Andre Brown has career game as NY Giants win third
Kathy Willens/APThe Impossible Dream lives on.
It was sloppy football. A lot of it was bad football. But in the end , it was winning football for the Giants, who survived three turnovers to post a 24-20 victory over the Raiders and gimpy quarterback Terrelle Pryor at MetLife Stadium Sunday.
The win was the third in a row for the Giants after a 0-6 start and kept alive their improbable playoff hopes. They'll host the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers, who also lost backup Seneca Wallace in a loss to the Eagles Sunday, next week.
The Giants offense, inconsistent in general, got a huge boost from the return of RB Andre Brown off injured reserve to reignite a power rushing game in blustery conditions. Brown was supposed to get only limited carries but instead carried a career-high 28 times for a career-high 106 yards, running behind FB John Conner.
Eli Manning, who earlier threw a pick six on his 16th interception of the season, finished 12-22-140 with one TD and one INT. Pryor, who injured his knee in last week's game and played with a brace, was abysmal, finishing 11-26-122 with two turnovers.
Pryor had one last chance, but was strip-sacked by Mathias Kiwanuka at the Raiders 45 with 3:21 left in the game.
The Giants converted Terrell Thomas' 65-yard interception return with a one-yard run by Andre Brown to Giants regained the lead for good, 21-20, with 2:15 left in the third quarter and added a 23-yard Josh Brown field goal with 8:04 left in the game.
The Giants fooled Pryor with trap coverage and Thomas stepped in front of a short pass. The ball was stripped out and went out the back of the end zone but Thomas was ruled down at the five and it was upheld by replay.
The Giants defense held the Raiders in check in the entire first half but it didn't matter because, thanks to three Giant gifts, Oakland never had to drive the football to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room.
The last seven came on Manning's third pick-six of the season. He had just completed a 25-yard pass to Rueben Randle to get the Giants a big first down but, under pressure up the middle from a stunting Daniel Muir, Manning threw a weak pass in the direction of Victor Cruz that went to Tracy Porter, the same guy who intercepted Eli's brother Peyton in the Super Bowl.
Porter easily took it into the end zone from 44 yards, the eighth return for a TD against the Giants this year.
It was the third turnover converted into points by the Raiders, staring with the opening kickoff when Jerrel Jernigan lost the ball to set up a one-yard TD run by Pryor, who was 3-of-12 for 27 yards passing in the first half. Peyton Hills' fumble preceded a 33-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowksi.
The Giants got seven points back on a special teams gaffe by the Raiders when Damontre Moore burst through to block a Marquette King punt and Cooper Taylor returned it 21 yards.
The Giants took the lead at 14-10 on Manning's five-yard pass to Reuben Randle with 7:36 left in the second quarter. It capped off an 11-play, 90-yard drive with the wind at the Giants' backs and it featured the hard-running of Andre Brown setting up play-action.
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