They play good, hard-nosed defense and they chip away, chip away, chip away on offense. It isn't pretty. Heck, I don't think the Giants are really that good.
But they are still standing thanks to Sunday's win over an Atlanta Falcons team that for the second straight season just wasn't ready for playoff football. Atlanta looked slow running the football on offense. Quarterback Matt Ryan had happy feet and a scattershot arm throwing the football. And the Falcons missed two fourth-and-inches plays when the call came from the sideline to have Ryan run a quarterback sneak, rather than hand off to the human bulldozer, Michael Turner, who led the NFC in rushing this season.
It was a 180-degree difference of a football game from the one on Sunday night when New Orleans outgunned Detroit. At MetLife Stadium, the Giants pushed through a sluggish first half and then turned it on with back-to-back scoring drives in the third quarter to create separation on the scoreboard.
New York has won three straight games and goes into Lambeau Field in the Divisional Playoff round next weekend. I like the Packers' chances. A lot. But for a moment, as much as it hurts to do so, the Giants deserve kudos. They simply played more physical football than did Atlanta. They were sound and they were simple, and they didn't beat themselves.
New York's pass defense, beleaguered by injuries for much of the season, thrived against the jittery Ryan, who never looked comfortable in the pocket. Turner was slow to and through the hole. And Atlanta's offensive line never established any surge, particularly on a pair of fourth downs that cost the Falcons potential points on the scoreboard.
The first Giants stop happened in the first half of the 0-0 game. Ryan was stuffed, and then New York's offense went backward with a holding call and a sack and then Eli Manning was called for grounding in the end zone, a safety. Atlanta led, 7-0, and got the ball back on the ensuing kick.
But the Falcons were unable to do anything with the momentum, and New York scored a touchdown late in the half to lead 7-2 at the half.
Ten points in the third quarter extended that lead. The first three came on a long drive that ended with the Giants failing to score a touchdown on a first-and-goal series from inside the 10-yard line. Then New York rose up and snuffed Ryan again -- with Turner watching from the sidelines -- and a couple of plays later Manning threw to Hakeem Nicks, who split the poor-tackling defense and went the distance --72 yards -- for a 17-2 lead.
Game over.
New York ran the football better than it had when we last saw the Giants during that Vince Young win in the Sunday night game. Nicks scored a pair of touchdowns. Manning kept the chains moving with short passes, by moving in the pocket and by giving his receivers a chance to get open against Atlanta's injury-plagued secondary.
It was a great win for the Giants and if you care about the pride of the NFC East
(I don't) then it shows that maybe the division wasn't as weak this season as some thought.
As for the Falcons, well, it raises questions. They've lost three straight playoff games in three seasons. First there was a loss to Arizona in 2009. Atlanta took a beating last year in its first playoff game with homefield advantage, hosting the Packers. Then this year the Falcons committed costly penalties -- including one for too many men in the huddle prior to the second Ryan failed quarterback sneak -- and didn't show up in the fourth quarter. What are Falcons fans thinking about Ryan, once nicknamed Matty Ice, who hasn't been anything close to that in his playoff appearances the last two seasons?
New York averaged a league-worst 89 rushing yards in the regular season. On Sunday, the Giants went north-south on Atlanta to nearly double that amount. Manning was tremendous, as he usually is when his has time to throw the football.
What does it mean for the Eagles with the Giants moving on? It means, of course, that anything can happen when the playoffs begin, and that you must be in it to win it. Second, it shows that the Giants have a proven formula that works for them, and that defense does matter in this wide-open NFL.
It means that quarterback play is by far the most important aspect in any football game, and that Manning is a pretty darn good one and that Ryan, maybe, is not.
Mostly, though, there are feelings of jealousy, of anger, of frustration. I knew it would be tough watching the Giants play in the postseason. It was more difficult than anticipated.
But, hey, the Giants are alive and we're watching from the sidelines. New York cranked it up at just the right time to win the NFC East. Now they are two wins away from reaching the Super Bowl. Funny how this league works, isn't it?
