For Manning's Giants, There May Be Light at the End of the Tunnel After All
Is it possible that it all just suddenly clicked? After all of the preseason tumult and the heavy criticism fans and the media launched at the New York Giants and their brand-new offense—which for a good seven weeks in August and September looked like the least competent unit in professional football—is it realistic to think that Eli Manning and Co. abruptly went from inept to highly productive, basically overnight?
Nobody can say for sure, but the quarterback looked better Sunday against the Houston Texans than he had in years. And as a result, so did the Giants.
It's amazing what one win—one utterly satisfying performance—can do to a team in this topsy-turvy, parity-plagued league. Only days after yours truly concluded that there would be no quick fix for an offense that appeared to be in disarray and that a playoff run was already outside the realm of possibility, one near-flawless performance has people believing in the Giants again.
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And more importantly, it has the Giants believing in themselves.
"When he’s locked in and he’s getting things going, it translates to the entire team and the entire offense," said wide receiver Victor Cruz of Manning's resurgence, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. "And we kind of follow his lead."
Figures to consider:
- It was only the seventh time in Manning's career (155 regular-season games) that he completed at least 75 percent of his passes.
- From a rating standpoint (123.2), it was Manning's best game since the 2012 regular-season finale and the 12th-best game of his career.
- Manning didn't throw a single interception for only the fourth time in his last 19 games.
- It marked the eighth time in Manning's career that he completed at least 70 percent of his passes, threw at least two touchdown passes and had zero interceptions.
- It was the first 30-point performance from the Giants offense since Week 1 of the 2013 season.
It was quintessential West Coast from start to finish, with Manning's dropbacks finally matching his receivers' routes on a consistent basis. He worked it around from receiver to receiver, spreading the Texans apart in order to open things up for the running game, and he did so in such a fast, methodical fashion that you'd swear this offense never stank.
Manning was manipulating the Texans defense from the get-go. Safety D.J. Swearinger was primarily responsible for tight end Larry Donnell on that underneath throw, as well as this one later on the same drive...
On the next series, Swearinger bit a little early, leaving extra space in the zone for Manning to go to Cruz, who had been in hiding on the first two series...
That'd result in a 61-yard gain. And they'd keep spreading it out the rest of the day...
Ultimately, that's how running back Rashad Jennings wound up with holes like these...
But back to that quick release. It took Manning an average of only 1.97 seconds to attempt his 28 passes Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He and Kansas City's Alex Smith were the only two quarterbacks below the 2.00 mark.
By comparison, last season, it took Manning an average of 2.65 seconds to throw, which is a touch below average. For the year, no qualifying quarterback was below the 2.24 mark.
"That is the way it's supposed to work," Manning said after the game, according to ESPN.com's Dan Graziano. "We got the ball out quick. The receivers made catches. They had good runs after the catch. It was efficient. We mixed it up. I thought last week we made some steps to get better, and this week was even stronger."
Suddenly, Manning is completing 65 percent of his passes, which would be a career high for an entire season and isn't that far off of the once-crazy suggestion that the historically mistake-prone quarterback could hit the 70 percent plateau under new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo.
That all happened against a Texans defense that is no joke. All-Galaxy defensive end J.J. Watt was held in check for most of the day, and that talented defensive front couldn't exploit some very favorable-looking mismatches in the trenches.
It's amazing what lights-out performances can do.
It's amazing what happens when you suddenly have run support. Jennings had a career day, with 176 yards on the ground against Houston. With the veteran running wild, the Giants were able to hand it off on 40 of their 69 offensive snaps. That kind of balance has been a unfamiliar to this team in recent years, but it's a huge reason why Manning was sacked just once Sunday.
And it's amazing what happens when you've got a head coach like Tom Coughlin, who is the king of turning seemingly doomed football teams into Cinderella stories. It's certainly too early to call this a team of destiny—hell, it's probably too early to call them good—but Coughlin is a magician, and he got creative with his downtrodden team last week.
Conor Orr of The Newark Star-Ledger notes that in the lead-up to Sunday's game, the league's oldest head coach, in an attempt to boost morale and salvage the season, broke from his curmudgeon-like mold by lightening things up on the practice field and inside the team facility.
Guess it worked.
All of those factors made a difference, but it really does feel as though everything came together for the 33-year-old quarterback in Week 3.
NJ.com's Jordan Raanan broke down some of the less obvious signs of progress from Manning on Sunday:
"There were also subtleties in Manning's game that deserve mention. After several quiet contests, he targeted wide receiver Rueben Randle early and often to try and get him involved. He connected with Victor Cruz early to quickly erase the memories of last week's mess.This tactic paid off down the line. Randle was active and a force as a blocker. Cruz had a big game.
And most importantly in the Giants' West Coast scheme, the issue of timing was rectified. When the receivers turned, the ball was already in the air. Within seconds, it was in their hands so they could run and make plays.
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If indeed they've finally nailed the timing aspect of that offense, they've conquered arguably the biggest obstacle involved in this process. And since it's still only September and they're very much in contention in the standings, that's promising.
Of course, we could be overreacting. One game is one game, and now the Giants have to turn it around on short rest before visiting a Washington Redskins team that absolutely smothered the NFL's reigning rushing champion in Week 3. Washington has a heck of a front seven, so the pressure is right back on Manning to prove that what happened last week wasn't a fluke.
This much is certain right now: With Manning finally clicking with his receivers and Jennings rolling and Donnell acting as a legitimately reliable safety valve at tight end, the Giants have realistic hope of fighting past a bad start and overcoming a weak offensive line in order to compete for something meaningful in the league's most wide-open division.
Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.
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