It was an important win for the G-Men because they were able to do it while missing both of their starting wide receivers (Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith) and three key offensive linemen (LT David Diehl, C Shaun O’Hara, T/G Shawn Andrews).
Making matters even better for New York, was the 31–26 loss handed to the Philadelphia Eagles by the Chicago Bears later on Sunday—giving the Giants and Philly a tie for first place in the NFC East Division.
Stars of the game for New York include wide receiver Mario Manningham, tight end Kevin Boss, and the entire Giants defense.
Down 17–9 in the third quarter, Manningham caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning at 13:42, which was followed by a two-point conversion by running back Ahmad Bradshaw that tied the game at 17–17.
Trailing 20–17 with minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Boss’s 32-yard TD catch at 3:15 was the game-winning score for New York as they were able to pull ahead 24–20 and give the defense a chance to slam the door shut on the Jaguars.
Following Boss’s huge score, and with momentum back on their side, the defense made the statement of the game, sacking quarterback David Garrard three consecutive times near midfield—the last of which led to a fumble that was recovered by Giants safety Antrel Rolle with less than two minutes in regulation, sealing the win for the G-Men.
On www.giants.com, a much relived Tom Coughlin spoke after the game, saying, “That was a hard fought battle. At the half, we talked about the fact that our first half wasn’t good enough, we came back in the second half, did some very good things, and I take my hat off to the coaches and players.
“We found a way to win the game and that’s what we planned on doing coming in—somehow, some way, we'd find a way to win.”
Running back Brandon Jacobs, added, “Coming from our two-game losing streak we really needed to win it with the race with the other teams for the top of the NFC. We still have a lot of games [left].”
The stats for the Giants were not particularly impressive. Without key starters on offense, they managed to do enough to score two touchdowns while generating 361 yards of total offense (135 rushing yards, 226 passing yards).
Other good news for the Giants offense came in the turnovers column where they committed zero.
Turning Point
The Giants defense made the pivotal play of the game minutes into the third quarter, picking off Jaguars quarterback David Garrard at 14:45.
The play couldn’t have come at a better time for the G-Men. Until then, the Jags, up 17–6, were moving the ball well against the Giants defense and could have demoralized them had they gone up 24–6.
After being gashed for 115 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the first half, the Giants defense forced two turnovers in the second half and completely dominated the rest of the way.
After the game it was learned that defensive end Justin Tuck was instrumental in rallying his teammates by delivering a spirited halftime speech.
Tuck said, “I just talked about how you allow somebody to come into your house and take over. I just challenged each of them and that in the second half we needed to pick it up. Just try to create a spark, and it worked.”
