Giants Manning advances, Manning does not
NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Eli Manning throws deep into the playoffs
Oh boy, did not see this coming. Did you?
The road to the Super Bowl can be tricky. Both games on Sunday were upsets.
New York 21 Dallas 17
Eli Manning played quietly and defeats the Cowboys.
Tony Romo lives loud with vacations with Jessica Simpson and ripping the NFL and Fantasy Leagues apart and stinks up the joint in a loss to the Giants.
San Diego 28 Indianapolis 24
Peyton Manning played loud, but throws a couple of crucial interceptions and loses to the Chargers.
Phillip Rivers and LT hurt their knee and their backups make the big plays to defeat the Colts.
New York Giants
The Giants, a team of heart and sweat and power, will face the Packers on Sunday. The Packers should be heavily favored, especially in Lambeau field, but that has not mattered to the Giants. In fact, one could say they have almost thrived on being the underdog and have acted more like Underdog!
Dallas underperformed as so many teams have against the Giants.
Topping the list of the listless for the Cowboys was Romo, who was 18 of 36 for 201 yards, one touchdown and an interception. All of that came after Romo caused a stir last week by spending Thursday through Sunday in Mexico with Simpson. source
Eli stayed within himself to keep a Manning advancing in the playoffs.
But in the final seconds of the first half, the Giants turned this game on its ear. They drove 71 yards on seven plays in the span of 46 seconds, with quarterback Eli Manning going four of seven to account for all of the yardage. It was Manning’s second straight efficient performance as he completed 12 of 18 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Among the throws was a pretty 22-yard toss to rookie wide receiver Steve Smith. source
The Giants secondary kept Dallas from getting any deep plays and the defensive line went after Tony Romo hard to keep him off balance and it worked.
“That’s what we were focused on taking away all game,” Giants cornerback Aaron Ross said. “If we gave up something big, we just talked to each other and stayed focused on not giving up another one.”
That was the plan in the secondary. Up front, the defensive line stopped thinking so much. In the two previous games, the Giants had focused on keeping Romo in the pocket instead of allowing him to freelance. In this game, the Giants threw caution to the wind and just chased Romo however they could.
San Diego Chargers
The Chargers, a team loaded with talent, but with a suspect coach and even more suspect signal caller in young Phillip Rivers, were able to call on their deep talent reserve to defeat the Colts and now move on to the perfect New England Patriots led by the record setting Tom Brady and Randy Moss.
The Chargers can hardly be intimidated after winning without Phillip Rivers and without LaDainian Tomlinson.
Also an undermanned team. L.T. departed in the first half with a bruised left knee, and Rivers went out in the third quarter with a damaged right knee. Both said they hoped to be ready for the Patriots, and Coach Norv Turner said they are “questionable.”
“That’s the true measure of a team,” Tomlinson said. “Guys stepped up and got it done.”
Those guys included Billy Volek at quarterback and Michael Turner as the main runner. Led by those subs, San Diego went 78 yards on eight plays, with Volek sneaking in from the 1 with 4:50 remaining for the lead. The Chargers’ big-play defense then held on downs at its 7, and stopped Indy again in the final moments to preserve their eighth straight win. source
Wrap up for Giants and Chargers
The Giants will have to show incredible team effort in their battle in Lambeau field next Sunday as Eli Manning will need to continue to stay out of his own way. Will hard hitting be enough to slow down Brett Favre?
The Chargers will need more than emotion, like maybe a healthy LT, to take on the Patriots winning machine. The Chargers would like to make up for last season’s utter failure in the playoffs when they looked like a young team not ready for the playoffs mentally.
It appears the playoffs just got a whole lot more exciting. Even though both teams will be heavy underdogs next week, nobody will be thinking they can’t win after what they showed this week.
Looks like Peyton will be in the stands watching Eli for once.
NFL Football Fan Question Did you happen to bet on the Giants and Chargers?
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POSTED IN: Brett Favre, Dallas Cowboys, Eli Manning, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Jessica Simpson, LaDainian Tomlinson, NFL Football, NFL Playoffs, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Randy Moss, San Diego Chargers, Super Bowl, Terrell Owens, Tom Brady, Tony Romo
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