New York Giants Super Bowl Runs Show Big Time Similarities
By Editorial Staff
The New York Giants earned their second NFC Championship in four years, with a dramatic 20-17 overtime win in San Francisco on Sunday night. Lawrence Tynes kicked a game-winning 31-yard field goal to capitalize on a huge turnover deep in opponent territory.
Does this story sound familiar?
It should.
Tynes booted a 47-yarder four years ago in Green Bay to punch New York’s ticket to the Super Bowl after Brett Favre threw an interception on the Packers’ opening offensive play of the extra period.
Sure, it could be just a coincidence, but if you take a closer look, you will see a number of parallels in the Giants’ two deep playoff runs.
Let’s start with the Wild Card round. The Giants got off to a sluggish start and found themselves trailing the Falcons 2-0 midway through the second quarter. The offense looked completely out of rhythm, and the defense did its best to bend but not break early.
Four years ago, the Giants equally bypassed the opening quarter against another NFC South opponent – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fifteen minutes passed and the Giants looked up at a 7-0 deficit on the scoreboard.
But in both games, the final three quarters completely belonged to the G-Men. The Giants pounded the ball on the ground, gaining 100 yards against Tampa and 165 against Atlanta. Eli Manning made plays through the air in both games, throwing multiple touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The Giants were particularly effective on third down in both Wild Cards, going a combined 13-for-27.
“[Manning] made little, annoying third-down conversions when he needed to,” former Buccaneers linebacker Barrett Ruud said. “If it is third-and-8, he gets 8 1/2 yards. That was frustrating.”
Defensively, the Giants got after the quarterback and forced mistakes in both games – picking Jeff Garcia off twice and stopping the Falcons twice on 4th-and-inches.
The Giants proceeded to eliminate both top NFC seeds in the divisional round, taking out rival Dallas in 2008 and Green Bay in 2012.
While the margins of victory were much different, the Giants equally shocked their heavily favored, thought-to-be superior opponents. Dallas defeated New York in both regular season meetings that year, scoring an average of 38 points per game. Interestingly enough, the Packers hung 38 on the Giants in their one meeting this season.
But the Giants seized the momentum of both games right before halftime. Eli Manning connected on a 4-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer with 0:07 left in the first half to tie the score at 14 against the Cowboys.
This year, Manning’s Hail Mary prayers were answered as the first half came to an end with a 37-yard connection to Hakeem Nicks. The Giants took a 20-10 lead into the locker room and never looked back.
Both games also effectively ended via interception. Tony Romo’s last-second comeback attempt was dashed by a pick by R.W. McQuarters. Aaron Rodgers was victimized via a deflection and interception by Deon Grant.
The NFC Championship games were both played in brutal weather conditions.
The Giants faced frigid, sub-zero temperatures at Lambeau. The wind chill on that Sunday was -24 degrees. The color of Tom Coughlin’s face matched the color of the stripe on the Giants helmet.
Yesterday, San Francisco was hit by a monsoon. Heavy rains persisted deep into the fourth quarter, making it tough for the players to maintain footing.
But, Manning took charge and made the plays he needed to despite facing tough defenses and getting nothing in the run game. The Giants averaged less than 3.5 yards per rushing attempt against both the Packers in 2008 and the 49ers yesterday.
Manning set franchise playoff records yesterday in completions (32) and attempts (58), while throwing for 316 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Giants created turnovers in overtime and Tynes did the rest.
In both runs to the Super Bowl, the Giants turned the ball over just one time in three games. When New York protects the football, runs effectively enough to keep the opposing defense honest and gets after the quarterback, it can defeat anyone, any time and any place [They’re 5-0 on the road under Manning].
And, fittingly, the New England Patriots are waiting for the Giants with everything on the line.
The question seems to be: Which Giants receiver will hold the ball against his helmet this time?
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