Giants Flashback: Victor Cruz Gets Giants To Big Game
By Eric Mollo
As I mentioned the last time I wrote a flashback, the past decade gave Giants fans a lot to remember. Two Super Bowls, the greatest quarterback in the history of the franchise, and even the greatest play in team history. Woven in between were the performances–big and small–that formed such a successful ten-year stretch. And I wanted to take a look at some of those moments each week.
Last time, it was Ahmad Bradshaw’s 88-yard run against Buffalo in 2007. That was one special play in a Super Bowl winning season. It seemed only right to recall a moment from another Super Bowl season today.
This week, I look back on one of the most dominating single-game offensive performances:
Victor Cruz’s 10-catch, 142 yd. performance in the 2011 NFC Championship Game
We all remember the fumbled punt, but let’s not forget how Victor Cruz played a huge part in bringing the Giants to that point. No–he didn’t score a touchdown–but he bursted out of the gate in the game, snagging 8 passes for 125 yards in the first half alone.
As 12-point underdogs, it set the tone that the Giants weren’t going down easy. They had a little luck on their side when Jacquain Williams stripped Kyle Williams, who was holding the ball with the same grip as an eight-year-old playing Pop Warner.
Nonetheless, it was Cruz’s breakout season and the dominant first half in this game that set the Giants up for a run to the Super Bowl–and an eventual Super Bowl victory. Without Cruz’s wonderful performance the Giants wouldn’t have beaten the talented 49ers team.
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