Kurt Warner was sacked six times.
Strahan had 4 of those sacks.
Kerry Collins was 18-32 for 250 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD.
Ron Dayne had 20 carries for 88 yards.
The Giants did everything but win.

The Giants scored on the opening drive.
"Right, they struck fast, just like the Rams do, and then, I mean I have to ask you, how many times have you seen the Giants look good on the opening drive and that's the end of it?"

The Giants objective was to score more offensive touchdowns.
"Last week, they had four big drives, but the Giants offense came away with only one touchdown out of them. This week they got two, but that wasn't enough to win this game."

Some of the officials calls didn't help.
At one point Fassel looked like a traffic cop pointing every which way in front of the ref on the sidelines. They called the Giants for penalties on uncatchable balls, like that one where Garnes was called for pass interference in the end zone. It was a joke except that it hurts the game so much when the refs make those lousy calls."

It was the Giants defense that really showed their worth today.
"Let me put it this way, Michael Strahan, please step up and accept your award! The Giants defense worked hard. They gave the offense a heavy hand throughout the game, and I really feel bad for them that they have to go home empty handed."

You don't sound too pleased.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm just disappointed. They should have won, but what I saw today was a Giants team headed for the playoffs."

What did we see today Mikefan?
"We saw a Giants defense that played its heart out, and a Giants offense that couldn't bring it home. The defensive guys led by Michael Strahan, with four sacks of the six on Kurt Warner, set up the offense all day long, but the Giants lost anyway."

What about Strahan?
"Strahan had a great day that he won't get to relish, because of the loss. Joe Jurevicius also had a great game, catching six passes for 101 yards. It was the first 100-yard game of his career, but he'll never forget the play that lost the game for the Giants. The officials really put it to the Giants in this game on a number of key calls. Overall, what we saw today was the 2000 NFC champs going against the 1999 NFC champs, and it was a very good game."

Rookie cornerbacks Will Allen and Will Peterson held up well.
"They knew coming in that they would be facing Kurt Warner, the first ranked quarterback in the NFL, throwing the ball to Isaac Bruce ranked sixth in the NFC with 21 receptions, and Torry Holt, tied for eighth in the NFC with 18 catches. They hung tough and used their athletic ability and confidence, and turned in a good game."

What about Collins?
"There was good and bad. Before this game Collins had thrown five interceptions and had been sacked 10 times. This game he threw some nice passes, but his one key interception coming off the Rams turnover really hurt us. He was on today, but it wasn't enough."

What about next week?
"The Giants and the Eagles can get together and talk about their two close games with the Rams."

Early Stats

Passing
Giants - Kerry Collins 18-32 for 250 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD.
Rams - Kurt Warner 28-46 for 316 yards, 1 INT, 0 TD.

Rushing
Giants - Ron Dayne 20-88, Kerry Collins 2-11, Damon Washington 2-minus 2.
Rams - Marshall Faulk 8-25, Trung Canidate 5-10, Kurt Warner 3-6.

Receiving
Giants - Joe Jurevicius 6-101, Amani Toomer 3-61, Ike Hilliard 3-49, Greg Comella 3-23, Damon Washington 2-7, Ron Dayne 1-9.
Rams - Torry Holt 5-83, Az-zahir Hakim 5-60, Marshall Faulk 5-38, Ricky Proehl 4-64, Isaac Bruce 4-49, Trung Canidate 3-9, Ernie Conwell 1-10, Jeff Robinson 1-3.

Net yards rushing
Giants - 97
Rams - 41

Net yards passing
Giants - 235
Rams - 274

Interceptions
Giants - Sam Garnes (1-5)
Rams - Dexter McCleon (1-23)

Kick-off Returns
Giants - Ron Dixon (2-28) Omar Stoutmire (1-16)
Rams - Trung Canidate (3-56)

Punt Returns
Giants - Amani Toomer (3-19)
Rams - Az-Zahir Hakim (4-43)

Fumbles Lost
Giants - Joe Jurevicius
Rams - Marshall Faulk 2, Kurt Warners

Opponent Fumbles Recovered
Giants - Michael Barrow, Cornelius Griffin, Kenny Holmes
Rams - Grant Wistrom

Time of Possession
Giants - 28:21
Rams - 31:39

Tackles (tackles-assists-sacks)
Giants - Jessie Armstead 7-2-0, Cornelius Griffin 6-0-1, Shaun Williams 6-0-0, Michael Strahan 6-0-4, Sam Garnes 5-0-0, Jason Sehorn 4-0-0, Will Allen 4-0-0, Will Peterson 4-0-0, Michael Barrow 2-0-0, Kenny Holmes 2-0-1, Brandon Short 1-0-0, Dhani Jones 1-0-0, Dave Thomas 1-0-0, Lance Legree 0-1-0..
Rams - Mark Fields 8-1-0, Kim Herring 6-0-0, Adam Archuleta 5-1-0, Aeneas Williams 4-2-0, London Fletcher 4-1-0, Brian Young 4-0-1, Ryan Pickett 1-3-0, Dexter Mccleon 3-0-0, Grant Wistrom 2-1-0, Tyoka Jackson 2-0-1, Don Davis 1-1-0, Dre Bly 1-0-0, Damione Lewis 1-0-0, Leonard Little 1-0-1. .

Scoring:

1ST QUARTER:
NYG - TD, RON DAYNE 4 YD RUN (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK), 12:6. New York (7-0)
Rams - FG, JEFF WILKINS 28 YD FG, 7:58. New York (7-3)
Rams - FG, JEFF WILKINS 33 YD FG, 0:44. New York (7-6)
2ND QUARTER:
Rams - FG, JEFF WILKINS 25 YD FG, 0:0. St. Louis (9-7)
3RD QUARTER:
None
4TH QUARTER:
NYG - TD, IKE HILLIARD 25 YD PASS FROM KERRY COLLINS (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK), 13:33. New York (14-9)
Rams - TD, TRUNG CANIDATE 1 YD RUN (FAILED 2PT PASS), 4:16. St. Louis s(15-14)

Notes
Faulk passed O.J. Simpson for 16th place on the career rushing-receiving list with 13,420 yards.

Ike Hilliard's first catch of the game and his first touchdown of the season, extended his team record of catching at least one pass in 51 consecutive games in which he's played.

Joe Jurevicius caught six passes for 101 yards, the first 100-yard game of his career.

Defensive end Kenny Holmes picked up his first sack as a Giant.

Howard Cross played his 196th game as a Giant, putting him five behind George Martin's team record.

The Giants allowed only one rushing first down.

Next Game
Eagles at Giants Oct 22 at 9:00 pm.

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