Giants Game 8 Recap - "The Escape"

Tynes Kicks 1 Of His 5 Field Goals Of The Day

For the second week in a row the Giants offense looked very weak for the majority of the game, but just like last week, they got the W. The Giants took down the rival Dallas Cowboys 29-24 in an up and down game on both sides. After the Giants jumped out to a 23-0 lead in the 1st quarter, the Cowboys answered with 24 points of their own, going ahead 24-23. The Giants scored the last six points of the game and held off the Cowboys comeback (barely) to improve to 6-2.

The most impressive players in today's game were easily safety Stevie Brown and kicker Lawrence Tynes. Brown, who is filling in for the injured Kenny Phillips, continued to display his knack for coming up with the football. He recovered a fumble, and picked off Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo twice, to increase is his turnover total to seven on the season since entering the starting lineup.

Tynes continued his successful season with his second five field goal game of the season. This includes the two field goals of 43 and 37 yards in the 4th quarter to win the game. Tynes improved to 24-26 on the season and continued to be one of the more consistent kickers in the league.

The rest of the offense, aside from Tynes, did not have as much success. The defense forced six turnovers and most of them set up the offense with great field position. Running back Andre Brown had the lone offensive touchdown on a 1-yard run early in the 1st quarter.  Quarterback Eli Manning never really got into a groove and the offense didn't have as much flow to it as it did in San Francisco and he failed to throw for 200 yards for the second time in three weeks. That being said, Manning did lead the offense into field goal position late in the game twice, to essentially win the game.

There was controversy late in today's game when the Cowboys got down into the Giants territory with 10 seconds left in the game. Romo took a shot into the end zone and somehow receiver Dez Bryant got behind the Giants' secondary and came down with what looked to have been the game-winning "Hail Mary" catch. The play was reviewed and it turned out that Bryant's hand came down out of bounds and the touchdown was reversed, but the entire play was inexcusable. At no point should a receiver get behind the secondary when they need a touchdown to tie or win the game.

One Last Thing: I am being very negative, but what matters is that the Giants did enough to win the game. The steady play of the defense is a very promising sign, and the offense should come around soon. Up next, the Giants have the 4-3 Pittsburgh Steelers coming to town, as their ridiculously challenging schedule continues. The Giants will need a big game from their defensive front because Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is nearly impossible to sack and knock down.

P.S. Jayron Hosley should not be allowed to touch the field next game. He is clearly too inexperienced to be playing starter's snaps. Miles Austin torched him for 133 yards and on top of that, he was called for numerous holding and pass interference penalties in crucial moments. If possible, the Giants need to look into converting Stevie Brown into a nickel cornerback when Phillips returns from injury. Brown creates turnovers and with Brown, Phillips, Antrel Rolle, Prince Amukamara, and Corey Webster, the secondary will be a very solid one.