|
|
|
Dec 31, 8:00 pm (ESPN) - Giants at Oakland
Giants take the Division Championship with a 30-21 road win over the Raiders.
"Well Happy New Year everyone. The Giants waited to just about the absolute last minute of 2005 to nail down the NFC East Division Championship, but they finally did it and they finish the season with an 11-5 record. The Raiders were no pushovers, and the Kerry Collins to Randy Moss connection came alive this game. Moss caught two touchdown passes and Kerry Collins threw another one to Doug Gabriel. The Giants countered with Tiki Barber running for another 200 yard plus game, and Tiki goes down in the record books with the longest run from scrimmage in Giants history - 95 yards. Plaxico Burress was no slouch blocking for Tiki all the way down the line on that play, and he pulled in a nice 78 yard touchdown pass. The Giants got banged up a bit in this game, but I bet they'll be ready to go for their next one. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see who they'll be up against in the first playoff game."
"The Giants won this one and clinched the NFC East. That makes them the number 3 or 4 seed in the NFC playoffs, so they will host a game at Giants Stadium on Jan 7 or 8 against Carolina, Washington, Dallas or Tampa Bay. Coughlin kept Jeremy Shockey out of this game and Visanthe Shiancoe took his spot. That means that Shockey, to date, goes down as not ever having an injury free season. He came close this year, starting the first 15 games. Shockey missed one game in his rookie season because of turf toe. He missed seven in 2003 when he hurt his knee, and one last year because of a back problem. Kerry Collins looked pretty good out there leading his rag-tag Raider team. There was plenty of zip on the ball. He got rid of it fast when he had to, downfield to his receivers, and was certainly in control of the offense. Collins was always an above average quarterback and has plenty left in the tank. In this game he completed 26 of his 48 passes for 331 yards and had 3 touchdowns. What if he had a Tiki Barber on his team? Eli Manning has been with the Giants for only two years now, but you have to wonder how long it will take before he rounds out to be the real deal. If it takes five years, was this whole Ernie Accorsi experiment worth it? Take Tiki Barber out of the equation, and there would be no 11-5 this year for the Giants, no Division Championship, and a lot of people would be impatient and grumbling. Some New Year's resolutions for the Giants - Win a few more football games. Here's one for JS - Don't mess up in a game and have a slight injury or TC might sit you down for your 'health'. Here's another for WP, CE - Don't be unwilling to play with an injury or TC might sit you when you do want to play, or worse, put you on the injured reserve list." Scoring:
Game Stats:
Notes: Giants finished in first place for the 21st time franchise history, breaking a tie with Green Bay and moving them atop the league's all-time list. The 78-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress was the longest of Eli Manning's career. Tiki Barber's 50th career touchdown run, moves him ahead of Rodney Hampton for the most rushing touchdowns. Tiki Barber increased his season total to 1,860 rushing yards, moving him past Seattle's Shaun Alexander (1,807) and into the NFL lead, but the Seahawks play Sunday in Green Bay. Tiki Barber leads the league in yards after the first contact with the defender. Tiki Barber's 95-yard run was the longest ever against the Raiders, breaking the record of 88 yards set by Seattle's Shaun Alexander in 2001. Raiders Derrick Burgess' sack at the end of the 3rd quarter gave him 16 for the season, establishing a Raiders record. Raiders Randy Moss had his first two-touchdown game of the season, and his first 100-yard game (116) since Week 4. Raiders, penalized 8 times for 54 yards, finished with 147 penalties and are likely to lead the league in that category for the third consecutive season. By failing to get an interception, the Raiders finished the season with just five -- the fewest in a full season in the history of the NFL. Three teams 1972 Houston Oilers, 1996 Atlanta Falcons and the 2004 St. Louis Rams, finished a full season with six interceptions. Norv Turner is 9-23 in two years as the Raiders head coach.Next Game Playoff Schedule - Jan. 7 or Jan. 8
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Click on the Team Giants logo to be informed of all Giants game previews, reviews and off season football news. |  |
|
Stop in and visit "Mike's Keys to the Internet" at www.mikeskeys.com |
|
|