Giants vs. Packers: Score and Twitter Reaction for Sunday Night Football

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers typically makes headlines for the Green Bay Packers, but the defense dictated Sunday night's 23-16 victory over the New York Giants at Lambeau Field.

The Packers moved to 3-1 on the season and held New York to just one touchdown, which came late in the fourth quarter when the home team was ahead by two scores. Eli Manning finished with 199 passing yards and the touchdown to Odell Beckham Jr., but he lost a fumble and never touched the ball again after the Giants' late touchdown drive.

New York finished with just 43 rushing yards on 15 carries, and Bobby Rainey led the team with a mere 22 yards on the ground.

Rodgers threw for 259 yards and two scores, but the Giants also intercepted him twice. Randall Cobb tallied 108 receiving yards and a couple of critical third-down catches in the final quarter, while Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams each hauled in a touchdown.

Although it struggled in the second half, Green Bay's offense set the tone during the opening possession. It went 75 yards and bled eight minutes, 42 seconds off the clock before Rodgers found Nelson for a two-yard touchdown. Nelson finished the impressive march with style:

Patricia Traina of Inside Football questioned New York's initial strategy:

It appeared Green Bay seized a two-score lead on the next possession, but offsetting penalties nullified the touchdown. Janoris Jenkins picked off Rodgers' next pass and prevented the Packers from burying the Giants in the opening quarter.

While Jenkins notched the interception, New York's secondary took a major hit in the first half when cornerback Eli Apple left with a groin injury.

Following a Josh Brown field goal, Rodgers hit Adams with a 29-yard heave down the sideline to give the Packers a two-score lead, as the NFL shared:

Jenkins again kept the overmatched Giants within striking distance with his second interception on Green Bay's next drive. However, New York's offense only managed another field goal after starting on the Packers 40-yard line.

Things went farther downhill for the Giants when Manning overthrew Will Tye on a potential touchdown and then fumbled on the next play when Kyler Fackrell sacked him. Art Stapleton of the Record thought the sequence that ended in a Packers field goal and 17-6 halftime lead was symbolic:

The Giants struck first in the second half with a field goal, but Green Bay's defense prevented a touchdown after they entered the red zone. Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette didn't recognize the usual Packers even with a 17-9 advantage:

The Packers offense sputtered for most of the third quarter, and Rob Demovsky of ESPN reported the training staff was checking on running back Eddie Lacy's left ankle.

Green Bay added a Mason Crosby field goal with 13:46 remaining in the contest, opening up a two-score lead once again. While the Packers fell short of the end zone, it was enough support considering how well their defense was playing.

That defense forced another Giants punt, but it appeared as if New York countered with an important stop of its own until Cobb broke a handful of tackles on a critical third down. The NFL shared the play that kept Green Bay's fourth-quarter drive alive:

Those missed tackles proved costly, as Green Bay added another field goal to push its lead to 23-9.

Even though Rodgers' team was in full control, Peter Bukowski of Sports Illustrated noted he wasn't getting much help from his receivers once the Packers were in the red zone:

Manning received some support when Beckham made a spectacular catch in the back of the end zone for the first touchdown of the second half. It kept the Giants in the game with 2:54 remaining and impressed Adam Silverstein of CBS Sports more than his famous one-handed catch:

The NFL passed along the highlight-reel snag:

New York elected to kick deep instead of attempting an onside kick, and it nearly benefited when James Starks fumbled on second down. However, the Packers recovered and kept possession, and Rodgers delivered a first-down strike to Cobb on the ensuing third down.

The Packers kneeled from there and clinched the victory behind a strong defensive performance.

What's Next?

Green Bay welcomes the 4-1 Dallas Cowboys to Lambeau Field in Week 6 in an intriguing showdown between two of the league's most prominent franchises. Rodgers and Co. will square off with the dynamic rookie backfield of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott.

It is not a stretch to suggest this could be a playoff preview, so a head-to-head victory for Green Bay could be critical in terms of home-field advantage down the line.

As for the 2-3 Giants, they will look to stop a three-game losing streak with a game against the 3-2 Baltimore Ravens. While Baltimore has a solid record, two of those wins came against the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars, who are a combined 1-8.

The Ravens are coming off two straight losses as well.

Postgame Reaction

Giants head coach Ben McAdoo "[blamed] blocking and poor completion percentage for [the] offensive struggles," per Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. The coach also split the blame between Manning and Tye for missing on a potential touchdown on the deep pass.

Offensive lineman Justin Pugh said after the game he thought his Giants were still the best team in the NFC East, per James Kratch of NJ Advance Media. He did note "we've got to go prove it."

In other news, Beckham said he "hugged it out" with the kicking net after his score, per Stapleton. The receiver was poking fun at himself from when the net bounced back and hit him on the head after he punched it during a loss to Washington:

As for the Packers, Nelson called his drops "embarrassing," per Demovsky.

Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy praised Cobb for his efforts, per the Packers: "I thought Randall [Cobb] was excellent. He was a primary target and he delivered. He had a heck of a night."

Rodgers summarized the outing, per the Packers: "It's been ugly at times, but we'll take it. It's tough to win in this league."

Green Bay will have to continue finding ways to win as it chases the undefeated Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North.