Week 14 Game Recap: New York Giants 27, Carolina Panthers 13

What you need to know

New York Giants

QB Eli Manning threw for three touchdowns, but barely managed to complete half of his passing attempts. He looked shaky in the pocket on some plays, but stood tall in the face of a pass rush completing long passes. Most importantly, he managed to avoid costly mistakes and turnovers for the second week in a row. Manning leaned on TE Jeremy Shockey when he needed a play or felt pressure (12 targets).

RB Tiki Barber ran well inside and out. He looked quick, cutting while making tacklers miss. He stepped out of tackles picking up the extra tough yards. Backup RB Brandon Jacobs entered the game for all of the short yardage situations, but was woefully ineffective. To be fair to Jacobs it should be mentioned that the Giants offensive line was dominated on these plays.

WR Plaxico Burress used his height and speed to pull in two longer pass plays against the inexperienced replacement cornerbacks of the Panthers. However, he didn’t get more looks in the second half due to the score and game situation. Burress continues to display his immaturity by complaining when he doesn’t get the ball with theatrics on the field and sidelines.

Carolina Panthers

QB Chris Weinke set the single game mark for a Panthers’ quarterback with 423 passing yards. The majority of his yardage came late in the game with the Giants up by seventeen points. It was a freakish combination of the Panthers abandoning the run early and the Giants entering a prevent defense not allowing longer plays. Weinke did throw the ball well early in game and was hindered by multiple dropped passes.

RB DeShaun Foster started for Carolina and got the majority of carries keeping rookie backup RB DeAngelo Williams on the bench. The Panthers only called twelve running plays in the game instead opting to allow Weinke to throw the ball 61 times.

WR Drew Carter put up the numbers and made several big catches in the game, but Weinke was still looking towards WR Steve Smith on most plays. The Giants committed themselves to shutting down Smith with a cornerback in single coverage combined with constant safety help over the top. Weinke still tried to force the ball into Smith resulting in two of his three interceptions.

What you ought to know

QB Eli Manning, Pass: 17 - 33 - 172 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 7 - 0

Manning was shaky at best during the bulk of the first quarter. He was inaccurate and nearly threw an interception back across the field that could have easily been a pick six. However, on the last play of the quarter he did a good job of stepping forward into the pocket avoiding a heavy rush. He lofted a deep ball down the left sideline hitting WR Plaxico Burress in stride for a 45 yard gain. Two plays later Manning took another big hit from the defensive end coming around the right end. However, Manning stood tall and was able to throw deep down the same sideline to Burress for their first touchdown. Manning bought time scrambling out of the pocket to his left on his second touchdown. He found TE Jeremy Shockey coming across the back of the end zone for the score. At the end of the second Giant drive in the third quarter he took a big hit on a pass rush near the goal line. He had an open receiver in the end zone, but was unable to get enough on the pass because of the hit. Two plays later he found WR David Tyree in the back of the end zone for his third touchdown. From that point on the lead and game situation dictated that Manning wasn’t going to get more opportunities to throw it as New York was satisfied with trying to run out the clock.

RB Tiki Barber, Rush: 20 - 112 - 0, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (4 targets)

Barber looked great running between the tackles and breaking runs to the outside. He had runs of 11, 12, 20, and 18 yards in the first half. He hit the holes with great acceleration and made people miss in the open field on his longer gains. Barber continues to be yanked anywhere near the goal line and short yardage situations. The Giants are committed to backup RB Brandon Jacobs as their short yardage bulldozer.

RB Brandon Jacobs, Rush: 10 - 16 - 0

Jacobs entered the game on the fourth play of the Giants first possession for a carry on third and one. The Giants’ interior offensive line was blown off the ball and Jacobs was stuffed in the backfield forcing New York to punt. He got a carry at the goal line just before halftime, but fumbled on that play and lucked out that TE Jeremy Shockey was able to recover. At the start of the third quarter Jacobs was stuffed for the fourth time on his fourth carry ending another Giants’ drive resulting in a Feely field goal. The Giants stuck with Jacobs at the start of their next possession keeping starting RB Tiki Barber on the sidelines and through the bulk of the fourth quarter.

WR Plaxico Burress, Rec: 4 - 77 - 1 (7 targets)

Burress saw his first target near the end of the first quarter. He appeared to make the reception on a low pass, but it was ruled incomplete. The Giants challenged the ruling on the field, but there wasn’t conclusive evidence to overturn the play. Burress may have very well caught the ball, but his body obstructed the view of the catch. His first reception was a deep ball down the left sideline. He created great separation on the play blowing by the defensive back making it an easy throw for QB Eli Manning. Two plays later he scored a 28 yard touchdown over the top down the same sideline. If the score had been closer and the Giants needed to put up points it was apparent that Burress and Manning could have continued to beat the Panthers’ second string cornerbacks at will. Burress repeatedly was seen complaining about not getting the ball when he felt he was open throughout the game.

WR David Tyree, Rec: 2 - 15 - 1 (3 targets)

Tyree dropped his first target on a first down play during the second New York possession, but made up for it a few plays later by converting a fourth and ten. He caught the ball just short of the marker on the left sideline and gave a good effort fighting through the defensive back to get the first down. His second catch was a short touchdown off of play action. The Giants’ secondary let Tyree slip through the defense alone for the easy score.

WR Tim Carter (1 targets)

Carter saw his first target deep down the right sideline at the start of the second quarter. QB Eli Manning was short on the pass. Carter adjusted well back to the ball, but the cornerback got away with grabbing his arm as they fell to the ground on obvious pass interference.

TE Jeremy Shockey, Rec: 6 - 49 - 1 (12 targets)

Shockey saw a heavy dose of targets near the end of the first half, but two were not passes that could be caught as QB Eli Manning was throwing the ball away. Just before halftime he got open down the middle making a 25 yard reception on a post pattern beating a linebacker one on one. A few plays later he pulled in a short touchdown pass across the back of the end zone after Manning scrambled to the left side of the field. Shockey made a good hustle play just before that play picking up a fumble by RB Brandon Jacobs on the goal line.

PK Jay Feely 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points

There was nothing of significance to report from the Giants’ kicking game.

NYG Rush Defense

The Giants weren’t tested by the Carolina running attack. The Panthers abandoned the run at an early stage of the game and opted to try and move the ball with the arm of QB Chris Weinke even though the first two runs from RB DeShaun Foster gained six yards each. The first play of the second half for the Panthers went for four yards on a Foster run, but they didn’t attempt to run the ball again until deep into the fourth quarter.

NYG Pass Defense

QB Chris Weinke wasn’t pressured through the first half. Both of the sacks that the Giants recorded came late in the game when Carolina went into pass-only mode. Down by seventeen points and not moving the ball The Giants defensive line was able to abandon run responsibilities and only attack Weinke in the pocket. Even with this advantage they weren’t able to generate much pressure. The defensive backfield was gifted two interceptions on poor plays from Panther players. Weinke overshot WR Steve Smith by a long distance on one interception. Another was off a receiver’s hands before being picked off.

QB Chris Weinke, Pass: 34 - 61 - 423 - 1 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 3 - 16 - 0

Weinke looked fine early in the game, but didn’t get much help from his receivers. He laid a nice pass down the right sideline to WR Drew Carter, but the ball went off his hands. On their next possession he hit TE Kris Mangum for what should have been a first down, but the ball bounced off Mangum’s helmet. WR Steve Smith followed that up by dropping a short pass on a third and one to kill their next drive. Weinke continued to throw the ball well and his receivers finally began to pull their weight. Smith took a big pop from a safety but managed to hang on for a long gain, and Carter pulled in a 36 yard touchdown on a perfect strike at the start of the second quarter. The cornerback had decent coverage on the touchdown, but Weinke threw a perfect pass into a small window. His only poor pass in the first half was a deep pass down the middle intended for Smith on a third and nine play. He threw it into double coverage and behind Smith. The pass should have been picked off, but the defensive back dropped the ball when it hit him in the chest. He had a pass intercepted early in the third quarter when he threw a pass slightly behind Smith on a crossing route. The ball went off Smith’s hands up into the air before being picked off. Smith was the intended receiver on the second interception as well, but that ball was thrown well over Smith’s head and completely on Weinke. The third interception came early in the fourth quarter. The Panthers went into the hurry-up offense and started dropping Weinke back to throw on every down. He attempted to throw a long out to the long side of the field the defensive back easily stepped in front cutting off the route for the interception. Weinke was afforded with extended garbage time due to the Giants’ inability to move the ball and gain a first down late in the game. He set a Carolina team record with 423 passing yards.

QB Jake Delhomme

Delhomme didn’t play due to his sprained thumb on his throwing hand.

RB DeShaun Foster, Rush: 8 - 23 - 0, Rec: 2 - 3 - 0 (6 targets)

Foster started the game and remained in the backfield until midway through the second quarter. He showed no visible evidence that his injured elbow was bothering him. Foster looked quick and ran powerfully between the tackles, but didn’t get much of a chance early with only six first half carries. Drops by Carolina receivers on third down plays repeatedly killed Panthers’ drives. The second half was more of the same, but the score and game situation forced Carolina to abandon the run going into the hurry-up offense.

RB DeAngelo Williams, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0, Rec: 4 - 45 - 0 (4 targets)

Williams entered the game midway through the second quarter. He had two carries on successive running plays and pulled in a short four yard reception. Three of his receptions and the bulk of his receiving yards should be considered garbage time stats from late in the fourth quarter.

WR Drew Carter, Rec: 8 - 144 - 1 (11 targets)

Carter was targeted on a fly pattern down the left sideline on the first Carolina possession. QB Chris Weinke dropped a perfect pass in on the play but Carter couldn’t pull in the lunging attempt. He made his first reception at the start of the second quarter and followed that up with a 36 yard touchdown three plays later. Carter beat his cornerback down the right sideline and Weinke dropped in a strike for the score. There was contact on the play, but Carter did a good job of securing the pass while falling into the end zone. He pulled in a similar pass two drives later on a 38 yard gain fighting with the defensive back all the way down the field, but this time he had to lay out to make the reception. Carter limped to the sideline after making the grab. He returned to the game and made three more catches during fourth quarter garbage time.

WR Keyshawn Johnson, Rec: 5 - 51 - 0 (12 targets)

Johnson caught his first target near the end of the first quarter for a short six yard gain. His second target was deep down the middle of the field midway through the second quarter. QB Chris Weinke put the ball on his hands, but Johnson couldn’t secure the ball and ended up taking a big hit from the safety in the back. The ball was already falling to the ground before the hit took place. He was targeted in the end zone twice late in the game. Weinke attempted to lob the ball about ten yards out allowing Johnson to use his height over smaller cornerbacks just as they have the past few weeks.

WR Steve Smith, Rec: 5 - 67 - 0 (13 targets)

Smith dropped his first target killing the second Carolina drive. QB Chris Weinke hit him in the hands, but Smith couldn’t make the reception on the short pass. His first catch was down the right sideline at the start of the second quarter. Smith went up high to pull down the pass and took a big hit from the safety, but was still able to make the catch. The Panthers attempted to run an end around to Smith deep in their own territory on a first down play. The Giants defended the play well holding Smith to no gain, but the play was nullified by a holding penalty on New York. At the start of the third quarter Smith had a pass thrown slightly behind him go off his hands on a crossing route. The ball was tipped up into the air and intercepted. Weinke’s second interception was also thrown his way, but badly overthrown. Smith didn’t have a chance to make a play on the ball.

TE Kris Mangum, Rec: 4 - 45 - 0 (7 targets)

Mangum’s first target hit him in the head. On a third and three QB Chris Weinke had Mangum open on a short crossing route for the first down. Mangum didn’t get his hands up in time and ball bounced off his helmet. Near the end of the second quarter Weinke put another ball right in front of Mangum’s face again on a deeper cross. Mangum didn’t get his head turned around and didn’t see the ball coming. Mangum caught his final four targets. Three of those should be considered garbage time receptions. However, after he final grab he was helped off the field and taken to the locker room on a cart. Specifics of his injury weren’t immediately available.

PK John Kasay 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points

There was nothing of significance to report from the Panthers' kicking game.

CAR Rush Defense

The Panthers’ front seven was manhandled and sliced for long gains by RB Tiki Barber through most of three quarters. Several of the holes that Barber ran through were fit for a truck, but even when a defender did have Barber in grasp he was often able to make him miss picking up solid yardage. On a positive note Carolina was phenomenal in short yardage. The dominated the point of attack and stuffed RB Brandon Jacobs on three consecutive third and short plays.

CAR Pass Defense

Playing without starting cornerbacks Gamble and Lucas was an issue from the start. The Giants dedicated themselves to getting the ball deep down the field to WR Plaxico Burress. Dion Byrum and Christian Morton started in place of the regulars. Making matters worse Morton injured a hamstring early in the game and was replaced by Richard Marshall. Both Byrum and Marshall were burned deep and got away with poor coverage on many more plays. The pass rush didn’t record any sacks, but they did put several big hits on QB Eli Manning.