Giants Q&A: Eli Manning's passing nearly perfect
Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants runs off the field after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Jim McIsaac
How close was Eli Manning to a perfect game in Sunday’s 38-35 win over the Bucs?
Really close. “Off Saquon Barkley’s fingertips’’ close. Manning completed 17 of 18 passes for 231 yards and two TDs, with his lone incompletion a wheel route late in the first half intended for the wide-open back. His 94.4 completion percentage tied for third in NFL history with Fran Tarkenton (1977) and Craig Morton (1981). Only Ryan Tannehill (2015) and Alex Smith (2012) were higher (94.7).
His passer rating was 155.8. Is that a career high?
No. Well, yes. Sort of. For a full game it was. In 2009, he played only the first half against the Raiders while coming off a foot injury and posted a perfect 158.3 rating after completing 8 of 10 passes. His previous high for a full game was 151.5 against Miami in 2015.
So what happened on the incompletion?
Manning threw to the inside of Barkley, who looked as if he adjusted to the pass the wrong way. Barkley called it a drop, but Manning said it was on him. “I just missed him,” he said. “I could probably throw it a little better and see when he is looking back to make sure he is not looking too late.’’
Two weeks ago, Pat Shurmur challenged Manning and wouldn’t commit to him as the starter beyond the 49ers game. Where does Manning stand now?
“He made some critical throws at critical times,” Shurmur said. “I thought Eli, for the second week in a row, since the bye here, had a winning performance by all accounts.”
What happened to Landon Collins?
The safety had to be evaluated for a concussion at halftime. He was hit in the head on Ryan Fitzpatrick’s TD run late in the second quarter and said he was upset about the play, so he stayed on the ground and shook his head. The sideline observers took that as a possible concussion and brought him into the blue medical tent for evaluation. Collins said he passed that test, but he still was sent to the locker room for more tests (which he passed). He was frustrated by the second exam and hit the frame of the tent as he emerged from it.
How did Jason Pierre-Paul do in his MetLife Stadium return?
He had 1 1⁄2 sacks and seven tackles. “I was just having fun out there doing my job,” he said. “I wanted to win and make it extra-special for me.”
He did help Manning off the ground after his first sack. “I just said to him, ‘Get up, stop falling,’ ” Pierre-Paul joked.
“I saw him afterward and he let me know that he got me a few times,” Manning said of his former teammate. “He went easy on me, didn’t give me an extra push into the ground or an extra hit . . . He is one of the good guys in the NFL.”
Which player helped seal both the first and second halves for the Giants?
Safety and special-teams captain Michael Thomas, who intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick with 23 seconds left in the second quarter and recovered an onside kick by the Bucs with 2:20 remaining in the fourth. He wound up returning that onside kick 4 yards rather than just flopping on it. “Obviously, the rule is to get down, you’ve got the ball, get down,” Thomas said. “But if they didn’t tackle me, I was going to the crib.”
What was going on with that string of three straight penalties against Olivier Vernon?
On three consecutive plays in the second quarter, the Giants linebacker was flagged for roughing the passer and two neutral-zone infractions, giving the Bucs 25 free yards. “We were getting a jump on their snap count, so they switched up their cadence,” Vernon said. “I was just trying to shoot the shot and make plays. You have to shoot your shot if you are trying to make plays in this league … That’s on me.”
Up by three, the Giants punted with 31 seconds left. Who was deep to return it for the Bucs?
Who else but DeSean Jackson, who has nine career touchdowns against the Giants, the most painful a 65-yard punt return as time expired to give the Eagles an epic comeback win in 2010. “We just wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to touch the ball,” Shurmur said. As Giants fans gulped, Riley Dixon did not pull a Matt Dodge. He kicked the ball into the end zone for a touchback.
“My reaction was similar to the people gulping,” he said of Sunday’s play, “because I saw the other side.”
What kind of celebration did Odell Beckham Jr. do after his touchdown?
A spinning dance that was an homage of sorts to Bucs Hall of Famer Warren Sapp. “I heard Warren was talking bad about me or something,” Beckham said. “I don’t know what he said. So I had to give him a little love. When people hate on you, you have to give them a little love.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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