EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — All the missing pieces — defense and a running game — are aligning at the right time for Eli Manning and the New York Giants. And just in time to play the Green Bay Packers.
After routing the Atlanta Falcons 24-2 on Sunday in the NFC wild-card game, the Giants this coming Sunday head to Green Bay, a place where they will need all the help they can muster.
Manning carried the Giants (10-7) for much of the season, hoping the defense would get stingy, the pass rush would materialize and the running game would get on track. Now, all of that is happening.
“A great mix of run and pass and these guys have a great understanding of what our offense is,” Manning said of the help he’s receiving. “If we can get that run game going like we did in the second half, that opens up a lot of windows.”
And if the defense remains impenetrable, watch out.
“If we can play defense like that, we will continue to make ourselves heard in this tournament,” coach Tom Coughlin said.
Manning punctuated his best pro season by throwing for three touchdowns and scrambling for a 14-yard gain that woke up New York’s offense in its first postseason victory since its Super Bowl upset of the undefeated New England Patriots four years ago. Next up is as big a challenge: the defending champion Packers (15-1).
“We know they are a good team,” Manning said. “We played them tough here, did some good things here, we scored some points. We know offensively we are going to have to play strong, score some points.”
The team that couldn’t run the ball will be sprinting there, bringing along a defense the Packers actually might fear. Not to mention the passing offense led by Manning, who hooked up on a 72-yard catch and run by Hakeem Nicks in the third quarter that put away the inept Falcons (10-7).
Key moment
On a fourth-and-1 play at the Giants’ 21-yard line, the Falcons’ Matt Ryan attempted a second quarterback sneak of the game and was stuffed by the Giants’ Jason Pierre-Paul and Chris Canty with 4:16 left in the third quarter. The Falcons were trailing 10-2 at the time, so a touchdown and two-point conversion on the drive would have tied the score.
Instead, the Falcons
turned the ball over on downs. Three plays later, Giants QB Eli Manning hit wide receiver Hakeem Nicks on a slant over the middle and Nicks turned the catch up the field, splitting the Atlanta defense and taking it for a 72-yard touchdown. That gave the Giants a 17-2 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
