If you didn’t watch the game and just went by the final score, you’d be surprised to find out that this was a hard-fought matchup that the Giants actually led in for a time. And then things got really weird. Ultimately, it was another disappointing showing for the Giants as Peyton and the Broncos ran away late.
Offensive Line Woes Continue: For the Giants to get on track, the running game must be featured. It’s a basic principle of football; if you can’t get the hounds off of the quarterback, it’s going to be a very long day for any team. The trio of David Wilson, Da’Rel Scott and a returning Brandon Jacobs collectively rushed the ball 19 times for an obscenely paltry 23 yards. But the Giants o-line continues to be a sieve which obviously makes it hard to do, well, anything effectively. Add in the short-yardage problems that still persist,and you could make the case that there were at least nine points left on the field by settling for three red zone field goals.
The Lack of Positives: Jacobs scored a touchdown in his return to help bring the game to 17-16 late in the third quarter. And he did his pump-dance. Yay. Oh, and Wilson didn’t fumble. So there’s that. Baby steps, I guess.
Eli Has to Get Some Help: His season so far has been exactly what his detractors love. He’s been short-changed throughout his career as being lucky and generally unworthy of the accolades that he has earned in his career, so you can the cackling from every corner. The simple fact is that he’s not his brother, nor has he had the same level of talent that Peyton has been fortunate to have. And in the first two weeks, Eli’s teammates have hung him out to dry. It’s just not Eli’s game (28-49/369 YDs/1 TD/4 INTs) to be expected to be the totality of the offense (even though offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride seems to think so from time to time). The Giants can’t afford to be one-dimensional. Something has to change, otherwise this season will turn south very quickly.
Believe it or Not, Denver Was Trying to Keep the Giants in the Game: Aside from the score, the most disappointing part of the game was that the Broncos were being exceedingly gracious guests considering how they were giving the Giants penalty yardage all day. Thirteen in total for 132 free yards. But the Giants couldn’t help themselves from shooting themselves in the feet with bazookas. And this leads to…
Fluke Turnovers are Always Deflating: Kick-save interceptions. Are you kidding me? Once it happened off of the foot of Denver’s Chris Harris, it seemed to deflate the Giants and embolden the Broncos. Peyton and Knowshon Moreno wasted no time punching it in to spread the lead out back out to 31-16. And then Trindon Holliday would effectively turn out the lights with an 81-yard punt return that capped a 21-point run for Denver in just over five minutes.
Up Next: Next week’s game against Carolina is a must-win. Last year, the Giants rolled them, 36-7. It’d be nice to see that again as the Giants need a solid win to find their legs again and get back into a division that has no great teams at the moment.
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