Click here to see all recaps on a single page
| Other Week 2 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL at JAX | BUF at PIT | CIN at CLE | DAL at MIA | GB at NYG | HOU at CAR | IND at TEN | KC at CHI |
| MIN at DET | NO at TB | NYJ at BAL | OAK at DEN | SD at NE | SEA at ARI | SF at STL | WAS at PHI |
Week 2 Game Recap: Green Bay Packers 35, New York Giants 13
What you need to know
| Green Bay Packers |
The Packers offense was the story of this game racking up 368 yards and amassing 25 first downs. Quarterback Brett Favre was sharp, completing over 76%of his passes and leading the Green Bay offense to five touchdowns. Eight different Packers receivers had receptions in this game and Bubba Franks, Donald Lee and Donald Driver all caught second half touchdown passes.
Despite a 38 yard touchdown run late in the game by DeShawn Wynn, the Packers really struggled to rush the football against the Giants defense. Running backs Brandon Jackson and Wynn could only muster 85 yards on 27 rushes and the running back tandem had 18 rushes that went for less than two yards. Wynn and Jackson did contribute toward the offense by combining to catch six passes for a total of 42 yards.
Donald Driver was Favre's favorite target during the game as he hauled in eight passes for 73 yards. Three of Driver's catches went for first downs and a fourth went for his first touchdown of the year.
Running back Vernand Morency and Wide Receiver Greg Jennings were inactive for the second consecutive game.
| New York Giants |
Reports earlier in the week had Eli Manning missing four games, but Manning started this contest and seemed to show no ill effects of the injured shoulder he endured during last week's game. Using play action pass to keep the Packers defense off balance, Manning completed ten first half passes for 143 yards and threw a perfect pass to Plaxico Burress that resulted in a 26 yard touchdown. The Packers defense tightened down in the second half, allowing Manning to complete only six passes for 68 yards.
Derrick Ward had a nice game filling in for the injured Brandon Jacobs. Ward found success rushing the football and catching passes out of the backfield as he totaled 125 yards of offense on 19 touches.
The Giants offense could not get into a rhythm in the second half. New York was able to get a field goal on their first drive of the third quarter to pull within one point of the Packers, but turnovers and pressure by the Packers defense frustrated Eli Manning and kept the Giants from putting any more points on the board.
What you ought to know
| QB Brett Favre, Pass: 29 - 38 - 286 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 |
With the Packers struggling to run the football, Favre was able to keep the offense moving with his arm. Favre caught fire after half time, completing his first 14 passes of the second half and throwing for three scores. His first touchdown pass came on a two yard toss to Bubba Franks that put the Packers up 14--10. Favre's second scoring strike was a ten yard laser that found Donald Driver in the back of the end zone. He showed some touch on his third touchdown pass, laying the ball out perfectly to Donald Lee for the three yard score. His only interception of the game came on a deflected ball early in the second quarter that was picked off by Gibril Wilson.
| RB Brandon Jackson, Rush: 17 - 35 - 0, Rec: 4 - 24 - 0 (5 targets) |
Jackson was the primary ball handler for the Packers, but he had a tough time picking up yards on the ground. On the Packers' first play from scrimmage, Jackson took the handoff and carried the ball for an eight yard gain. Unfortunately for him, that would be his longest run of the day. On his next 16 carries, Jackson was only able to average 1.7 yards per rush. Despite his rough day rushing the ball, Jackson did haul in four passes for 24 yards including a 15 yard reception in the third quarter.
| RB DeShawn Wynn, Rush: 10 - 50 - 2, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (3 targets) |
Spelling Jackson in the Packer backfield, Wynn accumulated 68 yards of offense and rushed for two touchdowns. His first touchdown of the game came on a second and goal play in which Wynn took the handoff from the shotgun snap and scampered in for the six yard score. Wynn's second rushing touchdown came from 38 yards out with a little over four minutes left in the game. In addition to the yards he gained on offense, Wynn also had a kick off return for 15 yards.
| RB Ryan Grant, Rec: 1 - 21 - 0 (1 targets) |
Grant caught his only target for a 21 yard gain that led to the Packers' first touchdown of the game.
| WR Donald Driver, Rec: 8 - 73 - 1 (12 targets) |
Driver was looked at often by Favre and he finished the game with the most targets of any Packer receiver. The touchdown catch came from ten yards out and was his first of the year. On the play, Driver did a good job snatching the Favre fastball and getting both feet down in the back of the end zone. Four of Driver's catches went for less than seven yards, but he did have longer pass receptions of 15 and 19 yards. The only Packers turnover of the game came on a pass to Driver that deflected off of his shoulder pad that was picked off by the Giants secondary.
| WR James Jones, Rec: 4 - 75 - 0 (4 targets) |
Jones was able to haul in all four passes that were thrown his way. The first came on the Packers' second drive and went for seven yards. His next completion came on the Packers' third scoring drive and went for 46 yards. Jones beat Corey Webster down the sideline and was able to haul in the Favre pass for the big gain. The last two completions came on consecutive plays in the third quarter that netted a total of five and 17 yards respectively.
| WR Ruvell Martin (2 targets) |
Martin failed to catch a pass in this game, but both of his targets resulted in pass interference penalties on the Giants. His first target came late in the first quarter and resulted in a 22 yard penalty on Corey Webster. Martin's second target came early in the third quarter and resulted in a nine yard penalty on Sam Madison that resulted in a first and goal from the New York two yard line.
| TE Donald Lee, Rec: 4 - 35 - 1 (6 targets) |
Lee got involved on the first Packers series of the game, catching two passes for 18 yards. Though targeted two times in the second quarter, he did not catch his next pass until he snagged a 14 yard reception with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Lee followed that up later in the game by scoring the Packers' third touchdown of the game on a three yard pass from Favre.
| TE Bubba Franks, Rec: 4 - 20 - 1 (5 targets) |
Franks' first catch of the game didn't come until the third quarter, but he made it count by scoring on a two yard touchdown pass. After the touchdown grab, Franks grabbed three more Favre passes for a total of 18 yards.
| PK Mason Crosby 0 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 5 points |
Crosby missed wide left on a 43 yard field goal attempt in the first quarter. A low snap may have contributed towards the miss. Crosby did make all five of his extra point attempts.
| GB Rush Defense |
The Packers held the Giants to 94 yards on the ground. The defense did not give up any rushing touchdowns, but Derrick Ward did have a couple of big gains. Ward picked up 19 yards on a first quarter run and added a 26 yard rush later on in the third quarter.
| GB Pass Defense |
The pass defense looked a little shaky in the first half, giving up ten completions for 143 yards and a touchdown. Charles Woodson fell down on a play that resulted in a 40 yard catch and run by Amani Toomer. On the touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress, it appeared that safety Atari Bigby was a little late in getting back to defend the play. The pass defense picked things up in the second half recording two sacks, forcing a fumble, and intercepting an Eli Manning pass. Cornerback Al Harris was flagged for a three yard pass interference penalty as well as a five yard illegal contact infraction. Linebacker A.J. Hawk was flagged for two illegal contact penalties, one of which was declined.
| QB Eli Manning, Pass: 16 - 29 - 211 - 1 TD / 1 INT |
Manning looked good in the first half completing over 62% of his passes and hitting Plaxico Burress on a nice 26 yard touchdown throw. The ball was placed perfectly over the top of the safety and in front of the corner and allowed Burress to go up and secure the pass. In addition to the scoring play, Manning also hooked up in the first half with Jeremy Shockey on two separate 19 yard gains and also completed a second quarter pass to Amani Toomer that went for 40 yards. In spite of his good start, Manning struggled in the second half. He completed only six of 13 passes for 68 yards and threw a bad fourth quarter interception. On the play that resulted in the turnover, Manning tried to throw the ball away in the field of play and the pass was intercepted by defensive tackle Corey Williams. Down by 22 points with a little over four minutes remaining, the Giants' coaching staff decided to take Manning out of the game.
| QB Anthony Wright, Pass: 1 - 6 - 12 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Wright entered the game on the Giants' final series after Jared Lorenzen left the game. Wright was only able to complete one pass for 12 yards, but a pass that would have been a touchdown was knocked out of the hands of Anthony Mix before Mix could get his feet down in the end zone.
| QB Jared Lorenzen, Pass: 3 - 5 - 21 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Lorenzen replaced Manning for the Giants' last series of the game. He appeared to sustain a left-leg injury on the first or second play of the drive, but stayed in the game and was able to complete three passes. Lorenzen gave way to Anthony Wright just before the two-minute warning. Later on in the game, Lorenzen was shown limping back to the Giants' locker room.
| RB Derrick Ward, Rush: 15 - 90 - 0, Rec: 4 - 35 - 0 (6 targets) |
Ward did a solid job in his first NFL start by carrying the ball 15 times and averaging six yards per rush. On his first carry of the game, Ward took the handoff and was able to pick up 19 yards. He ended the first half with 45 yards on eight attempts and also hauled in a pass that went for six yards. Ward followed that up in the second half with another 45 yards on the ground including a run over the left side that went for 26 yards. He also caught three more passes for 29 yards in the second half and finished the game with 125 yards of total offense.
| RB Reuben Droughns, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
Droughns hauled in the only pass thrown his way for a four yard gain on the Giants' second drive of the game. He also averaged over 21 yards on three kick-off returns.
| RB Ahmad Bradshaw, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (1 targets) |
Bradshaw caught the only ball thrown his way in the third quarter and was able to pick up 11 yards on the play. Bradshaw also returned two kick offs for a total of 43 yards, but did have a costly fumble on a return that was recovered by the Packer's kick off team. Following the fumble, Bradshaw left the game with an elbow injury.
| WR Plaxico Burress, Rec: 2 - 32 - 1 (4 targets) |
Despite the fact that Burress had a relatively quiet game in which he caught two passes for 32 yards he did catch his fourth touchdown of the year. The play came in the second quarter when Manning hooked up with Burress in the end zone for the 26 yard strike. His only other catch of the game came just before the two-minute warning of the first half and went for six yards. Following the play, Burress was seen limping to the locker room prior to the end of the first half, but did return in the third quarter. His only target of the second half resulted in a three yard pass interference penalty on Green Bay cornerback Al Harris.
| WR Amani Toomer, Rec: 2 - 48 - 0 (7 targets) |
Despite being targeted seven times, Toomer was only able to make two catches. His first reception came in the second quarter with a little over eight minutes to play. The corner fell down on the play and Toomer was able to break a tackle and gain 40 yards. His only other catch also came in the second quarter and went for eight yards. In the third quarter, Toomer found himself open in the end zone, but a less than perfect throw by Manning resulted in an incomplete pass. Though it has no fantasy implications, Toomer was flagged later on in the third quarter for an un-sportsmanlike penalty that turned a Giants' third and goal from the Packers eight yard line into a third and goal from the 23.
| WR Sinorice Moss, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0 (3 targets) |
Moss was targeted on three passing plays, but all three passes fell incomplete. Moss did have a four yard rush on an end around.
| WR Steve Smith, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (1 targets) |
Smith's only catch of the game came on a third and two play that went for ten yards. Smith was hurt on the play and left the game for good due to what was reported as a scapula injury.
| TE Jeremy Shockey, Rec: 5 - 60 - 0 (13 targets) |
Giants quarterbacks targeted Shockey early and often. On the Giants first play of the game, Manning hooked up with Shockey for 19 yards. His next catch came late in the second quarter and went for another 19 yards. On that same drive Shockey hauled in a pass that went for 14 yards, but the play was nullified after Shockey was flagged for delay of game when he batted the ball after the play was over. On the very next play Shockey was wide open near the goal line, but Manning's pass hung in the air too long and that allowed a Packers defender to close and Shockey couldn't hang on. On the Giants' last drive of the game, Shockey hauled in two Jared Lorenzen passes for a total of 15 yards.
| TE Anthony Mix, Rec: 3 - 39 - 0 (5 targets) |
Mix's first reception came with less than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, and he hauled in the Eli Manning pass for a 21 yard gain. He went on to catch a six yard pass from Jared Lorenzen and then a made a 12 yard gram on an Anthony Wright pass. On the Giants' final offensive play of the game, Mix had a touchdown catch knocked out of his hands before he could get his feet down in the end zone.
| TE Michael Matthews, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets) |
Matthews' reception came on the Giants' second drive of the game and went for five yards. His only other target came in the second quarter and fell incomplete.
| TE Kevin Boss (1 targets) |
Boss' only target came on a short Anthony Wright pass late in the fourth quarter that fell incomplete.
| PK Lawrence Tynes 2 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points |
Tynes' first field goal attempt of the game sailed wide left. A poor snap by Jay Alford may have factored into the missed kick. Tynes did later connect on field goals of 48 and 32 yards, and he also converted his only extra point attempt.
| NYG Rush Defense |
The Giants' rush defense kept the Packers running backs in check. The Giants surrendered only 83 yards on the ground but did allow touchdown runs of six and 38 yards to DeShawn Wynn. On the Packers' first driver of the game, Fred Robbins stuffed DeShawn Wynn on a third and one play at the Giants 25 yard line that forced a Packer field goal attempt that sailed wide left.
| NYG Pass Defense |
Despite the success defending the run, the Giants defense could not seem to stop the Packers passing attack. In addition to giving up 29 completions for 286 yards and three touchdowns, the Giants secondary committed two pass interference penalties that cost the defense a total of 31 yards. Safety Gibril Wilson did intercept a Brett Favre pass in the second quarter that stopped a Packer drive that was operating from the Giants' 30 yard line. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora did play in this game despite reports that he could miss some games due to his knee injury.
