Final Game at Giants Stadium Ends in Elimination

By: Evan

A must win game Sunday was the last game the Giants would ever play in Giants stadium, but you would not be able to tell any of this by the way they played. The defense could not come up with any stops against an average Panthers offense, and Eli and the offense were unable to get anything going for the entirety of the game. The Giants were humiliated 41-9 in what can be considered the most disappointing game in an extremely disappointing season. With victories by the Packers and Cowboys, the Giants are officially eliminated from the playoffs. This will be the first time they miss the postseason since Eli’s rookie season.

The offense was the one constant you thought you could count on for the rest of the season, but they were even worse than the defense was. The offense seemed to be able to move the ball with ease as the game began, but after the Manningham fumble the offense just went into a shell. Following that point, the Giants could not get a running game going, and Manning was having no luck connecting with receivers. The truth was, for this offense to play well they needed Eli to continue putting up big numbers and carry this team. He was unable to do that today playing average at best. Without getting the threat of a passing game, the running game was unable to get going.

Defensively they started out strong. They gave up a field goal and Matt Moore had a lot of time in the pocket, but they were shutting down the run. The problem was that after falling to a ten point deficit it appeared Sheridan panicked. Instead of having his guys play the run first, he started to send waves of blitzes to rattle the young quarterback of the Panthers. Like all season, these blitzes did not hit home and Moore was able to make some completions. Also with more attention being paid to the passing game, the Panthers were able to get the running game going. With the balanced offense the Panthers were able to keep the Giants on their heals and marched down the field with ease on almost every possession.

The Giants offensive problems crippled the team. It is no secret this defense is not a solid unit. When it became apparent the offense was not going to be able to put up lots of points the defense tried to make some big plays. Unfortunately that put the unit into situations they are not good at. They have been awful with blitzes this season and by failing to get pressure with extra men, Sheridan left an already depleted secondary with a bigger chance to get burned. Without Eli carrying this team they were unable to get points on the board to compete. Before anyone knew what was happening, the game was out of reach and so were the Giants chances of making the postseason.