Giants receivers step up during win
Photo credit: David Pokress | Mario Manningham scores a touchdown in the second quarter to put the Giants up 10-0.
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Sept. 13: Giants 23, Redskins 17
The Giants might lack a home run threat without Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, but quarterback Eli Manning's corps of wide receivers showed sure hands in the clutch and made nearly all the big plays on offense in a 23-17 season-opening win over the Redskins Sunday.
Backup Mario Manningham turned a sideline screen into a 30-yard touchdown, and starter Steve Smith caught six balls, including a 26-yarder that set up the clinching field goal in the fourth quarter.
The biggest catch of all didn't even show up on the stat sheet. That was Smith's grab of a high-bouncing onside kick by Washington with 1:29 left to play to avoid a last-minute scramble.
>> See photos of the Giants' Week 1 victory over Washington
With the ball tumbling high over his head, Smith said, "I was thinking, 'Just hurry and get in my arms.' Luckily, I had some guys blocking for me, and I made the catch."
For the opener at least, the preseason question marks surrounding the wideouts turned into exclamation points.
Of Manning's 20 completions for 256 yards, 12 went to the wide receivers for 166 yards, including six third-down conversions.
"We knew a lot of the third-down calls would be for three wide receivers, so we were happy," Smith said.
Despite controlling the ball for 36:08, the Giants had trouble putting the Redskins away. Facing third-and-5 at their 29 with 8:30 remaining in the game, Manning found Smith for a 26-yard gain to the Washington 45, where he came back to the ball and made a spectacular catch in front of cornerback DeAngelo Hall. The Giants eventually settled for a 28-yard Lawrence Tynes field goal and a 23-10 lead.
"We knew we could take advantage of man coverage, and I beat [Hall] off the line," Smith said. "Eli saw me and just hit me. He was under duress, or he might have been able to lob it farther and it could have gone for more yards."
Manningham, a second-year player from Michigan, did all his damage in the first half. On third-and-7 from the Redskins' 30 early in the second quarter, Manningham caught a quick out on the right sideline after Manning spotted the blitz coming. Manningham stepped out of a tackle attempt by defensive end Andre Carter and then danced around Hall coming across for a diving attempt and took it to the end zone.
"I was just trying not to go out of bounds," Manningham said. "It's just all reaction."
Although he kept the ball, Manningham downplayed the significance of his first NFL touchdown.
"I scored in college," he said. "It felt good, but it's just the first of many."
The one sour note for the Giants' wide receivers was the left foot sprain suffered by No. 1 draft pick Hakeem Nicks. He dropped the first ball thrown to him early but came back with two second-half receptions for 18 yards, injuring himself on a 7-yard catch that led to a field goal for a 20-10 lead. X-rays were negative.
"It felt like I overstretched it," Nicks said. "I never had a foot injury, but I never missed a game with a sprained ankle."
>> See photos of the Giants' Week 1 victory over Washington
