It is only nitpicking if you lower the expectations and are thrilled any time the Giants actually manage to win a game.
Sure, the Giants hit the road and came away with a 24-17 victory over the Redskins at FedEx Field. Considering they were behind 14-0 early in the second quarter, a comeback is all the more rewarding for the Giants. But once they took the lead, the Giants were never able to put the hammer down and take full control against a team that was ready to get knocked out. That the Giants could not deliver the fateful blow — that they had to go down to the wire against a Redskins outfit that is 3-9 and mired in last place in the NFC East — is disturbing.
Twice, the Giants had chances to finish with a flourish and twice their offensive unit could not do the job. They took a 21-17 lead with 14:26 remaining and two sacks by Justin Tuck led to a three-and-out by the Redskins. Eli Manning and Co. took over on their own 43-yard line, a perfect setup to drain some of the clock, punch the ball into the end zone and take a commanding lead. Instead, they couldn’t handle a Washington blitz, Manning was sacked for a 12-yard loss and a possession was wasted.
The defense then again made easy work of the Redskins, helped along by yet another sack by Tuck, and the Giants got the ball back on their 39-yard line. This time, they picked up three first downs but stalled out and Josh Brown’s field goal only extended the lead to 24-17 – a one-score game with plenty of time (2:32) for the Redskins to work with. The defense rose to the challenge again, but should not have been asked to protect a mere seven-point lead.
Other notables to come out of the Giants’ fifth victory in their past six games:
– Tuck is in survival mode with the Giants. His contract is set to expire and he desperately wants to stay with the team that drafted him in 2005, but if the season went down the tubes and if his production was minimal it was going to be a hard sell to keep him around. He was playing more effectively than his 2.5 sacks in the first 10 games indicated, but it is difficult to make a case for your worth when there aren’t any tangible stats to back up the claim. Tuck’s four sacks in the second half against Robert Griffin III was the byproduct of all the work Tuck put in this season without the results to show for it. He had 3.5 sacks in his previous 18 games dating back to last season before finally showing that he can actually be a closer. All four of the sacks came in a torrid second half. Though he says, “Honestly, sometimes sacks can be misleading,’’ there’s no doubt he needed to cash in this way to help convince higher management that he can still deliver when needed.
“If you watch the film, he’s there on almost everybody else’s sacks throughout the season,” Mathias Kiwanuka said. “The only thing I’ve been telling him is that it’s been a long time coming. But he’s back and he got the sacks that he finally deserves. I’m happy for him and happy that we got a win in the game that he had a breakout game in.”
– It has been a strange season for Spencer Paysinger. He was the starting weak side linebacker at the onset of the season, lost his job and his entire role on defense after Jon Beason was signed and, suddenly, he reappeared in the starting lineup against the Redskins, replacing Jacquian Williams. Paysinger contributed eight tackles to help completely limit running back Alfred Morris, who had 11 rushing attempts for 26 yards. This was the first time Paysinger received real work on defense alongside Beason and it was an impressive pairing.
– Hakeem Nicks returned after a one-game absence and was on the field for 51 of the 54 offensive snaps. Surprisingly, that was more than Victor Cruz received (44 snaps). Yet Nicks was targeted twice by Manning and came away with two catches for 34 yards. Cruz was targeted seven times and had six receptions. Clearly, Nicks is not running free the way he used to and Manning is not as zoned in on Nicks as he has been in the past.
– The Giants entered the fourth quarter trailing 17-14, which usually means they are going to lose. They had lost their previous 10 games in which they were behind entering the fourth quarter, including all seven of their losses this season.
– Did it seem as if the ball didn’t touch the ground very often when Eli Manning was throwing it? He completed 22 of his 28 passes, a percentage of 78.6. That’s the second-highest of his career for a full game. He went 26 for 33 (78.8 percent) against the Cardinals in Arizona on Nov. 23, 2008. That the Giants only scored 24 points despite the great accuracy is another reason the passing game remains somewhat of an enigma.
– The Giants started their sixth offensive line combination of the season, this iteration having Kevin Boothe at center and James Brewer at left guard. Tom Coughlin said Brewer “did a fine job’’ as the third-year player continues to jump-start his career and show he deserves to stay around. As far as offensive line instability, only the Raiders, with seven different starting lineups, have been more unsettled than the Giants. The next opponent for the Giants, the Chargers, have also used six different starting lineups on their offensive line.