Giants lose in overtime to the Titans 32-29.
Kerry Collins completed 22 of 36 passes for 283 yards, and 2 TDs.
Tiki Barber had a long 42 yard run, and a 1 yard touchdown run.
Amani Toomer had 5 catches for 104 yards.
Ron Dixon had 5 catches for 93 yards.
Jeremy Shockey had 7 catches for 71 yards.
Michael Strahan had one sack and forced a fumble.
Matt Bryant had three field goals of 38, 36, and 19 yards.

This is not your favorite football weather.
"You know it. I can't believe over 70,000 people froze their butts off to see the Giants lose like that. I'm so disappointed. Things weren't looking so good in the first half, but they kept coming up with plays when we needed them. The Giants were ahead 10-7 right near the end of the half, but the defense let them come back and score a go ahead touchdown, all on about four plays with less than a minute and a half left."

The Giants had only 88 yards at the half, and Tennessee had 188.
"Tennessee had totally shut down Tiki Barber in the first half, and Toomer had only one catch, but it was a big one for 26 yards. Jeremy Shockey had most of the catches at that point, and they went to Ron Dixon a few times. We were only down by four, and kept coming up with some big plays. Delvin Joyce had good returns and gave us good field position.
I kind of felt we would win this one, especially the way they started off the third quarter. They scored a touchdown in less than a minute using Toomer and Dixon, and after our defense had them three and out, Fassel decided to feature Ron Dayne catching the ball along with Dixon, and that lead to a field goal. The defense held again, and Tiki was back. He opened the drive with a 42 yard run, and he ended it with a 1 yard touchdown run. That drive took us into the fourth quarter, Collins had completed passes to Dixon and Shockey, and we were up 26-14. Things were going our way, even though we missed the 2 point attempt."

That turned out to be a big mistake.
"It sure was. The Titans came up with two touchdowns to our one field goal, and they tied it up on their two point conversion. Then they went on to win in overtime. It's too bad, because all in all, the team played pretty good, and we really needed that game."

What happened to the Giants rushing game in the first half?
"It looked like the Titans were focused on shutting down Tiki Barber and Amani Toomer. The Giants had minus six net yards rushing on 11 attempts, but Collins was successful passing for 94 yards. Five of his nine completions went to Jeremy Shockey, and two to Ron Dixon. Toomer did catch one, and Dan Campbell got free in the endzone to catch that 1 yard touchdown pass.
So while the Titans were effective shutting down their main targets on offense, the Giants were adjusting to it well.
In the beginning of the second half, the Giants were moving the ball and scoring, but then the defense started giving up too many yards per play. The Titans ended up with 476 total yards.

We know what you're going to say about the fourth quarter.
"Right, and it sounds like this. Two points - NO, Two points - NO.
Don't ever, ever, ever, ever, go for the two point conversion, unless you're somewhere near the last part of the fourth quarter. That's about the only time you can guess at where the score is going to be at. I don't care what the "chart" says. Before that, always, always take the sure one point conversion.
The Giants scored, and if they had gone for the extra point they would have had 27 and been up by 13 points instead of 12. Tennessee scored with about seven minutes left in the game, and with the score 27-20 the Titans still would have kicked the extra point to make it 27-21. The Giants got their field goal and hey, that would have been enough to win this one. The Titans would have been down by 9 instead of 8 and they didn't have time for two scores.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. For a few hundred grand, I'm available to any team as the 'Two Point Coach'. I'll save maybe a few games a year when they call me over and ask if they should go for the two, but if you want to save that cash, mostly the answer will be NO."

So where do the Giants go from here?
"The Eagles won their game, so they're 9-3, and the Giants are 6-6. If the Eagles lose the next three to Seattle, Washington and Dallas, and the Giants win theirs against Washington, Dallas, and Indianapolis, we'll be all tied up at 9-6. Then the Giants will just have to beat the Eagles in the last game of the season to become the NFC East division champs. Got it?"

Michael Strahan set up Bryant's early 38-yard field goal by sacking McNair and forcing a fumble that Dhani Jones recovered at the Titans 37.
Michael Strahan has at least half a sack in 10 straight games, tying an NFL record held Jevon Kearse (1999) and Simon Fletcher (1991).

Jeremy Shockey's seven catches set a Giants rookie record of 49, surpassing Bobby Johnson's 48 in 1984.

Six of Tiki Barber's first 10 rushes were for minus yards.
Barber finished with 22 carries for 64 yards.

Jason Sehorn had a game-high 11 tackles, including nine unassisted.

Giants rushing for 62 yards was their lowest output since last season's loss at Minnesota.
One play into the third quarter, Tiki Barber had minus-6 yards on 11 carries.
Barber finished with 64 yards on 22 carries, most of which came on a 42-yard run.

Titans Eddie George got the 4 yards he needed to surpass the mark of 8,574, set by Earl Campbell from 1978-84, when the team was known as the Houston Oilers.

Steve McNair (30-of-43 for 334 yards) is the first QB this season to pass for more than 300 yards against the Giants.

The last time the Giants lost after leading by 12 or more points in the fourth quarter was Sept. 10, 1995, when the Chiefs beat them, 20-17, in overtime after they led 17-3.

Giants' 29 points were the most scored in defeat under Jim Fassel.

Tennessee's 476 yards were the most against the Giants since Nov. 13, 1988 (495, Phoenix Cardinals).

Next Game
Dec 8, Giants at Washington, 1:00 PM

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