New York Giants Get Back in the NY Groove

It wasn’t always pretty in their Week 9 victory, but it was exactly what you’d expect from the New York Giants.

In recent history, the New York Giants have not been successful in home games against their kryptonite: the Philadelphia Eagles. Before Sunday’s Week 9 game, the team’s record against the Eagles at home was a dismal 1-8.

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However, the team snapped a four game losing streak at home against the birds and came out with the win. Yes, the Giants are back in the New York groove and running on all cylinders (for the most part).

The team’s defense came out strong from the beginning against Phill. Safety Landon Collins jumpstarted the team as he picked off Carson Wentz for his third interception of the season. This set up a slant pass to Odell Beckham Jr. And well, what happened afterwards was no surprise. Beckham evaded defenders and took it the house for a  a 26-yard score. That was all it took for the team to get rolling.

The Eagles’ second possession ended with another interception and set up a 30-yard touchdown from Eli Manning to Roger Lewis. Less than six minutes into the game, the New York Giants were up 14-0.

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It was obvious every player was feeding off the energy sparked by Collins’ pick. The defense came out forcing turnovers and stopping the Eagles on fourth downs. The offense was rejuvenated and capitalized on the turnovers. Even special teams got in on the action with Jason Pierre-Paul blocking a field goal and Janoris Jenkins recovering the fumble with less than a minute until halftime.

By the time the Giants walked into their locker rooms during halftime, they led 21-10. They were basically doing everything right to get this game in the bag. The team had a good first half because of the turnovers that the defense and special teams forced. Add that to the offense not settling for field goals and you’re looking at an impressive team win.

Let’s be real, though. The New York Giants have lost a lot of close games in which they were leading through the fourth quarter.

For a little while, it seemed that this game would have the same ending. With Victor Cruz out with an ankle injury, Eli Manning had one less target to throw to and the Eagles had one less deep threat to worry about. This sounded like a recipe for disaster, especially since Eagles cornerback Nolan Carroll and linebacker Jordan Hicks were hungry for the ball and forced two Manning interceptions.

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However, even when the Eagles got the ball back , the New York Giants defense held there own and, with one final fourth-down stop with 1:32 left in the game, they were able to seal the victory. They they showed that the Giants are back in the New York Groove and still in the playoff hunt at the midway point.