Giants grades: Three B's and a C
Osi Umenyiora and Dave Tollefson converge on Jason Pierre-Paul after he deflected a pass in the last minute of the game sealing a victory. (Oct. 24, 2011) Credit: David Pokress
OFFENSE
B The most important thing they did was hang on to the football, not only in terms of turnovers (they had none against a team that led the NFL in takeaways) but time of possession (30:47) to keep the Bills' offense on the sideline. Eli Manning was an efficient 21-for-32 for 292 yards and hit passes to seven different receivers. Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 104 yards and three TDs on 26 carries. The Giants were 5-for-11 on third downs, but only 3-for-5 in the red zone.
DEFENSE
C There were certainly some glaring deficiencies in the first quarter, but ultimately the defense came up big with an interception by Corey Webster to set up the game-winning points. They also held the Bills to 149 yards in the second half after giving up 225 in the first. Ryan Fitzpatrick had been sacked three times all season and the Giants got him three times (plus one in which Fitzpatrick threw the ball away while Osi Umenyiora had him in his grips and another in which he gained a yard before being tackled by Michael Boley).
SPECIAL TEAMSB A blocked field goal was the only blemish. Lawrence Tynes kicked the game-winning field goal, a 23-yarder, and also had one from 26. But his 51-yard attempt was blocked. Steve Weatherford had three punts, his first a touchback but the others very good, for a net of 43.3.
COACHINGB A week after admittedly handing the Seahawks a win, Tom Coughlin focused on generating positive energy on his team and shielding them from the outside negativity. The players believed and won a game in the fourth quarter for the third time in four games. Perry Fewell settled the defense down after the disastrous big plays early. Kevin Gilbride remained committed to the running game in the fourth quarter and it paid off: 52 of the team's 122 rushing yards were on the game-winning drive.
