Giants vs. Jets: Positives and Negatives of New York Giants' Big Win

In typical New York Giants fashion, it wasn't easy, but Big Blue was able to come up with a crucial win over the instate rival New York Jets on Saturday afternoon, toppling the Rex Ryan-led bunch 29-14 and keeping their playoff destiny in their own hands. With a win over the Dallas Cowboys next week, the G-Men will capture the NFC East crown.

Like in any athletic event, there were things to like and things not to like on both sides. Here, though, I think it is very important to break down the Giants' side of the coin, as this was certainly one of the more helter-skelter games they've played this season, and, given their proverbial inconsistency, that's saying a mouthful.

So, let's break down five positives and five negatives from Big Blue's win today.

Positives

1. The defense played incredibly well as a whole. It was the kind of defensive performance that one would come to expect from a group as talented as this, but as of late (and, actually, essentially all season), we hadn't seen it. Today, however, the Giants' defense was outstanding.

Justin Tuck had what was by far his best game in what has been an injury-marred 2011 campaign, and, as par the course, Jason Pierre-Paul was relentless. Credit also has to be given to the linebackers, as each one of them had solid games. Finally, the secondary, which was called out by Santonio Holmes earlier in the week, played very well as a collective unit, all but neutralizing Holmes and Plaxico Burress and picking off Mark Sanchez twice.

The real key to the defense was defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. For the first time since beating New England way back in Week 9, he finally employed a great game plan to rattle the Jets. It is also blatantly obvious that the Giants' D plays miles better when they play man coverage, which they did for most of the day today.

2. Tuck appears to be back. I already mentioned this, but Tuck's performance today was so encouraging that I felt it deserved its own spot in the top five positives. He was simply phenomenal on Saturday afternoon, putting consistent pressure on Sanchez, deflecting passes and being the force of nature that Giant fans have become so accustomed to seeing over the past several years.

If he can carry this level of play into next week's game against Dallas and then, if the Giants get there, into the playoffs, it would do wonders for this team.

3. Victor Cruz. Period. Okay. Name the receiver who holds the Giants' single-season record for receiving yards. I bet "Victor Cruz" wasn't the first name that popped into your mind. Heck, I bet it wasn't one of the first five names. Yet, Cruz it is, as he eclipsed Amani Toomer's record with his 164-yard day, 99 of those yards coming off of a single touchdown pass that put the G-Men up 10-7 in the first half. Cruz has had moments that make you scratch your head, but one cannot deny his value to this squad.

4. Special teams. Special teams are something that have always plagued the Giants over the years, but they were pretty solid today. Steve Weatherford made some great punts, and Lawrence Tynes did a great job of pinning the Jets deep on kickoffs (although part of that had to do with Antonio Cromartie's stubbornness in insisting on running a couple of very deep kicks out of the end zone). Jerrel Jernigan also looked pretty impressive in the return game.

5. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw ran with authority. Perhaps the lasting image of this game was Bradshaw lowering his shoulder and steamrolling Jets' safety Brodney Pool on his way to a 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Also, to no one's surprise, Jacobs had Jet defenders bouncing off of him all game. They both ran the ball very well today, particularly in the second half when the offensive line finally began to open up some holes for them to run through.

Negatives

1. Hakeem Nicks. Nicks' hands have always been relatively sketchy ever since he came into the league, but lately, they have become a major problem. After dropping a sure touchdown pass last week against Washington, Nicks botched at least three more today, one coming in the end zone (yes, Darrelle Revis made a play on it, but it still should have been caught) and one that ultimately resulted in an Eli Manning interception at a critical point of the game.

Nicks really needs to get his head on straight. He is supposed to be the team's No. 1 wideout and an elite receiver in this league. Well, with the stone hands he has displayed lately, he may soon have to relinquish both of those titles.

2. Play-calling. I'm sure I don't need to tell Giant fans how frustrating of an offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride is, but it wasn't ever any more evident than it was today.

For example, midway through the fourth quarter with the Giants leading 20-7, Sanchez fumbled into the Giants' end zone, and Big Blue recovered. Naturally, you would think the G-Men, up by two touchdowns, would just run the ball to eat up some clock. Well, Gilbride would have none of it. He passed on the first play, and it turned out to be the play I just mentioned above with Nicks; the ball ricocheted off Nicks' hands and into the waiting arms of linebacker David Harris.

There were also times where he had receivers running routes short of the first-down marker in third-and-long situations and when he called deep pass plays on third-and-short. I'll never understand him.

3. Lack of discipline. I'll hearken back to the first series of the game for the Jets. Sanchez threw what appeared to be a backward pass (although it was very close) that was deflected and picked up by Pierre-Paul for what would have been a touchdown. However, it was called back because the Giants had too many men on the field. That miscue led to a Jet touchdown.

Lapses such as that have become a common theme for Big Blue in recent years, and that is something they can ill afford in next week's showdown against the Cowboys.

4. Miscommunication between Manning and his receivers. I noticed quite a few instances today where Manning and his receivers simply were not on the same page. Now, I'm sure that has a lot to do with the fact that two of his most reliable pass-catchers in Mario Manningham and Jake Ballard were sitting out with injuries, but it was still difficult to watch.

Eli finished 9-of-27 on the day, certainly not one of his better performances in what has been a fantastic season for the younger Manning. Of course, there were several drops sprinkled in there, so those numbers are a bit skewed.

5. Injuries. No, the Giants did not actually suffer any in this game, but they were missing several key players, including Osi Umenyiora, Manningham and Ballard, due to injuries. Ballard should be ready by next week, but the jury is still out on Umenyiora (who sprained his ankle in Week 12 against New Orleans) and Manningham (who has been dealing with knee issues for the better part of the season). Obviously, the G-Men need to get healthy to pose any sort of threat in the NFC.

Overall, the positives greatly outweighed the negatives, and that is why the Giants were able to come away with a fairly convincing win over the Jets (look at it this way: they outscored them 29-7 after the Jets scored their first touchdown).

Let's also not forget that the game really should not have been that close to begin with, as the referees overturned what was a clear fumble recovery for a touchdown by Aaron Ross in the first half.

For those who missed it, in the second quarter, Sanchez completed a pass to Jeremy Kerley. As Ross was bringing Kerley to the ground, Kerley's elbow clearly landed on Ross' shoe, and the ball came loose. Ross picked it up and ran it in for the score. However, Ryan threw the challenge flag, and the play was ridiculously overturned, even though there was absolutely no conclusive evidence to prove that Kerley's elbow hit the ground (which it didn't).

Anyway, I expect the Giants to be more than ready for next week's division-deciding game against Dallas. This was a huge win for this group, and it means a lot to them given all of the talking that Ryan and the Jets were doing coming into this game.

I fully expect them to use this victory as a springboard for New Year's Day and beyond, but then again, this is the Giants we're talking about, and you never know what team is going to show up on any given game day.

Hopefully for next week, we see the Giants of Christmas Eve rather than the Giants of December 18th against the Redskins.