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Week 20 Game Recap: New York Giants 23, Green Bay Packers 20
What you need to know
| New York Giants |
Lawrence Tynes isn't likely to soon forget this game. Tynes missed two field goal attempts wide left in the fourth quarter from 43 and 36 yards out, both of which would have broken a tie and given his team the lead. The second attempt was especially ugly, giving you the feeling that head coach Coughlin may avoid any attempts from that point forward. In overtime, after a Corey Webster interception set them up in the Packers end, their drive stalled at a spot that would have appeared out of Tynes' range. But Coughlin sent Tynes out for a 47 yard attempt. Tynes lined it up and drilled it down the middle to send the Giants to the Super Bowl.
Plaxico Burress had his way with cornerback Al Harris to the tune of 154 yards and 11 receptions. Burress accounted for over half of the Giants receiving yards and receptions. Nine of his catches went for first downs, and the Packers had absolutely no answer for the gifted receiver.
Brandon Jacobs started the game and carried the ball 21 times for 67 yards. Backup Ahmad Bradshaw would see a lot of work down the stretch. He carried the ball 16 times for 63 yards, and though he wasn't setting the world on fire either, he still out-carried Jacobs eight to three in the fourth quarter and overtime. Together they allowed the Giants to completely control the time of possession, 40 to 22.
| Green Bay Packers |
Brett Favre completed 54 percent of his 35 passes for 236 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Favre's biggest play of the game came in the second quarter on a play action pass, where he hit Donald Driver down the right sideline for a huge 90 yard touchdown. Favre would later find Donald Lee in the back of the endzone for a 12 yard touchdown. Things went sour in the fourth quarter though, as the Packers offense struggled to move the ball, and Favre was picked off for the first time in the game. After the Packers won the coin toss to receiver the ball in overtime, Favre threw a pass intended for Donald Driver that was intercepted by Corey Webster, capping off the disappointing game. The Giants would go on to kick the gain winning field goal in the next drive.
Ryan Grant couldn't get anything going; only gaining 29 yards on his 13 carries. With the Packers unable to run the ball, the Giants dominated the time of possession, and put too much on Brett Favre's shoulder late in the game. Despite Grant not producing, interestingly backup and second round pick Brandon Jackson did not receive even one carry. Obviously Grant has a strong hold on the starting job, and has the complete confidence of his coaches.
With the Packers offense still yet to score any points into the second quarter, Donald Driver broke free down the right sideline, and Brett Favre found him for a 90 yard catch and run touchdown. Greg Jennings could not break free from the tight coverage of Sam Madison, so Driver was Favre's primary target throughout the game.
What you ought to know
| QB Eli Manning, Pass: 21 - 40 - 254 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0 |
Eli Manning completed 21 of 40 passes for 254 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Plaxico Burress looked healthy, and Manning did not hesitate looking his way frequently, hooking up with him 11 times for 154 of those yards. The Giants as a team had five drops, and Amani Toomer himself had three of those. Manning looked highly accurate for most of the day, and played within himself not taking many chances. He also carried the ball twice for four yards.
| RB Brandon Jacobs, Rush: 21 - 67 - 1, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Brandon Jacobs carried the ball 21 times for 67 yards, and scored on a one yard touchdown plunge to start the second half. Jacobs had trouble breaking off gains longer than a few yards in this one, and lost a significant amount of carries to his backup Ahmad Bradshaw, who played well. Late in the game Jacobs mainly gave way to Bradshaw as he only had three carries through the fourth quarter and overtime, in comparison to Bradshaw's eight.
| RB Ahmad Bradshaw, Rush: 16 - 63 - 1, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Ahmad Bradshaw carried the ball 16 times for 63 yards, and scored on a four yard touchdown in the third quarter. Bradshaw did not have any carries through one quarter, but with starter Brandon Jacobs struggling to break off anything longer than a few yards, the Giants started working Bradshaw into the gameplan. The gamble appeared to pay off, as he gave the running game a spark mid way through the game, and down the stretch. Bradshaw had a 48 yard touchdown carry late in the fourth quarter that was nullified by an offensive holding penalty. He caught his only target for a nine yard gain.
| RB Reuben Droughns |
Droughns was active for this game, but did not see any playing time with Ahmad Bradshaw having a nice game backing up Brandon Jacobs.
| WR Plaxico Burress, Rec: 11 - 154 - 0 (14 targets) |
Plaxico Burress looked healthy, catching 11 of his 14 targets for 154 yards. Much was made throughout the game about a physical battle between Burress and Packers cornerback Al Harris. On the field there's no question who got the better of it though, as Burress was frequently beating single coverage. His longest play of the game came on a ball thrown deep down the right sideline. It was in tight coverage, but Burress was able to jump up and grab the ball before Harris had a chance to make a play at it. Burress accounted for nine of the Giants' 12 passing first downs, and essentially carried the passing game with Amani Toomer struggling to catch the ball.
| WR Amani Toomer, Rec: 4 - 42 - 0 (11 targets) |
Amani Toomer caught four passes for 42 yards, his longest play of the game coming on a 23 yard catch down the left sideline. With the exception of that play, Toomer had a forgettable game. He dropped the ball three times, all on plays that would have got the Giants first downs. On two other plays him and Eli Manning also appeared to have a miscommunication. The cold weather affects players differently, and it's obvious Toomer did not look all that comfortable out there.
| WR Steve Smith, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (9 targets) |
Statistically Steve Smith did not have an impressive game, only catching two passes for 25 yards on nine targets. But both of those catches came in the fourth quarter with the Giants driving, and accounted for first downs. He played as the third receiver, and saw more targets than usual with Amani Toomer struggling.
| TE Kevin Boss, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (4 targets) |
Kevin Boss caught one pass for 12 yards, coming on the Giants first pass of the game. He did not make an impact in the passing game from that point going forward. One of his targets was down the right side of the endzone, but the defender was able to knock the ball out of his hands, making the Giants settle for a field goal.
| PK Lawrence Tynes 3 - 5 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points |
Lawrence Tynes connected on three of his five field goal attempts, while successfully hitting both of his extra point attempts. Once the Giants first drive in overtime stalled, they were forced to send Tynes out for a 47 yard attempt. After unsuccessful attempts the two previous times from closer in, it almost seemed as forgone conclusion he'd miss. But Tynes put it up in the brutally cold weather and knocked it through to send the Giants to the Super Bowl. His other successful attempts were from 29 and 37, while missing wide left twice, one from 43, and the other from 36.
| NYG Rush Defense |
The Giants only allowed Ryan Grant to run for 29 yards on 13 carries, an average of 2.2 yards per carry. With the exception of carries for 13 and seven in the second half, Grant was held to three yards or less on all of his other runs. Given that he looked like such a beast versus the Seahawks in the divisional round, this was an especially impressive performance by the Giants rush defense. Grant had no holes to hit, and they did a great job limiting him to small gains. At the end of the day, the lack of a running game was likely the Packers undoing.
| NYG Pass Defense |
With the exception of a 90 yard touchdown given up to Donald Driver in the second quarter, this was another fantastic performance by the Giants secondary and pass defense. Big play threat Greg Jennings was held to only one reception for 14 yards. The biggest play of the game came in overtime though, where Brett Favre targeted Donald Driver, but Corey Webster stepped in front and intercepted the pass. The Giants would eventually kick the game winning field goal on the next drive. Favre completed only 54 percent of his passes, those going for 236 yards. But the coverage down field was tight throughout the game, with Driver's touchdown being the only play greater than 20 yards for the Packers. Surprisingly the Giants did not collect any sacks, but picked off Favre twice.
| QB Brett Favre, Pass: 19 - 35 - 236 - 2 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
Brett Favre completed 19 of 35 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns. His first score on the game came on a beautiful play action where he pump faked to the left side, faked the handoff to Grant, and went down the right side to Driver. Driver was jammed at the line, but his defender fell down, leaving him wide open in the secondary. He won a foot race, taking it down for a 90 yard touchdown and put the Packers up 7-6. In the third quarter Favre would later find Donald Lee in the back of the endzone for a 12 yard touchdown. Favre was having what was looking like a nice steady game, but threw two interceptions, one in the fourth quarter and one in overtime. His interception in overtime would prove too difficult for the Packers to dig themselves out of, as the game winning field goal came on the next drive.
| RB Ryan Grant, Rush: 13 - 29 - 0, Rec: 1 - -3 - 0 (2 targets) |
Grant carried the ball 13 times for 29 yards. His longest carry of the game went for 13, and had another of seven, but otherwise was held to three or fewer yards on each of his other carries. The Giants did a good job of bottling Grant up at the line, and obviously limited him from breaking any of his trademark long runs. Despite his lack of effectiveness he continued playing over backup Brandon Jackson, although only had two carries after the third quarter, including overtime. Grant only caught one of his three passes for negative three yards.
| RB Brandon Jackson, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (1 targets) |
Brandon Jackson did not garner any carries, and caught his only target in the game for one yard. Despite Grant highly ineffective throughout the game, Jackson did not play often.
| WR Donald Driver, Rec: 5 - 141 - 1 (10 targets) |
Donald Driver caught five passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, on ten total targets. Driver accounted for the biggest Packer play of the game in the second quarter. Originally jammed at the line of scrimmage, the defender fell down and left Driver wide open down the right sideline. Brett Favre found him with a floater, and Driver won a foot race down the field for a 90 yard touchdown, putting the Packers up 7-6. Favre had a difficult time getting the ball to Greg Jennings, so Driver was consistently Favre's target on crucial plays. Unfortunately Favre's last throw of the game came on a ball intended for Driver, where cornerback Corey Webster intercepted the pass. The Giants would score on the next drive, ending the game.
| WR Koren Robinson, Rec: 4 - 16 - 0 (5 targets) |
Koren Robinson caught four passes for 16 yards on five targets. Favre and the Packers made an effort to get the ball in Robinson's hands, as three of his catches were on wide receiver screens along the line of scrimmage. None of them went longer than a yard. Robinson was the target on Favre's first interception of the game. As usual Robinson was the primary kick returner.
| WR Greg Jennings, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (5 targets) |
Jennings only caught one of his five targets for 14 yards. He drew cornerback Sam Madison in coverage, and Madison did a great job shutting down the dynamic second year pro. One of Jennings' targets was in the endzone, but Brett Favre over threw him.
| WR James Jones (3 targets) |
James Jones did not make the boxscore, not catching any of his three targets. He played in three receiver formations, and dropped one pass in the game.
| TE Donald Lee, Rec: 3 - 35 - 1 (4 targets) |
Lee caught three passes for 35 yards on four targets. With Brett Favre struggling to get the ball to Greg Jennings and James Jones, Lee was able to provide a couple of nice plays in the game. The first came on an 18 yard reception over the middle in the second quarter. The second came in the third quarter, when Favre found him open at the back of the endzone for a 12 yard touchdown.
| PK Mason Crosby 2 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
Crosby was successful on both of his field goal attempts, both from 37 yards out. He also converted both of his extra point attempts.
| GB Rush Defense |
The Giants as a team ran the ball for 134 yards on 39 carries, an average of 3.4 yards per carry. Started Brandon Jacobs had 21 of those carries for 67 yards, but did not get much going in the game, as most of his carries only went for short gains. Given Jacobs' lack of success, backup Ahmad Bradshaw got the ball 16 times and took them for a total of 63 yards. Neither player was especially impressive, as the Packers did a good job limiting the backs to short gains. But the combination of the two provided enough of a running game that Giants were able to dominate the time of possession 40 to 22.
| GB Pass Defense |
The one on one battle between Giants receiver Plaxico Burress and Packers cornerback Al Harris was about as physical as it gets. Burress completely had his way with Harris in the game though, and that would eventually be the biggest difference in the game. Burress accounted for 154 of Eli Manning's 254 yards, catching 11 of his 14 targets. If a mistake was made, it was that the Packers didn't roll enough help Burress' way, as Harris clearly had no answer for the big receiver. The Packers sacked Eli Manning twice, but weren't able to force the inconsistent pivot into any mistakes. Overall their pressure on the quarterback was inadequate.
