On Friday night, Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn looked at his phone and saw a text from Antonio Pierce.
Despite having practiced all week, Big Blue’s emotional leader was out with a bulging disk in his neck. Blackburn was not only going to have to start, but he would have to call the defensive signals and quarterback the beleaguered unit.
Tall order. With Big Blue on a four-game losing streak and facing a must-win game against a high-powered Atlanta offense, Blackburn led a shaky defense that did just enough in the first half to survive for a 34-31 overtime victory. But they coughed up three touchdowns and a field goal on four second-half possessions, and with a short week, Blackburn & Co. have much work to do.
“It doesn’t matter, you come out with a ‘W,’ it’s huge. You can work on the details and everything this week. Getting a win is the most important thing,” said Blackburn, who played all but two of Atlanta’s 78 offensive plays.
“[Losing Pierce] was obviously a blow to us all: Offense, defense special teams, every coach, every player felt it. . . . [We used it] as a rallying point. You’ve got to pick it up. Coach [Tom Coughlin] always says the expectation is for the position, not for the player. So, I had the same expectations as he does — to get everything lined up and play the same way. I’ll take the opportunity and keep rolling with it.”
Roll is just what Atlanta did after halftime, going to max-pro sets, sliding its protection and mixing up its cadences to throw off Big Blue. The Giants gave up an 18-play field goal drive and three touchdowns, including allowing Matt Ryan (94.6 second half rating) to hit Tony Gonzalez on a game-tying 11-yard post with 28 seconds left.
“I am concerned [with the defense],” Coughlin said.
Still, Blackburn (seven tackles, one for a loss) played well in Pierce’s absence, and should improve getting the first-team reps this week.
Fellow linebacker Michael Boley had a team-high 13 tackles against his former club, with two for a loss and two pressures.
“This was very special. Coming from there last year and (spending) my first four years there, this was a big one for me,” Boley said. “Both teams came into a must-win game, and for it to come down how it did, it was real exciting. This was like a shot of penicillin for us. I’m very proud of this team and the way our guys played.”
With Pierce out indefinitely, Blackburn has a short turnaround to prepare by Thanksgiving in Denver.
“That’s remarkable [what Chase did],” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “He didn’t get the looks during practice. It’s tough throwing a guy in there and expecting him to pick up the slack, but he did. There were lots of bullets being thrown his way and he responded great.”