Clinical New York Giants rout feeble Atlanta Falcons 24-2 at the MetLife Stadium – NFL Playoff Recap
New York head coach, Tom Coughlin’s claims of his team displaying remarkable improvement in terms of their defence and rushing game materialised on Sunday, January 8, 2012, as the disciplined Giants routed the Atlanta Falcons, 24-2, at the MetLife Stadium
in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In a game where the Giants only gave away a two-point safety, the Falcons failed miserably to penetrate the opponent’s sturdy defence.
“Our defence played outstanding. A good job stopping the run and some fourth and third down stops. Those were huge. They were momentum swings and those situations have been flopped with us in some playoff games and if you don’t’ convert on fourth down, third
down, third-and-short, that is tough to overcome. Our defence did a great job getting those stops and huge plays in the game”, Giants’ quarterback, Eli Manning, said.
Not only that, the offence provided the much needed support to the quarterback, and a combination of passing and rushing game sent the Flacons packing.
Manning sent three touchdown-passes without throwing any interceptions to signal vicious intentions for the defending Super Bowl champions, Green Bay Packers, who will face the Giants next Sunday.
The Falcons, who marked their second consecutive playoff appearance after winning 10 games in the regular season, admitted with regret that their opponents outclassed them.
After spending a pointless first quarter, the Falcons got a lead through a safety in the second quarter. The score came when Manning intentionally grounded the ball in the end zone to avoid a sack.
The lead, however, could not last long. Manning compensated the safety by throwing a four-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks to put the Giants in charge.
The halftime score settled at 7-2 in favour of the Giants.
The third quarter belonged entirely to the Giants, whose defence nullified every move made by the Falcons’ offence.
After restricting Atlanta, the task became rather easier for the Giants’ offence. At 7:51, Lawrence Tynes scored a 22-yard field goal to increase the lead.
At 2:44, Manning once again found Nicks. This time, however, the touchdown came as a result of pass and run that gained 72 yards.
The final quarter started with the score 17-2. After around six minutes, Manning sent a 27-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham. Tynes then sent the ball successfully through the uprights to get one point. The final score settled at 24-2.
Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan, completed only 24 of his 41 attempted passes for 199 yards. He received a quarterback rating of 71.1, which is in contrast with his Giants counterpart, who got 129.3.
Falcons’ tight end, Tony Gonzalez, was dejected after the loss and said that he expected more from his team. He also accepted that the Giants’ defence totally overshadowed them.
"They did a great job of defending us, especially in the second half", Gonzalez said.
The winner of the Giants-Packers game next week will qualify for the conference championship final.
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