YARDS LIFT BIG BLUE TO VICTORY
He spent the first half proving that even the great ones can play like goats. He was largely responsible for 21 of the Bucs’ 24 points at the break by throwing three interceptions that Tampa Bay turned into touchdowns immediately or soon after.
The first interception came early in the second quarter when Manning threw high over the middle to tight end Martellus Bennett. Linebacker Mason Foster made the easy pick and three plays later the Bucs had a 10-6 lead. Manning’s second interception came midway through the second quarter when Bucs cornerback Brandon McDonald was closer to Manning’s pass intended for Victor Cruz than Cruz. It took two plays for the Bucs to go 13 yards and claim a 17-6 lead.
But it was just before the half ended when you wondered whether someone had hijacked the real Eli Manning and replaced him with an imposter. With 23 seconds left, Manning whipped a pass into the left flat toward Cruz and somehow didn’t see CB Eric Wright in his path.
Wright snatched the ball and a zigzagged through the Giants offense to score on a 60-yard interception return. It gave Tampa Bay a 24-13 lead at the break. The interceptions were bad enough but Manning also ignored a wide open Ahmad Bradshaw in the end zone on one series to throw to tackle eligible Will Beatty, who shouldn’t quit his day job. “He’s obviously not the guy you want to be catching a whole lot of passes,” Manning admitted.
The Giants quarterback accepted the blame for the “bad decisions and bad passes that led to a bad result.” But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Manning is he’s more concerned about how a story ends than how it begins.
He was spectacular in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter when he stepped up in the pocket and fired a perfect 80-yard bomb to Cruz for the first salsa dance of the season. He then found Bennett for a 33-yard touchdown and a 34-27 lead. When the Bucs rallied to tie the game 34-34, Manning went to Hakeem Nicks down the right-sideline for 50 yards to set-up a 2-yard TD run by Andre Brown. “We knew we could get back in the game,” Manning said. “The guys fought and fought and believed.”
Having Manning makes it easy to believe.
“We know that when pass plays are called and we give Eli time, those guys are way too talented to not get open,” said offensive guard Kevin Boothe. “It’s on use to give him a little bit of time and special things will happen.”
Only Phil Simms, who passed for 513 yards during a game in 1985, has thrown for more yards. But Manning wasn’t impressed.
“If you count all my interceptions yards, I’d probably be No.1,” he joked.
He’s No. 1 in a lot of hearts, already.