Sports News
Giants Avoid Embarrassing Home Loss vs. Dolphins
I've written the last couple of days that nobody would be surprised if the Giants came out shaky, flat, rusty or characteristic of a million other clichés used for poor play.
Still, it was hard to truly imagine that Giants would struggle for much of the game against a Dolphins team that has proven over the last two months just how bad it actually is.
Yet the Giants realized everyone's worst fears, doing everything they possibly could to give Miami its first win. Yet in the end, New York prevailed, though hardly in a way that instilled confidence in its fan base as the team now begins the grueling part of its schedule.
In my preview of the game, I wrote that the Giants had to establish a running game to make sure Miami couldn't hang around. Not only did the Giants struggle to get Ahmad Bradshaw into a rhythm, but Brandon Jacobs was even worse, carrying four times for 10 yards and fumbling the ball, all while receiving boos from the MetLife Stadium crowd.
Bradshaw wasn't a whole lot better, carrying 13 times for 50 yards while spending time in the locker room to treat an injury.
Fortunately for the Giants, the good Eli Manning showed up following the bye week. Manning was both efficient and dynamic, completing 31 of his 45 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns. He spread the ball around well, completing at least four passes to five different receivers.
Manning's favorite target was, once again, Victor Cruz, who caught seven passes for 99 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown with six minutes to go.
The Giants' defense was not particularly sharp, either. A bad Miami Dolphins offense found plenty of room to run, as Reggie Bush went over 100 yards on just 15 carries, while QB Matt Moore scrambled past the Giants' pressure five times for 31 yards.
When the Dolphins took a 14-3 lead after Moore's one-yard TD run, Giants fans must have thought to themselves: "Here we go again." It's hard to blame them for thinking that way. After all, four penalties in the first quarter racked up 27 yards and stunted their best drive. Two personal fouls showed a lack of discipline for the Giants, too, which helped give Miami a lead that forced the Giants to play catch-up most of the game.
We'll have plenty of time to look at the upcoming schedule for the Giants, but it's not pretty. While the men in blue might be pleased to come away with a victory and to sit at 5-2, it might soon be 5-5 or worse if the Giants don't play better than they did today.
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Photo Credits: Julio Cortez/ AP Photo
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