New York Giants Settling In, Finally Learning to Close out Games

Given the New York Giants' history so far this year, they weren’t supposed to win this week’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

That’s right, the Giants, who topped the Bills 24-10, came into this week’s game having been outmuscled by opponents in the fourth quarter 43-24. They were up against a Bills offense that had outscored its opponents 36-15 in the final 15 minutes of the game, an offense that was backed by a Rex Ryan-built defense to protect the lead.

The Giants, a team that has taken a lead into the fourth quarter in all four of its games only to let it slip away in the first two and nearly lose it last week, finally put it all together. Giants guard Geoff Schwartz expressed optimism:

The first thing that happened is the Giants frustrated the Bills so much that five of their season-high 17 penalties came in the fourth quarter alone. Of those five, one was an unnecessary roughness call, and two were for unsportsmanlike conduct—all by the Bills defense.

The second and perhaps most important thing the Giants did is they played a smart game as far as executing their assignments.

The Giants defense put together a spectacular goal-line stand at the top of the fourth quarter when the duo of cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and linebacker J.T. Thomas denied Bills running back Karlos Williams entry into the end zone.

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

“It was incredible," head coach Tom Coughlin said. "The guys played hard. We do play hard.

“People like Kerry Wynn flew around and played a great game. I’m excited to see the tape, but there was no doubt, a lot of different people contributing. We talk all the time about team; that’s what we got today: team.

Even when the Bills made it a six-point game on Tyrod Taylor’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Williams on their next drive, the Giants didn’t retreat.

Quarterback Eli Manning loaded his team up on his shoulders and marched them 72 yards down the field on five plays.

The biggest of all was the 3rd-and-3 in which Manning checked out of a run and instead threw a pass that running back Rashad Jennings turned into a 51-yard touchdown, which was followed by a successful two-point conversion to give the Giants the 24-10 lead.

“It’s a great play," Coughlin said. "They blitzed; he broke it on a hot, he broke one tackle, he broke another tackle, the other guy hit him in the back, he still straightened up and ran it in the end zone.

“That was the play that gave us the opportunity right there to take a deep breath. Then we got the two-point conversion as well, so I was glad to see that happen.”

The defense, not willing to rest on its laurels from its goal-line stand, came up big again on the Bills drive after the Giants scored. Receiver Robert Woods caught a 17-yard pass, but cornerback Prince Amukamara forced the ball loose and scooped it up at the Bills 40-yard line to give the Giants possession.

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Although the Giants were done scoring for the day, on that ensuing drive, New York kept its cool despite the three aggression penalties the Bills drew. The Giants, in fact, may have very well scored again after driving all the way down to the Bills 8-yard line were it not for Manning throwing his first interception of the season.

As the Bills continued to implode—offensive lineman Richie Incognito was flagged for a chop block that wiped out a 32-yard touchdown catch by tight end Charles Clay—the Giants didn’t let up.

The Bills offense managed to drive the ball to the Giants 18, but after an offside call against Damontre Moore moved the ball up five yards, Nikita Whitlock, the fullback/defensive tackle, came through with a big 14-yard sack of Taylor that helped snuff out the Bills' scoring drive.

The win moves the Giants to 2-2, a mark that two weeks ago seemed to be improbable given their stumbling through the fourth quarter of games. 

“Win a game; get started,” Coughlin said when asked if he thought his team could get back to 2-2. “The process is to work hard during the week, have great preparation and execute it on the weekends. When we’re 0-2, we just need to fight. That’s what we do; it’s what this thing is all about.”

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.

Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.