East Rutherford, N.J. – Eli Manning was backpedaling under pressure, spinning away from a defender and heaving the ball in what looked like desperation.
Except there was nothing desperate about this pass, caught in the end zone on the run by a leaping Amani Toomer with :08 remaining to give the New York Giants a 24-23 win over Denver on Sunday.
The second-year quarterback’s education took another huge step forward with the 2-yard touchdown toss that capped a brilliant comeback drive and snapped Denver’s five-game winning streak, despite another stellar running effort by the Broncos.
Trailing 23-17 with 3:29 left, Manning drove the Giants from their 17 to the Denver 2. The big play that got them there was a 24-yard pass to tight end to Jeremy Shockey on third-and-10 at the Denver 32.
After an incompletion and a short pass to Tiki Barber, Manning, off-balance and under heavy pressure, found Toomer just inside the goal line for the score.
It’s was a familiar sight, but with a different result: Last week, Manning led his team on a similar drive in Dallas, spinning away from a blitzing defender and hitting Shockey in the end zone to tie the game with less than a minute left. But the Giants never got the ball in overtime and lost to the Cowboys 16-13.
Manning, who had been kept on the run by the Denver for most of Sunday’s game, finished 23-of-42 for 214 yards and two touchdowns for the Giants (4-2), who trailed from midway through the second quarter until the final drive. His other touchdown pass came to Plaxico Burress in the first quarter.
Denver (5-2) quarterback Jake Plummer finished 18-of-29 for 194 yards and one touchdown, and Jason Elam kicked three field goals for the Broncos. But Elam missed a 49-yarder with 5:18 left in the game after Barber scored on a 4-yard run to bring the Giants within 6 points at 23-17.
Manning was intercepted by Champ Bailey on the Giants’ next possession, but New York held Denver on downs and got the ball back one more time.
Mike Anderson gained 120 yards on 24 carries and scored on a 2-yard touchdown run for Denver, while Tatum Bell had 60 yards on 8 carries. The Broncos, the NFL’s third-best rushing team, ran for 191 yards, 38 yards more than their average coming into the game.
Fullback Kyle Johnson had given Denver a 20-10 lead on a 4-yard pass from Plummer on the opening possession of the second half, and Elam’s third field goal stretched the lead to 23-10.
Denver led 13-10 at halftime on two field goals by Elam and a 2-yard run by Anderson that culminated a 13-play, 87-yard drive.
Sandwiched between Elam’s 49- and 42-yard field goals in the first quarter, New York scored on an 18-yard pass from Manning to Burress, who outleaped Bailey in the corner of the end zone.
Trailing 7-6 early in the second quarter, the Broncos started from their 13 with Plummer rolling out left and finding Rod Smith for 27 yards. They moved the rest of the way largely on the running of Anderson, who carried 6 times for 32 yards, and on three Giants penalties.
The most damaging mistake by the Giants was an offsides penalty on defensive end Osi Umenyiora that negated what would have been a sack by Michael Strahan on third-and-12 from the New York 30.
