 Giants-Rams Recap The New York Giants played up to their ‘defending Superbowl champions’ label on Sunday, moving the ball consistently on offense and pressuring the quarterback consistently on defense, leading to a 41-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. On their first scoring drive, the Giants were reminiscent of a boxer jabbing and jabbing at his opponent before finally letting loose with the knockout punch. New York had a Brandon Jacobs run here, an Amani Toomer catch there before Eli Manning lofted a 33-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Plaxico Burress. The Rams were able to move the ball on their ensuing drive, but penalties thwarted the offensive momentum until Giants’ defensive end Justin Tuck grabbed a little too much of St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger’s facemask. The result was a 15-yard penalty that helped set up a 54-yard Josh Brown field goal. A dart to Toomer and bullish running by Derrick Ward on the Giants’ next drive led to a field goal by the geriatric John Carney, who nearly hooked the attempt right, but managed to stick it just inside the upright. The Giants couldn’t do much the next time they had the ball, as the Rams’ No. 1 draft pick Chris Long recorded his first career sack, making for some happy fans in St. Louis and one proud papa in L.A. On the Rams’ next drive, they converted a 3rd-and-17 when Bulger threw a safety-valve pass to running back Stephen Jackson, who then rambled for the first down. The Rams couldn’t find the end zone, however, settling for another 54-yard field goal from Brown. Though St. Louis was badly outgained by the Giants in the first half, New York led only 13-6 at the intermission. The Giants gained a bit of separation in the third quarter with an impressive touchdown march. They began pinned back near their own end zone, but escaped when Manning completed a 3rd-and-6 pass to Burress at the New York 21-yard line. Two downs later, Jacobs ran through a gaping hole opened by the offensive line, and he wound up gaining 30 yards to the Rams’ 41. Derrick Ward tacked on 14 more, bringing the Giants to the 27. Burress snagged a Manning pass near the 10-yard line, but then apparently lost a fumble to the Rams’ Oshiomogho Atogwe. But Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin tossed the red flag, thinking Burress was already down when the ball came loose, and the challenge was upheld. On the next play, Manning threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Toomer. With a 20-6 lead, it appeared the Giants were close to securing victory, but the Rams left the outcome in doubt after a scoring drive on their next possession, which ended when Torry Holt made a questionable touchdown reception. Bulger had thrown a 45-yard pass in Holt’s direction, but the Giants’ No. 1 draft choice Kenny Phillips tipped it. The two went down together in the end zone, and when the ball soon followed down on top of them, it dropped through Phillips’ arms and into the arms of Holt. It seemed there may have been some doubt as to whether Holt had possession long enough or whether he had scooped up the ball off the ground. Coughlin didn’t challenge, which was probably a good thing, because the cameras showed no conclusive evidence as to what had happened. With that touchdown, St. Louis trailed by only seven. But the Giants came right back on their next possession. Ahmad Bradshaw, who didn’t play at all in the season opener, sprang to life when he punched the ball to midfield. Manning then connected with Domenik Hixon on a 32-yard pass, bringing New York down to the Rams’ 18. On the following play, Bradshaw caught a short Manning pass and scurried all the way to the end zone. The Rams were close to midfield on their next drive, when Tuck snared an interception and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown to make it a 34-13 game. Bradshaw capped the scoring with a 31-yard touchdown run. Overall, the Giants netted 441 offensive yards. Manning was 20 of 29 for 260 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Jacobs, Ward and Bradshaw each rushed for over 50 yards, with Jacobs gaining 93 yards on 15 carries for a 6.2-yard average. Eight Giants’ players caught passes, led by Toomer with six receptions. “We’re a diverse group on offense,” Toomer said in a post-game interview. “I think that’s what’s going to be a key to our success this season.” Why the Giants won: They did just about everything well. Manning showed amazing pocket presence, stepping up against heavy rushes and finding receivers. The offensive line allowed the running game to pound out 200 net yards. And the defense rang up six sacks. Why the Rams lost: You’re probably looking for a more in-depth explanation than ‘they stink’, but that is a big part of it. This is just a bad team right now, as bad now as it was good in the late 90s and early 2000s. The Giants’ ability to move the ball when they needed to, and New York’s suffocating defense were also contributing factors to Sunday’s outcome. It was over when: Tuck effectively ended the game when he returned his interception for a touchdown. Although Bradshaw’s first score gave the Giants a two-touchdown lead, the Rams still had time to mount a comeback. But Tuck’s interception return left no doubt who the victor would be. “It was an amazing play,” Toomer said. “I think that gave a real boost to our team. I think at that point, we knew that we had the game under control.” Game ball: Make that game balls, enough of them for the entire Giants’ defense for those six sacks of Bulger. The only touchdown New York allowed was Holt’s wild end-zone catch. “We’ve just got a lot of interchangeable parts in there, guys that are talented in different ways…” said Giants’ defensive tackle Fred Robbins, who had two sacks in the game. “That’s definitely tough on an offense. We feel like we can come from so many angles with guys that play hard and buy into the scheme. If we continue to be right in their faces, it’s going to be hard for them to complete passes.”
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