Dottino: Game Balls And Gassers From Giants' Comeback Win Over Falcons
By Paul Dottino
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Maybe the Giants got caught up in the long layoff following their mini-bye weekend. Or maybe they thought they simply had to show up to be the wounded Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Or maybe they just didn't play very well.
None of it mattered by the time the game was over. The Giants put their first-half struggles behind them and controlled the second half on their way to a 30-20 victory that lifted them to 3-2 -- their first winning record since finishing the 2012 season at 9-7.
And did we mention the long-awaited debut of Odell Beckham, the first-round rookie receiver who caught the winning touchdown? He hauled in a 15-yard TD pass from Eli Manning in the left corner of the end zone to give the Giants a 24-20 lead with 10:02 left. Beckham finished with four catches for 44 yards and drew a 26-yard pass interference penalty on CB Robert Alford late in the third quarter on a TD drive that brought the Giants back to 20-17.
More on that later.
GAME BALLS
Offense -- RB Andre Williams. We know that rewarding Beckham in his NFL debut might be the thing to do. But we try to go a bit deeper here whenever possible. And Williams (20 carries for 65 yards) stepped up in a huge way on the next four drives -- all Giants scores -- and you cannot find it in the box score. Rashad Jennings left the game with a sprained knee in the midway through the third quarter and Williams became the workhorse with the Giants down 20-10. He was the spark as the Giants answered with a nine-play, 81-yard TD drive to get back in the game, with first downs on a 14-yard crossing pass and an 11-yard draw before capping the drive with a fierce 3-yard scoring plunge. On the Giants' next drive, his five runs kept the offense balanced on an 11-play, 64-yard TD march that ended with Beckham's TD. On their next drive, Williams had a key 6-yard burst that set up Josh Brown's 50-yard field goal for a 27-20 lead. On their final drive, Williams carried five straight times on a short drive that Brown capped with a 27-yard field goal to seal the win with 2:08 to play.
Defense -- DT Johnathan Hankins. LB Jacquian Williams had a team-leading 13 tackles and deserves mention here. But Hankins made the most significant defensive play of the day when he sacked QB Matt Ryan on a fourth-and-1 from the Atlanta 29 with 4:40 left in the game. The Giants were up by seven and converted the change of possession into the clinching field goal.
Special teams -- PK Josh Brown. Despite windy conditions, he drilled all three of his field goals (49, 50, 26) and did a solid job with his kickoffs.
GASSERS
Offense -- WR Rueben Randle. Midway through the first quarter he reached up and bobbled a TD pass in the right corner -- unable to control the ball until he came down with one foot out of bounds. He got redemption two snaps later, catching a 3-yard scoring pass to put the Giants up, 7-0. Randle also had a chance to make a key third-down conversion in the fourth, but the diving receiver could not hold onto the low throw as CB Desmond Trufant hit him.
Defense -- CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. It would be too easy to nail SS Antrel Rolle for missing a 1-on-1 tackle against RB Antone Smith, who took a third-down pass in the left flat and raced 74 yards for a TD and a 20-10 lead with 5:37 left in the third quarter. It was more distressing that DRC was in the vicinity, appeared to let up and watched Rolle's attempted tackle rather than swarm to the ball and support his teammate with a second hit on Smith, who had a clean path down the sideline after he escaped. DRC sauntered toward the play on a bad angle, which made it impossible for him to help after he began his late pursuit.
Special teams -- PR Preston Parker. He fumbled away a kickoff -- the ball came out too easily before Demps took a hard hit from DE Jonathan Massaquai -- immediately following an Atlanta TD that had tied the game at seven. WR Eric Weems was credited with the strip and the recovery at the Giants 20 and the Falcons turned it into a field goal.
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