Has it really sunk in yet? Has your pulse rate returned to normal?

After a 20-17 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers, the Giants are going to the Super Bowl.

It’s amazing how far this Giants team has come in a little more than a month. This was a team that was 7-7 at one point, lost to the Seahawks and twice to the Redskins, and looking maddeningly inconsistent for a good portion of the season. But they hung tough, they got key wins at the end of the season instead of collapsing, and have been rolling ever since. This Giants team is a testimony to the fact that in the NFL postseason, it’s not about who was best in the regular season but about getting hot at the right time.

Thoughts from the game-

-On a night when the offense struggled to move in the ball, especially in the second half, it was great to see the defense play so well. They didn’t get to Alex Smith as much as expected and were burned on big plays a few times but they refused to bend or break and buckled down when needed. Which, if you think about it, is really how they’ve operated in the past few weeks. The Giants defense tends to give up a decent amount of yards but they manage to keep their opponent off the board, which is what’s most important any way.

-Given San Francisco’s turnover-happy defense, one of the keys to this game for the Giants was winning the turnover battle, just like they did last week in Green Bay. Not only were they +2 in that category but both of the turnovers they recovered were huge. (Both came on special teams too, which is one area where many seemed to think the 49ers had a clear advantage.) If it wasn’t for the Kyle Williams muffed punt and Jacquain Williams and Devin Thomas teaming up on that fumble recovery, the 49ers very well could have put the Giants away for good.

Speaking of the muffed punt, was I the only one who was amazed that challenge went the Giants’ way, considering what happened last week with the Greg Jennings so-called non fumble?

-The Giants struggles in the running game reared its ugly head again, though in fairness they were playing against a very stout run defense. Eli Manning got no relief from handing the ball off to Ahmad Bradshaw or Brandon Jacobs, and there were times when he could’ve used that break. It really goes to show how much the offense has depended on him all year.

-Here’s to hoping that the injured 49ers cornerback- Tarrell Brown if I recall correctly- is alright after colliding with one of his teammates during the game. Seeing him lay on the field for so long was scary, though it was a huge relief that he was showing signs of movement. No one wants another Kevin Everett situation.

-As pointed out above, the Giants defense was stingy when needed. The 49ers were 1-for-13 on third down all game and that one third down conversion was from the end of the fourth quarter when the Giants were in prevent defense and only concerned about not giving up a touchdown with no time left on the clock.

-The offensive line didn’t have the best game. Manning was sacked six times in the game and hit infinitely more.

-When the Giants make it to the NFC Championship, they win the NFC Championship. They are now 5-0 in NFC Championship games.

-Congratulations to Victor Cruz for his first career 100 yard postseason game!

-I admit all the references to this being a “repeat” of 2007 were getting a bit old/annoying but now it’s almost creepy. The Giants win the NFC Championship game on the road, against a team who had beaten them in the regular season, thanks to an overtime field goal by Lawrence Tynes, which was set up by a turnover, in order to play the Patriots in the Super Bowl. You have to admit that’s at least a little bit weird.

At least Tynes didn’t miss two potential game-winning field goals in regulation this time. I don’t know if I could’ve taken that again, especially considering how tight this game was defensively. But be sure to brace yourself for unlimited mentions of this being a “Super Bowl XLII rematch”.

This one hurts alot. To come so close and come up short…Well, let’s take a look at the various components of the Giants’ effort last weekend. On offense, the G-Men did ok. Manning was able to hook up with his receivers and exploit the Packers pass defense. Other than the pick six that he threw, Manning had a good game. His receivers were open, and he hit them consistently. Travis Beckum showed up with a 67 yard TD reception and run that had me comtemplating the headline Bend It Like Beckum. Victor Cruz and Hakeen Nicks were open all day, and the patch work line kept Eli upright. The refs blew the TD call with Ballard, and the running game got untracked. Bradshaw’s return was a huge benefit.Defensively, the Giants rushing defense showed up, but the pass D took a breather. Chase Blackburn’s INT pretty much cancelled out Eli’s INT, but the defense should be able to find a way to stop their opponents and force OT with only 58 seconds on the clock. (more…)

                                                                                        Thanks to @itsbritmarie

                                                                                                   Thanks to @SportsCenter  (hopefully this happens)

In his postgame interview, New York Giants’ LT David Diehl said,

“It’s a determination. We knew in order to win this football game, you can’t settle for field goals down there. So, we had that determination – “Hey we get it down there, we’re putting touchdowns up” and that was the case today. It was an awesome win.”

There is bittersweet irony in that statement. The obvious, the Giants were forced into kicking 3 FGs yesterday against a solid Buffalo Bills defense, one of which was blocked from 50 yards out. The not so obvious, the Gmen are dead LAST in the FG department throughout the league. That might sound jarring, if it were any other category. But our Boys In Blue have been very successful down in the red zone thus far in the season and have been registering more touchdowns this year than those, quite often, disappointing 3 pointers. Is this the secret to their overwhelming, under the radar success? Read on my friends.
(more…)

Eli Manning was 18 of 52 for 184 yards and a TD, but his 34 incompletitions were the most since Joe Namath. Eli did not have much help if you want to say any at all as the G-Men dropped 10 passes and it seemed as though Brandon Jacobs dropped 59 passes alone.

Todd Collins made his first start in the NFL in 10 years and two days. The backup QB didn’t play well at all (8/25, 166 yards), but he didn’t hurt his team and Clinton Portis picked up the offense. Portis ran for 126 yards on 25 carries including a TD.

Amani Toomer dropped a few balls and one for what would have been a huge play and possibly the turning point of the game. Kevin Boss caught his first NFL TD pass, replacing Jeremy Shockey who left the game with a broken fibula and will have surgery sometime this week.

All in all, the Giants were awful on a night they needed a win. Now, they have to win one of two games to get in the playoffs on their own terms and have to play at Buffalo where anything could happen and at home against the 14-0 Patriots. Not exactly a promising schedule.

Washington holds the tiebreaker on the Giants now and the G-Men are anything but a lock for the playoffs.

Even if the Giants are technically a “playoff” team as of now, they are truly anything but that as their inconsistent play might just keep them out of the playoff picture in the end. The Giants are about as good as their kicker, Lawrence Tynes (who missed a 38 yard FG tonight). A 9-5 record is the most amazing feat a team as poor as the G-Men could accomplish and if they can beat Buffalo next week, playing like this against Tampa Bay, Seattle, Green Bay, or Dallas will get you embarrassed.

Here is a quote from Clinton Portis showed during the telecast:
“If we don’t win tonight, that’s pretty much a wrap on our season.”
If the Giants had played this way they would be popping the champagne in the locker room right now instead of answering questions about their poor play.

Urgency. Something the New York Giants lacked tonight and something their organization has lacked for a while.

Going to school in Boston, Giants telecasts are not an automatic, but for the first 13 weeks of the season, every single Giant game has been televised on FOX up here. But, not today, so as I sit here and watch Joe Buck and Troy Aikman call the Dallas/Detroit game with the sound off on the televison, the NFL has the very handy Field Pass, which provides audio from either the home or away team feed, in my case WFAN’s call of the game.

UPDATE, 2:16 PM
Giants get the ball back with 1:40 left in the 2nd, trailing 7-3 with a chance to take the lead and start the 2nd half with the ball. All of this made possible due to another huge defensive stop of the Eagles improved offense.

UPDATE, 2:23 PM
Plax comes up with few nice catches as Eli realizes the blitz and adjusts to the pressure of the PHI defense. Tynes comes on to kick a 23-yard chip shot (not that anything is really a chip shot for him) with :05 left. Giants trail 7-6 going into half.

UPDATE, 2:44 PM
The chances at taking the lead for the first time in the game are shattered as Jacobs fumbles the ball, and the G-Men lose the challenge on the play. It would be an enormous victory to come out of this down 10-6.

UPDATE, 3:05 PM
An awful drive for the Giants there going 3 and out. Two incomplete passes and a loss of 3 on a run. Jacobs has 13 carries and 16 yards on the day. Maybe it is time the offense goes with a different game plan.

UPDATE, 3:15 PM
The Giants had a “New York Giants” moment when Toomer fumbled, but luckily he was down by contact. Eli to Plax for a 20-yard TD and the Giants take a 13-10 lead.

UPDATE, 3:27 PM
Disappointing drive by the G-Men there. They could have put the Eagles in a big hole with only a little over a quarter to play. Plax is having one great game after a series of weeks without much due to the ankle and knee injuries. The Giants need to turn this into a two-possession game quickly.

UPDATE, 3:38 PM
There is the Giants team we all know. Taking an offsides penalty with the Eagles 3rd and 2 on the Giants 28.

UPDATE, 3:50 PM
“The Giants never make it easy” – Bob Papa right before commercial break. Papa hit it right on the head as Jacobs fumbled for the second time today, this time at the PHI 2. Plaxico is giving the Giants all they need and Jacobs is coming up short in his effort today. Yet again, the Giants defense is called upon to save the offense.

UPDATE, 3:56 pm
Here comes the play of the game at the 2 minute warning. Eagles 4th and 6 on the Giants 44. A stop here would seal the win for any other team, but you have to believe the final 120 seconds of this game will be interesting.

UPDATE, 4:10 PM
Well looks like I was right with the interesting finish. The Giants can’t get the first down they need coming one yard shy and then the Eagles hit the upright on a game-tying 57-yard field goal. What a game in Philly, basically putting the Giants in the playoffs, and pushing the Eagles out of any contention. Post game coverage to come.