Eli Has Nightmare Game as Vikings Drub Giants

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Eli Manning made the 50th regular season start of his NFL career yesterday, meaning he should be playing like a seasoned veteran by now. Instead, he looked like a clueless rookie.

Manning made so many bad throws yesterday as the Giants lost 41–17 to the Minnesota Vikings that he was fortunate to have only four interceptions. By the time the game was over, Manning had completed enough garbage time passes that his final stats (21 of 49 for 273 yards and a touchdown) didn’t look terrible. But terrible is exactly what he was.

The Vikings’ offense didn’t do much and didn’t have to do much yesterday, as Manning gift-wrapped four touchdowns for the Vikings. Three of Manning’s interceptions were returned for scores, and the fourth set up the Vikings at the 8-yard line, where they scored on the next play.

With his older brother, Peyton, watching from a Giants Stadium luxury box, Manning repeatedly wilted under pressure when the Vikings blitzed him. His first interception came with the Vikings’ pass rush in his face, on a play where he should have thrown the ball out of bounds or taken a sack but instead threw to tight end Jeremy Shockey, who wasn’t open and didn’t know the pass was coming. Vikings safety Darren Sharper intercepted, and returned the pick 20 yards to the end zone.

Manning’s second interception came when he badly underthrew wide receiver Plaxico Burress in the second quarter, putting Vikings safety Dwight Smith in a position to grab it easily. Vikings running back Chester Taylor scored a touchdown on the next play, giving the Vikings a 21–7 lead that they would extend to 24-7 before halftime.

When the Giants headed to the locker room at intermission, the crowd at the Meadowlands booed them off the field, and it seems safe to say that Manning was the primary object of their scorn. Manning was 6-of-20 for 92 yards and two interceptions in the first half, and he wasn’t finished making mistakes.

In the second half, Manning had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and plucked out of the air by Smith, who ran it back 93 yards for a touchdown. On the second play of the next possession, Manning forced the ball over the middle to Shockey, and Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway intercepted and returned it 37 yards for a score. The Vikings’ four touchdowns off Manning’s four interceptions gave them a blowout win, even though the Giants actually had more yards and more first downs than the Vikings yesterday.

As bad as Manning was, he wasn’t the only Giant who had a bad day. For starters, his receivers didn’t give him much help: Shockey, Reuben Droughns, Amani Toomer, and Sinorice Moss all dropped passes. Burress has been playing all season on an injured ankle, and the ankle appears to be getting worse as the season goes on; yesterday he had trouble making sudden cuts when running routes, which may have contributed to Manning’s second interception.

And although the Giants’ defense can’t be blamed for most of the Vikings’ 41 points, the defense can be blamed for allowing Minnesota’s Tarvaris Jackson — one of the NFL’s least accurate passers — to complete 10 of 12 passes without a turnover. On Jackson’s first pass, the Giants’ entire defense fell for his play-action fake, and Vikings rookie receiver Sidney Rice beat Giants rookie cornerback Aaron Ross deep downfield for a 60-yard touchdown.

It was such a bad day for the Giants that even when they made big plays, something went wrong. With the score tied 7–7 in the first quarter and the Vikings facing third-and-3 from their own 40-yard line, defensive end Osi Umenyiora broke into the Vikings’ backfield and drilled Jackson, knocking the ball out of his hand. It was the kind of play that could have put the Giants in perfect position to take an early lead and get all the momentum. Instead, the ball rolled 10 yards forward, where Vikings wide receiver Bobby Wade recovered, giving Minnesota a first down.

As bad as things went for the Giants yesterday, however, they’re still in very good shape to make the playoffs. The Giants are now 7–4 and have no realistic chance of catching the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East, but they have a one-game lead and the tiebreaker advantage in the wild card race. A 9–7 record will probably get the Giants into the playoffs.

The way they played yesterday, though, a 9–7 record is no sure thing. Yesterday’s performance was the worst the Giants have looked all year, and it may have been the start of yet another late-season collapse — especially if Manning continues to make rookie mistakes late into his fourth NFL season.

Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.


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