New York Giants Defeat Atlanta Falcons in OT

The New York Giants ended a four game losing streak by defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-31 in overtime. A full box score and game recap can be found here.

The Good: There were two offensive MVPs for the Giants on offense, this afternoon. Tight end Kevin Boss had his first career multiple TD game (two TDs) and wide receiver Mario Manningham continued to make big plays down the sidelines for a New York offense desperately in need of some fireworks.

The "Bad Eli" made a handful of appearances against the Atlanta Falcons, including (at least) two passes that probably should have been picked off. Eli Manning did take advantage of playing against a less than stellar secondary, however, stretching the field and making some big throws. Manning also had a career day statistically, completing 25 of 39 pass attempts for 384 yards and three touchdowns. The fact that the Giants won the game allows New York fans to forget the oh-so-ugly interception Manning threw in the early stages of the football game.

For the most part, the Giants defense will be mentioned in the next part of this article. One bright spot for the secondary, though, was Corey Webster. Here's a phrase that, a couple of years ago, I thought I'd never write.

Corey Webster: Shut down corner.

Webster made play after play and was all over the field, covering both the Falcons' wide outs as well as future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez. The Giants didn't get a great performance out of the defense against the Falcons but one cannot ignore Webster's play against Atlanta.

The Bad: The New York Giants defense did just about everything it could to lose the game this afternoon.

Consecutive offsides penalties? Check.
Multiple late hit 15 yard penalties? Check.
Giving up multiple third down conversions throughout the entire second half of the football game? Check.

In short, the Giants simply could not stop the Atlanta Falcons in the second half of the football game. Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan had his way with the Giants' pass defense in the final 30 minutes of the game, completing a big third down pass each time the situation arose.

Other than a couple of nice plays, the Giants' running game was (once again) non-existent. 88 total rushing yards and an average of only 3.4 yards isn't going to get it done in the tough NFC East. Some of the offensive problems can be attributed to what I'll call "questionable" play calling in certain situations. There are obvious complaints Giants fans have been making about the play calling during the past month. My big one for today is the predictability of this offense. The Giants have to find some way to disguise the shotgun draw cause I can read that play all the way in Hoboken. Certainly an NFL defense coordinator and linebacker can, as well.

The Ugly: For the second straight game, the Giants gave up a touchdown in the final 30 seconds of the football game that took the lead away from Big Blue. Hardly a clutch performance from statistically one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Overall: The Giants avoided being the first team in NFL history to start a regular season 5-0 and then drop five straight games. This was a must-win game for the Giants and, well, they won the game. With that said, this isn't a victory that is going to plant a whole lot of confidence in the minds of New York Giants fans. Things don't get any easier for Big Blue this week as the Giants travel to Denver to play the Broncos on Thanksgiving night. A short week after a hard-fought overtime game? Thursday night is gut check time for the New York football Giants.