New York Giants Reaction: Manning, Tuck, Rolle Finish Strong and Down Jaguars

It wasn't pretty, but the New York Giants ended their two game losing streak and the Jacksonville Jaguars saw their three-game winning streak come to an end as the Giants pulled out a victory in the Meadowlands. 

Luckily for the New York, it played much better in the second half than it did in the first. 

The first half saw the Giants missing tackles and allowing Jacksonville to convert five of six third downs. The defense couldn't get off the field, as it gave up 16 first downs to the Jaguars. The Giants ran only 21 plays while David Garrard was on the field for 36 plays before halftime. 

Fatigue on the defensive side of the ball was evident as Garrard ran for a score by cutting all the way across the field late in the second quarter.

The Giant defense made the same mistakes as last week against Vick; it lost contain on the edges and over-pursued the ball carrier. 

Although the defense came into today's game letting up under 90 yards-per-game on the ground, it has looked suspect as Maurice Jones-Drew gained over 100 yards on the ground. Last week, LeSean McCoy racked up over 100 yards as well, making it two weeks in a row that the run defense has been gashed. 

The offense, in their limited time on the field, failed to make much of anything happen in the first half. Kevin Boss played terribly, and his two penalties were costly. One negated a Mario Manningham touchdown and furthered the offense's inability to score touchdowns in the red zone. 

Despite the poor first half, the Giants found themselves down only 11 going into the tunnel. 

Whatever was said in the locker room at halftime made a world of difference, as the Giants came out rejuvenated and ready to strike. 

Terrell Thomas netted a pick off a tipped ball early in the third quarter, and the straight ahead, bruising style of Brandon Jacobs allowed the Giants to move the ball up the field and convert a field goal. 

Jacobs played great today, probably his best game of the season. He gained 87 yards on 14 carries, and looked like the physical back the Giants always knew he could be. That being said, every time they had him run on the edges, he failed to gain substantial yardage.

As long as offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride keeps him between the tackles and up the middle, Jacobs can be successful. 

Following the Tynes field goal, the Giants defense stood up and made a stop on third down to force a Jaguar punt. The defense locked down on third down due to the blitz that Perry Fewell drew up. It would be a recurring theme in the second half, as the Giants blitzed time after time on third down to force quick decisions by Garrard. 

They didn't always reach him, but the pressure forced Garrard to force throws and it took some of the pressure off the secondary. 

The following drive saw the Giants storm down the field thanks to big plays by Kevin Boss and Mario Manningham. Boss redeemed himself in the second half with three catches for 74 yards and a touchdown, and the throw to Manningham from Manning was an absolute strike. A two-point conversion by Ahmad Bradshaw tied the game at 17. 

When the Jaguars got the ball back, they wasted no time getting a field goal from Josh Scobee. Once again, the Giants failed to contain Garrard and he took his team into field goal range. Luckily for the Giants, Justin Tuck and his masterful reading of a screen pass helped keep the Jaguars out of the end zone. 

That play was the first of many big plays that Tuck would have in the second half. After finishing the first half with just one tackle, he ended the game with five tackles, half a sack, and two passes defensed. 

The Giants got the ball back and what happened next was inexcusable. 

Michael Clayton hadn't been in on a snap all day, and for some reason, Manning looked his way on third down only to have the former first-round pick run the wrong route and force a punt. There's no reason for Clayton to be on the field at that point, and thankfully, he didn't see the field again for the rest of the game. 

On the ensuing possession, the Giants, yet again, used their third down safety blitz to perfection and forced a punt. 

Eli then proceeded to do what he does best. 

Despite his shortcomings, he's one of the premier quarterbacks in the fourth quarter. Eli had one of his best games of the season today, and the play that Boss scored on was simply textbook. 

Eli saw the blitz coming off the right side, called out his hot route to Boss, delivered a strike, and Boss did the rest. 

All he had to do was make one man miss, and he did. The Giants took the lead and never looked back. 

On Jacksonville's final possession, the Giants unleashed a flurry of blitzes that saw both Jason Pierre-Paul, one of the goats from last week, and Terrell Thomas force fumbles. Antrel Rolle, someone who can now be considered one of the best blitzing safeties in the league, scooped up the ball and secured the victory. 

The biggest thing to take away from this game is the fact that the Giants did not turn the ball over. Despite the fact that their offensive line and receivers have been ravaged by injuries, the Giants won the game by limiting mistakes and buckling down on defense, something they failed to do last week. 

New York now has momentum to build on as it prepares for the Washington Redskins and the Minnesota Vikings in the upcoming weeks. Hopefully it can rattle off two wins against lesser opponents before welcoming the Philadelphia Eagles to the Meadowlands in what will be the biggest game of the season. 

Mike Osterberg is a student at Penn State University and Featured Columnist for the New York Giants. Follow him on twitter @Mike_Osterberg.