EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. As much as Giants players and coaches insisted last week s loss to Seattle wasn t haunting their football psyches, as much as they spent their week promising to keep a steady gaze forward to a Sunday game against one of the league s most surprising teams, the victorious aftermath of a gritty win told the real truth.
The Giants hadn t forgotten. They didn t let go. And with the memory of a failed fourth quarter driving them toward the bye week , they exchanged their nightmare for a dream finish, reminding themselves what mistake-free, smart football feels like once again. Across the final four minutes of Sunday s game against Buffalo, the succession of a big play on defense, a sustained drive on offense, and success on special teams added up to a wholly satisfying 27-24 victory, one that could bring some stability to a season that has so far felt trapped on a see-saw.
"I love winning before a bye week because it s just a long two weeks where you re thinking about what you could have done," quarterback Eli Manning said. "Just having that locker room excited defense stepped up, offense stepped up at the end, everybody did their part. . . . We made progress and like we said, we just can t afford to make mistakes like we did last week."
Unlike last weekend s home meltdown against the Seahawks, a game that ended when Manning was intercepted for a 94-yard touchdown, and even better than the previous weekend s last-ditch scramble to avoid embarrassment in Arizona, the Giants did this against a quality opponent. They didn t turn the ball over, especially impressive given the Bills 12 interceptions in their first five games, upping their record to 4-2 when it came awfully close to dropping to 3-3.
"Hey, I d like to be 6-0," coach Tom Coughlin said. "This is a hard-earned win. To be 4-2 now, have the bye, and I ll be an optimist for a second and think maybe we ll get some (injured) guys back after this two-week period, that can help us."
Optimism isn t Coughlin s usual state of mind, but watching his Giants pull themselves back from the edge of oblivion left him understandably upbeat. When Buffalo tied the game at 24 early in the fourth quarter and New York s offense answered with an ugly three-and-out, the pessimist in Coughlin was winning. As Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick began a drive to the go-ahead points, reaching the Giants 27-yard line with a 32-yard pass to David Nelson, that pessimist was on the verge of a knockout punch.
But then Fitzpatrick made his mistake, looking for Stevie Johnson along the left sideline but finding Corey Webster instead. With his second interception of the game _ one amplified by Johnson s blatant facemask penalty Webster handed his offense the ball at its 19-yard line. Ahmad Bradshaw gained 41 yards on his first two rushes, Bills CB Drayton Florence was flagged twice for pass interference, and within minutes, Lawrence Tynes was lining up for the 23-yard go-ahead field goal.
"Eli was in a great groove today guys are starting to make plays at any time. That s what being in a groove is," said Justin Tuck, one of the injured army (along with Chris Snee, Brandon Jacobs, Henry Hynoski, Prince Amukamara, Ramses Barden and Adam Koets) who could return after the bye. "What Corey was able to do today, and in such timely fashion, especially the one at the end of the game, guys are starting to trust in each other. No one panicked. I ve been on sidelines where everything is in disarray. Not this team."
For Coughlin, the sense of calm purpose only reflected what his weeklong message was about, when he talked consistently of "bouncing back," of having "positive energy," of "being a leader and an inspiration to your teammates," and of "fighting a 60-minute battle." His reward was a return of the good version of the 2011 Giants, the ones who don t make mind-numbing mistakes, who don t fritter away games in the waning minutes.
This was the good Eli, the one who protects the ball, leads lengthy drives (69, 84, 89, 75, and 76 yards) and escapes disaster despite another late throw into too much end-zone traffic.
This was the good Bradshaw, the one who recorded the Giants first 100-yard rushing game of the season, the one who bulled his way in for three 1-yard touchdown runs but also exploded for a vital 30-yarder as well, the one whose on-field rants at his teammates a week ago turned into heaps of postgame praise on Sunday.
This was the good Webster, the one who turned the wrong end of Buffalo s game-tying touchdown to Johnson into motivational fuel for the game s most important play, earning himself a final 2-1 victory in the interception-to-touchdown battle with his receiver.
These were the familiar Giants, whose three sacks of Fitzpatrick was only one short of the quarterback s season total in five previous games.
"Too early to be talking about season-saving," Osi Umenyiora warned. "But I do like to go into bye weeks with a win. . This win was a combination of everything. Everybody pulled their weight today."
The Giants are still a ball of unformed clay, still searching for the structure and consistency that has eluded their first six weeks. But 4-2 over 3-3 and a week off too? They ll take it.
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