With nothing to play for but pride, the Giants worked overtime to have themselves a Merry Little Christmas as they surprised the Lions, 23-20, knocking Detroit out of the dance. Let’s take a look at how it shook out.
Will Hill Made Himself Famous: Will Hill has had himself quite a 48 hours. On Friday, Hill was arrested due to failure of child support payments. Hill was also suspended for the first four games of the season for a substance-abuse violation, so it’s fair to wonder if he “gets it.” Today, however, Hill was the primary reason why the Giants were able to get their sixth victory of the year. Hill clearly has tremendous talent, and if he can stay out of trouble, Giants fans can get used to lines like today, in which he chipped in with eleven tackles and a crucial pick-six late in the fourth quarter that saved the Giants from another crushing defeat.
Jerrel Jernigan Also Came to Play: With Victor Cruz sidelined for the rest of the season and Hakeem Nicks reduced to a shell of his former self, Eli Manning needed somebody to make some plays. Jernigan is likely on the bubble to return next season, so what he did today and what he does next week is crucial in terms of landing a job. Catching six balls and a touchdown, he was essentially the only offensive threat the Giants had today and his effort was excellent.
O-Line, No-Line: It’s a broken record. Once again, we saw the lack of talent up front that made it fairly easy for the Lions to storm back with 17 unanswered points that appeared to extend the Lions season for one more day if it weren’t for Hill’s aforementioned heroics. Don’t be surprised if the Giants go completely offensive line in the draft come May, because the guys they have now, including the shoddy depth, is in need of major retooling.
Up Next: A long and trying season wraps up at MetLife Stadium against the Redskins in a game that won’t mean a whole lot to either team other than the Redskins will try to avoid locking the Rams into the second overall pick.
Merry Christmas to All! There won’t be a Mid-Week Report this week, so I’d like to wish all of you a safe and wonderful holiday!
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