The New York Giants played true smash-mouth football defeating the Baltimore Ravens Sunday by a score of 30–10 and improving their record to 9–1.
The Ravens came into the game with the top-ranked run defense, prompting most analysts to bet against the Giants’ ability the rack up any significant numbers on the ground. Yet, what unfolded was exactly that. The Giants tallied 207 yards rushing and averaged over five yards per carry against a defense that gave up only one rushing touchdown all season.
When asked about whether or not he was surprised by what the Giants were able to accomplish against the league’s best run defense, Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said, “I’m not surprised by anything that we do. We are capable of doing anything. Our line did a good job, our coaches did a good job of calling plays and putting us in positions we needed to be in.”
Head coach Tom Coughlin added, “Our offensive line has done an outstanding job, our fullback, our tight ends, and everybody together, our power runners have done a good job.
“That is a very good team, the number one team defensively in the league against the run, and we were able to do some good things.”
Kudos has to be given to the Giants offensive line. Their continued stellar effort enabled Brandon Jacobs to rumble for 73 yards with two touchdowns in the first half and sprang Derrick Ward (41 yards on 11 carries) and Ahmad Bradshaw (96 yards on 9 carries) during the remainder of the game.
Starting the second half, the Ravens defense seemed to feed off the energy from Lewis’s interception and forced the Giants into an eventual three and out. The Giants punted the ball back and scrambling rookie quarterback Joe Flacco threw a 14-yard bullet pass to veteran wideout Derrick Mason. Soon after, he hit Ravens running back Le’ron McClain on a screen that went for a touchdown, cutting the score to 20–10.
The Giants were forced to punt again and it was up to the Giants defense to match Baltimore’s energy. They did.
Giants’ cornerback Aaron Ross intercepted a pass intended for Derrick Mason and ran it back for a 50-yard touchdown, putting the Giants up 27–10.
After that takeaway the rest of the Giants stepped up and took care of business.
Ahmad Bradshaw sliced through the Ravens defensive line on the next possession and ran for 76 yards before being caught by Ravens corner Fabian Washington at the one-yard line.
The Ravens made a proud goal line stand and kept the Giants out of the end zone, but the Giants still added to the score by kicking the field goal.
With about six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Giants put the final kibosh on the Ravens scoring chances by sacking Flacco on fourth down and closed out the game by a final score of 30–10.
With a .635 opponent winning schedule, the Giants have one of the toughest remaining schedules.
At 9–1, the Giants have their second best start in team history. Their best start came in 1990 when they began the season 10–0 and eventually won the Super Bowl.
The Ravens came into the game with the top-ranked run defense, prompting most analysts to bet against the Giants’ ability the rack up any significant numbers on the ground. Yet, what unfolded was exactly that. The Giants tallied 207 yards rushing and averaged over five yards per carry against a defense that gave up only one rushing touchdown all season.
When asked about whether or not he was surprised by what the Giants were able to accomplish against the league’s best run defense, Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said, “I’m not surprised by anything that we do. We are capable of doing anything. Our line did a good job, our coaches did a good job of calling plays and putting us in positions we needed to be in.”
Head coach Tom Coughlin added, “Our offensive line has done an outstanding job, our fullback, our tight ends, and everybody together, our power runners have done a good job.
“That is a very good team, the number one team defensively in the league against the run, and we were able to do some good things.”
Kudos has to be given to the Giants offensive line. Their continued stellar effort enabled Brandon Jacobs to rumble for 73 yards with two touchdowns in the first half and sprang Derrick Ward (41 yards on 11 carries) and Ahmad Bradshaw (96 yards on 9 carries) during the remainder of the game.
Taking Care of Business
After Jacobs’s two scores and a Ravens field goal, the Giants increased their lead with a touchdown pass to backup tight end Darcy Johnson (but missed the extra point), putting the G-Men up 20–3.
Right before the end of the second quarter, Eli Manning led the Giants down the field and was in position to put the Giants up 27–3. But that didn’t happen, courtesy of Ravens’ Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis who picked off Manning and negated any scoring chance.Starting the second half, the Ravens defense seemed to feed off the energy from Lewis’s interception and forced the Giants into an eventual three and out. The Giants punted the ball back and scrambling rookie quarterback Joe Flacco threw a 14-yard bullet pass to veteran wideout Derrick Mason. Soon after, he hit Ravens running back Le’ron McClain on a screen that went for a touchdown, cutting the score to 20–10.
The Giants were forced to punt again and it was up to the Giants defense to match Baltimore’s energy. They did.
Giants’ cornerback Aaron Ross intercepted a pass intended for Derrick Mason and ran it back for a 50-yard touchdown, putting the Giants up 27–10.
After that takeaway the rest of the Giants stepped up and took care of business.
Ahmad Bradshaw sliced through the Ravens defensive line on the next possession and ran for 76 yards before being caught by Ravens corner Fabian Washington at the one-yard line.
The Ravens made a proud goal line stand and kept the Giants out of the end zone, but the Giants still added to the score by kicking the field goal.
With about six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Giants put the final kibosh on the Ravens scoring chances by sacking Flacco on fourth down and closed out the game by a final score of 30–10.
NOTES:
The Ravens defense might have all the notoriety, but the Giants defense proved they were no slouches. They held Baltimore to only 10 points. Over their four game win streak, the Ravens scored 27, 29 37, and 41 points.
The Giants improved their record to 9–1 and will face the Arizona Cardinals on the road next Sunday at 4:15pm.With a .635 opponent winning schedule, the Giants have one of the toughest remaining schedules.
At 9–1, the Giants have their second best start in team history. Their best start came in 1990 when they began the season 10–0 and eventually won the Super Bowl.
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