NFL

Giants rewind: Eli Manning still a bit off target

Just off.

Those two words are all that’s needed to describe the way Eli Manning threw the ball Sunday inside the climate-controlled and perfect-for-passing environment at Ford Field in Detroit. The Lions were without their two starting cornerbacks and a third, Bill Bentley, left with a head injury in the second quarter suffered trying unsuccessfully to prevent Jerrel Jernigan’s first NFL touchdown reception.

For all the talk about what’s right and oh so wrong about the Giants, for all the discussion about whether offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride deserves to stay or go, there’s little doubt the reason Manning and the Giants could only on occasion exploit the Lions’ depleted secondary was poor passing or inadequate timing between quarterback and receiver.

Gilbride did some smart things. He got Manning rolling out of the pocket, sprinting out to his right, attempting to take some of the heat off the rebuilt and inexperienced offensive line. Once, Gilbride called for a throwback screen, and as anyone who has witnessed the Giants this season knows, screen passes have gone wrong in all kind of different ways. This time, on third-and-13, the play was executed to perfection, as Manning rolled out to his right, stopped, pivoted, planted his feet and threw across the field with authority, hitting Andre Brown in stride for what became a 13-yard gain for a first down, keeping alive an eventual TD drive.

On a first-down pass to Brandon Myers, Manning showed the touch he’s known for, lobbing the ball over the oncoming rush to find his tight end alone with room to run. In overtime, Manning and Myers combined on a screen pass for a 15-yard gain, giving the Giants, shockingly, two successful screens in one game. Manning’s best pass might have been his 26-yard strike to Rueben Randle to help set up Josh Brown’s game-winning 45-yard field goal. Manning stood tall in the pocket, stepped into the throw by shifting his weight from back foot to front and put the ball where Randle could reach down and make a play, out of harm’s way of any defender.

But there were misfires Manning needs to clean up, which is why of the 42 passes he attempted, he completed only 23. In the second quarter, he had Hakeem Nicks open for what could have and should have been a touchdown, but Manning led Nicks too far. Did Eli expect more of a burst from Nicks? Was the throw simply too strong? When evaluating why Nicks does not have any TDs through 15 games, this sort of pass and near-miss must enter in the discussion.

On third-and-6 in the second quarter, Jernigan broke open, but Manning threw behind him, allowing linebacker DeAndre Levy to knock the ball away. A better throw and it’s a first down instead of one of the Giants’ seven three-and-outs, which is far too many. In the third quarter, it looked as if Manning finally was going to be able to drop one of those high-arcing passes into the waiting hands of one of his receivers. Randle had a step on backup cornerback Chris Greenwood and the ball appeared to be in the right spot. But Randle only reached out one hand attempting to bring the ball in and it fell off his hand and to the turf. It was the right call at the right time, but it resulted in nothing other than a punt.

Tom Coughlin wasn’t exactly sure what happened on that play, but did not like the one-handed attempt.

“I really don’t know where that comes from,” he said Monday. “We got to get that straightened out.’’

In the end, Manning made the handful of throws he needed for the Giants to come back and beat the wasteful Lions, 23-20, in overtime. But, with some more accuracy and precision earlier in the game, the Giants would have been in control and not needed to go a few extra minutes.

Other notables coming out of victory No. 6 for the Giants:

— The Giants are going to have to be careful when evaluating players such as Jernigan. The third-year receiver appeared to be on his way to another unmemorable season, offering little evidence he deserved to stay around. Through 13 games, he managed only 10 receptions for 92 yards and was still looking for his first NFL touchdown. Jernigan, a 2011 third-round pick, was the very definition of a draft bust. Last week, he awakened with seven catches for 67 yards, but all that production came in the second half of a 23-0 loss to the Seahawks, not exactly the height of competitive fire. More like garbage time. Jernigan followed that up with a six-catch, 80-yard outing against the Lions, including his first TD, as he filled the slot receiver role vacated when Victor Cruz underwent knee surgery. He was the favorite target for Manning, who threw in Jernigan’s direction 12 times. This is all very nice for Jernigan, but should this small sample be enough to convince the Giants to keep him on the roster?

— Is there such a thing as a good overtime team? If so, the Giants qualify. They have now won their last six regular-season overtime games, dating back to a 26-23 victory over the Eagles on Dec. 11, 2005. Of course, the Giants’ mastery of OT also applies in the postseason: They won the 2011 NFC Championship Game, 20-17, in OT in San Francisco and also went overtime to win the 2007 NFC title game, 23-20, in Green Bay. Tom Coughlin is 6-2 with the Giants in overtime games.

— The Giants didn’t get much out of their 2013 season, but they can claim the NFC North crown. They went 3-1 against the Black and Blue division, beating the Vikings, Packers and Lions and losing to the Bears.

— The Giants and Manning nearly did it. They nearly got through a game, for the first time this season, without a turnover. They couldn’t quite make it, though, as Manning tossed an interception with 23 seconds left in regulation. If the Giants commit a turnover in their season finale against the Redskins, it will be the first time since 2007 they finish with at least one turnover in every game. Of course, in 2007, they were able to win the Super Bowl.

— The interception for Manning was his 26th of the season, which puts him alone in the Giants record book. He had shared the record for most interceptions in a season at 25 with Frank Filchock (1946) and Charlie Conerly (1953). Now Eli stands alone. For some positive Manning thoughts, this was the 25th time he led the Giants on a game-winning drive (coming back from a fourth-quarter deficit). That puts Eli fifth on the Comeback Kid charts among active quarterbacks, behind Peyton Manning (50), Tom Brady (35), Drew Brees (31) and Ben Roethlisberger (29).

— Josh Brown’s 45-yard field goal in overtime was his ninth career game-winning field goal. The last time he did it was almost exactly a year ago when his 43-yarder with four seconds left gave the Bengals a 13-10 victory over the Steelers.

— Justin Tuck’s second-quarter interception of Matthew Stafford was the second of Tuck’s career and his first since Sept. 14, 2008 vs. the Rams, an interception he returned 41 yards for a touchdown.