After a Battle of Blunders, the Giants Get It Right When It Counts
DETROIT - The air of disorganized desperation clung heavy over Ford Field on Sunday, as the Giants and Detroit Lions both wanted to find some footing near the finishes of their disappointing seasons.
But unlike the Giants, the Lions still had something to play for: a slender, fraying thread of playoff hope to salvage their late-season tailspin.
Emblematic of both teams this year, this proved to be a frustrating game, with both teams being their own worst enemies.
The Giants won the battle of mistakes, when Josh Brown converted at 45-yard field goal for a 23-20 win in overtime.
'It's a nice win, that was a very nice ending for a bunch of guys who have worked their butts off, despite all that was being said about them,' Coach Tom Coughlin said.
The Lions (7-8) needed to this victory, as well as a loss by the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears if they were to remain in playoff contention.
The Lions could only control their own fate in this playoff formula, of course, and the Giants played the equally flawed, but game, spoiler.
The Giants (6-9) had the ball first in overtime, but the drive stalled when running back Andre Brown was stripped by Lions end Nick Fairley and Willie Young picked it up at the Detroit 32.
The Lions failed to capitalize, though. and the Giants got the ball back midway through overtime.
The Giants decided to go for it fourth-and-7 at the Lions 42, and it proved a good, if not gutsy, call as Eli Manning connected with receiver Jerrel Jernigan, his favorite target all game, for a 15-yard gain. That set up the game-winning field goal by Brown.
'Yeah, I wanted to go for it, kick it, or go for the win,' Manning said of the fourth-down call. 'I didn't want to punt it there, I wanted to win this thing, go for it, and win it there.'
It did not need to be this challenging for the Giants, as they built a 13-3 lead in the first half. But the offense went silent in the second half, and only the defense kept them in the game. With the Giants down by 20-13 with less than five minutes to play in regulation, safety Will Hill intercepted Matthew Stafford. Hill ran 38 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 20-20 to force overtime.
'I just seen the ball tip up in the air and I took advantage of the situation,' Hill said, adding of the defense: 'It was a cover-4, and I was overseeing three players. The ball tipped through his hands, all I saw was daylight, so I went for it.'
The Giants had a shot to win in regulation, but Manning threw an interception with 50 seconds left to kill the drive.
Both teams struggled with wasted opportunities, turnovers, poor passing and offensive inconsistencies.
The Giants struggled to contain the Lions' rush defense of Ndamukong Suh, Fairley, and Ziggy Ansah, and Manning was unable to make his connections under the pressure. The Lions became more effective as the game wore on, poking more and more holes in the Giants offensive line.
Fairley single-handedly revived the Lions in the third quarter. The Giants were pinned deep in their zone on their final drive of the quarter, and Manning went into the shotgun formation on third-and-13 at the 9. Elevated pressure forced Manning to backtrack to the goal line, trying to buy time to spot an open receiver. None would appear, as Lions Fairley bolted through the Giants line to sack Manning three steps deep into the end zone for a safety.
The Lions slashed the Giants lead, once 13-3 at halftime, to 13-12 and looked re-energized.
The Giants tried to change the pace of their passing game, starting with their first drive. The Lions secondary, depleted by injuries, was there for Manning to exploit.
The quicker pace worked initially, with Manning establishing a strong connection with Jerningan in the first series.
The faster pace worked when the Giants stuck with the plan. But when Manning went back to the shotgun or noodled around with a slower pace, the Giants frequently stalled.
They built the 10-point halftime lead by forcing turnovers. Linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka triggered the Lions 32nd turnover of the season in the second quarter, stripping running back Reggie Bush. Antrel Rolle scooped up the ball, officially marking Bush's fourth fumble of the season.
The Giants turned the takeaway into a touchdown, when Manning connected with Jernigan for his first career touchdown catch. The Lions secondary become even more understaffed on the play, when Bentley crashed into safety Louis Delmas as both tried to stop Jernigan's reception. Delmas left the game with an elbow injury, and Bentley sustained a possible concussion.
The Giants forced another turnover near the end of the quarter, when defensive end Justin Tuck intercepted Stafford at close range.
Brown kicked his second field goal of the half to put the Giants up by 10.
The Lions went to the ground, since receiver Calvin Johnson was limited by a knee injury and Stafford's timing was still off. Running back Joique Bell scored the Lions first touchdown of the game with 9 minutes 10 seconds left in the third, cutting the Giants lead to 13-10.
The rookie running back Theo Riddick gave the Lions their first lead of the game, at 11:50 in the fourth, off a powerful 2-yard charge into the end zone. The Lions gambled, making a 2-point conversion to go ahead, 20-13.
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