Sunday afternoon at the New Meadowlands Stadium, the Tennessee Titans took advantage of some sloppy plays by the Giants as well as some stupid costly penalties to cruise to victory, 29-10!
The Giants started this game well they were able to move the ball against stingy Titan defense. But Eli Manning had threw a few bad passes that killed the drives. The first was wasn't totally Eli's fault as the ball was deflected on the opening series of the game. The second one was absolutely inexcusable. On third and goal from the 6 yard line, Eli was scrambling to find a receiver, instead he had a brain fart if you will. He made an ill advised decision as he flipped the ball towards the end zone, Will Witherspoon of the Titans tipped the ball and his teammate Jason McCourty who played his college ball at nearby Rutgers intercepted the ball in the end zone for a touchback. So instead of a field goal attempt from a short distance, the Giants came away with no points.
As a result, the Titans jumped out to a early 10-0 lead. Rob Bironas kicked a 48 yard field goal to open the scoring. Chris Johnson who finished the game with 125 yards rushing scored the first of his two touchdowns from a yard out.
The Giants came back to eventually tie the game at the half at 10. Their place kicker, Lawrence Tynes connected on a 50 yard field goal to get them on the board after he missed one from 53 yards out. Ahmad Bradshaw added a 10 yard touchdown run to get the Giants even on the scoreboard despite the almost 2 to 1 margin in total offense.
The second half was the difference in this one. The Titans special teams set them up near midfield to open the third quarter which put them in position to succeed. That drive stalled but it set the stage for the Giant debacle to take place.
The Giants were pinned in at their own 1 yard line thanks to the great Titans special teams play. It appeared that the Giants got a big first down on third and long on a 44 yard pass to Mario Manningham but Ahmad Bradshaw got called for a chop block in the end zone which resulted in a safety for the Titans. The Titans took the lead for good, 12-10!
They got the ball back on the free kick and once again their special teams set them up in great field position at the their 49 yard line. That drive ended with a 13 yard touchdown pass to another former Rutgers player, Kenny Britt which gave the Titans a 19-10 lead.
The Giants were attempting to get back into the game late in the third quarter but Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled and lost the ball at the 5 yard line killing their golden oppportunity to do so. To add insult to injury, David Diehl was called for a personal foul for unnecessary roughness which brought the ball out to the 20 yard line.
In addition, in the fourth quarter, Kareem McKenzie was whistled for two personal fouls for unnecessary roughness. The Giants had five of them for the game. As professionals, that's totally unacceptable behavior.
Furthermore, the Giants' Lawrence Tynes missed two field goals and Eli Manning threw two interceptions despite his 386 yards passing which proves that statistics don't always tell the true story. These days statistics are a fantasy football fan's dream.
Overall, it was a nightmare of a day for the hometown Giants.
They play the Bears in prime time Sunday night. For their sake, they better get their act together. The Bears are 3-0. Royalty will be there again so check back for the details of that outcome.
Thank you for reading.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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