New York Giants: 4 Keys to the Loss vs. the Green Bay Packers

It was an admirable loss for the New York Giants, who came within three points of handing the Green Bay Packers their first loss of the season.

Eli Manning and the Giants' offense played great, scoring 35 points and putting up 447 yards of offense, including 100 rushing yards.

Victor Cruz broke 100 yards for the fifth time this season, and Hakeem Nicks reeled in two touchdowns, but it still wasn't enough to overcome the unbeaten Packers.

With a Dallas loss today, the 6-6 Giants are still in good position to make the playoffs.

Before we look ahead to next weekend, here are four keys to the New York loss to Green Bay: 

Penalties

The Giants were called for six penalties for a total of 55 yards.

The most crucial of the six came during the fourth quarter, with Green Bay leading 28-27.

The Giants' defense had Aaron Rodgers and the packers in a 3rd-and-10 situation from the Green Bay 36.  On the play, Rodgers was sacked by Tollefson and Pierre-Paul, resulting in a punt for the Packers and a chance for the Giants to take the lead.

Except there was a flag.  Rookie linebacker Jacquian Williams was penalized for illegal contact, resulting in a 1st-and-10 for Green Bay.  Although the Packers wound up punting, it's still the fact of the matter; the Giants can't have rookies, or anyone else for that matter, committing boneheaded penalties in crucial situations.

Penalties on either side of the ball are deflating for an offense or defense, especially at a critical point in the playoff race.

Other Giants' penalties consisted of a 15-yard face mask penalty committed by Mathias Kiwanuka in the first quarter and a 20-yard pass interference penalty on rookie Prince Amukamara on a drive that saw the Packers score, pushing their lead to 28-17. 

Aaron Rodgers

What more can you say about a guy who leads the league in touchdowns and passer rating?

Rodgers entered Sunday's game knowing he was playing against a defense that surrenders over 250 yards through the air each game.

To be frank, the Giants' secondary played well against the Packer's talented core of receivers.

The Giants' defensive line was unable to get to Rodgers and rattle him.  And when they did get close, Rodgers made plays with his feet.

Besides throwing for 369 yards and four touchdowns, Rodgers rushed for 32 yards and was able to avoid New York's pass-rushers when they were near.

Even if they've played against two of the league's elite quarterbacks, the Giants have now given up over 360 passing yards and four touchdowns in back-to-back games.

There's not much else to say about Rodgers; he's a stud and continues to show it each week. 

Turnovers

If the Giants were going to beat the Packers, they needed to play turnover-free football.

They did not.

In fact, Manning's turnovers resulted in seven points for Green Bay.

Early in the second quarter, Clay Matthews intercepted a pass intended for Ahmad Bradshaw and took it to the house for six, putting Green Bay up 14-10.

As the second quarter was winding down, while the Giants were driving, Manning was stripped and sacked from behind by Matthews.

The recovery set the Packers up for a 43-yard field goal, which was pushed wide right by Mason Crosby, giving the Giants some momentum heading into half.

If Manning hadn't fumbled, the Giants could have headed into halftime with even more momentum, and possibly even a lead. 

Pass Rush

Once again, it's the defense that let the Giants down.

Down by eight, Manning drove the Giants down the field late in the fourth quarter and tied the game with 58 seconds left.

All the Giants had to do was hold Rodgers and the Packers for under a minute to send the game into overtime.

Rodgers proceeded to pick the Giants apart, connecting with Finley for 24 yards, Nelson for 27 yards and Jennings for 18 yards to set up the game-winning field goal with one second left.

The Giants D gave up a total of 449 yards, including 360 through the air.  They did force a Rodger's interception and did sack him twice, but in the end, it didn't matter.

For the past four weeks, we've seen Manning and the offense work their tails off, only for the defense to weigh the team down.

There were plays when Rodgers stood in the pocket for seconds on end, waiting for his receivers to break the coverage and create their own route.

New York's defense came out with great energy, but as the game went on, they broke down and were unable to get to Rodgers, leaving him plenty of time to shred the D.

If the G-Men are going to make the playoffs, they're going to need a few more pep talks from Perry Fewell and Michael Strahan.