Nicks' great day almost was even more spectacular

HOUSTON - You know it was a great day when you can laugh off the one that got away. That was the case with Hakeem Nicks, who torched the already flammable Texans' secondary with 12 receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns but had a potential 51-yard scoring pass slip through his hands as he streaked down the sideline.

"I saw that end zone too early and I took my eyes off of it," he said with a chagrined smile. "I wish I could get it back."

It didn't prove to be necessary, but it would have turned a great day into a historic one. Nicks wound up one reception shy of tying the Giants' all-time record for catches in a game. And besides the one that went through his arms, he earlier was stopped at the 1-yard line after a 27-yard gain.

"I gave him hell," Eli Manning said. "I said I guess he didn't want four touchdowns on the day . . . But two's good enough, and we have something to build on."

Manning and Nicks have been building on things since the first-round draft pick showed up on the Giants' roster last year. In 19 career games, Nicks has 12 touchdown catches. But perhaps his second one Sunday best exemplified how far he has come.

The Giants were at the Texans' 12 with third-and-4 and the two of them went to a play that had not been practiced during the week and was not in any game plan.

During their video study, Manning had told Nicks (and other receivers) that safety Bernard Pollard had a tendency to bite on running backs in that situation. So Manning pumped it to Ahmad Bradshaw, suckering Pollard up and allowing Nicks to get wide open in the end zone. It was a quick pitch-and-catch for a touchdown.

"It's fun when those things work," Manning said. "It's not really what the coach drew up, but you can do some things on your own. As I get older, as the receivers get older and more confident, they understand that when I'm telling them something, it's for their own good. They might get a touchdown out of it. They're listening and understanding, and even if you don't get to practice it, it works in the game."

Nicks must be listening, because he has quickly become Manning's go-to target (although rookie cornerback Kareem Jackson's attempts to cover him Sunday had a little something to do with that, too). At one point in the game, Manning completed 10 straight passes, and seven of them were to Nicks. Manning threw in his direction 17 times.

"I think teams are going to have to account for him," Manning said of a player quickly becoming an elite receiver in the league.

Nicks wouldn't mind that at all, saying: "I think you play the game to be the best."