The View Back East: Giants Firm Grip On First
The Giants were huge underdogs going into New England last week. The Patriots had not lost consecutive games since 2003. They had their twenty-win regular season home win streak snapped as well. The Giants got a huge victory as Eli Manning rallied the Giants to a 24-20 win. They remain in first place and in control of the division. The Eagles blew another late lead and lost to the Bears. The Redskins continued to fall apart. The Cowboys handed the Seahawks another loss. Here is a recap of the games.
Giants 24 Patriots 20
Eli Manning is proving he is an elite quarterback. He is having a career season and making the most of it with an injured Hakeem Nicks and Ahmad Bradshaw. Eli completed 20 of 39 attempts for 250 yards and two touchdowns. This game was very similar to the Super Bowl win in 2008 when the Giants overcame a late deficit to win 17-14. The defense rattled Tom Brady and forced four turnovers on the Patriots. Brady still had a good game with 342 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. He looked out of sync all game thanks to the Giants strong pass-rush with two sacks and several hits on Brady.
Victor Cruz continues his breakout year as he caught six passes for 91 yards. Mario Manningham had three catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. Jake Ballard caught the game-winning touchdown and caught four passes for 67 yards, including a crucial thirty-yard catch early in the third quarter. Brandon Jacobs picked up the slack with Bradshaw out as he rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown. They face the 49ers in San Francisco next. This is a huge game for both teams. The Giants are 6-2 and have won three in a row. The Niners are 7-1 and looking for a first-round bye. Who will come out on top? Prediction: Giants 17 49ers 14
49ers 19 Redskins 11
The Redskins continue to look terrible on both sides of the ball. The Niners took control early of this game and held the Redskins to 303 total yards. Frank Gore rushed for 107 yards and Alex Smith passed for 200 yards and a touchdown. The lone bright spot for Washington was Roy Helu catching fourteen passes for 105 yards and rushing for 41 yards. This team is a mess and look like they are mailing it in on the season after a surprising start. They play the Dolphins next, but Miami finally won last week and look to build on it at home. Prediction: Redskins 10 Dolphins 14
Bears 30 Eagles 24
The Eagles had a 24-14 lead going into the fourth quarter. They were once again shut out in that quarter and surrendered ten straight points to the Bears. The defense was shredded by Jay Cutler and also had costly penalties. Cutler threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns and outplayed Michael Vick. Vick had a disappointing game. He threw for only 213 yards and an interception. He was held to 34 yards rushing and could not get this offense going. Give the Bears credit as the defense looked great and Matt Forte once again dominated with 133 yards rushing and caught three balls for 17 yards. The Eagles defense could not stop anybody in crunch time and at 3-5 have a huge mountain to climb if they want to make the playoffs.
LeSean McCoy was mostly held in check with 71 yards rushing and a touchdown, but also caught five passes for 46 yards. Jeremy Maclin once again led the team in receiving with four catches for 63 yards. DeSean Jackson was once again invisible as he continues his disappointing season. He was held to two catches for 16 yards and lost a fumble on a punt-return. He won't be getting his huge contract he demands if he continues to struggle. The truth is this team was over-hyped coming into the season and they are not living up to it. If they miss the playoffs there will be several changes and Andy Reid might not last. Lucky for them they play the Cardinals at home this week. Kevin Kolb will not be making his return to Philadelphia as he looks to be out this week. Can they turn things around and beat up a terrible Cardinals team or will they continue their mediocre play? Prediction: Eagles 34 Cardinals 21
The Cowboys play the Bills at home this week in what might be an elimination game for the loser. The Cowboys are 4-4 and the Bills are 5-3. Dallas is coming off a blowout of the Seahawks and the Bills are coming off a crushing defeat by the Jets at home. Dallas must win in order to keep pace with the Giants. The Bills must win in order to stay in the playoff hunt. If Dallas wins this week they have a shot at the division, because they still have to play the Giants twice and the Giants have a brutal schedule the rest of the year. It should be another interesting week in the NFC East. Tune in next week for the recap of week 10's games.
