History Says Beware The New York Giants Down The Stretch

Nov 15, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning before the game against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

There are several things that can characterize the New York Giants era led by quarterback Eli Manning and head coach Tom Coughlin.  Some of them are good, others not so much.  For every great comeback Manning has led or coaching job Coughlin has performed, there are also painful defeats and woeful underachievement in other areas.

Yet there is something else of note about this team that makes them a scary opponent moving forward.  Their almost perverse way of turning narrow defeats against undefeated teams into Super Bowl runs.

2007

Recall back seven years.  New York was going into the final game of the regular season against the undefeated New England Patriots.  They were already in the playoffs and stood to gain nothing by trying to win.  It was argued they were better off resting their key players.

Instead Coughlin and Manning led a determined effort that nearly pulled it off.  In the end the Patriots escaped 38-35, but the Giants realized at that they were good enough to hang with the best in football.  That confidence carried them through the playoffs into a rematch with New England in Super Bowl XLII, where they accomplished the most shocking upset in NFL history.

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2011

Four seasons later it was the same situation and the same building.  The Giants were at home going against the 11-0 Green Bay Packers who were riding an MVP quarterback and a history-making offense.  Nobody expected a 6-5 New York team to even put up a challenge.

Again Manning led the way, carving up the Packers defense for 347 yards and three touchdowns and staking the Giants to a 35-31 lead late in the fourth quarter.  Only a big pass from Aaron Rodgers and field goal helped Green Bay escape, but they weren’t the team coming away from that game brimming with confidence.

New York won three of their next four games, won the division, again marched through the playoffs and beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

2015

Now here we are again.  It was in New York.  It was an undefeated Patriots team and their Hall of Fame quarterback drawing comparisons to their ’07 team.  Again it was Manning putting his team in front with less than two minutes remaining and again that lead was snatched away by a field goal as time expired.

The saying goes that one is anamoly but two is a trend.  These New York Giants have a reputation for taking close defeats against the best in such a way that they become the best themselves.  That is why, even at 5-5 they should be watched the rest of the way because the NFC is wide open and they know if they can reach the Super Bowl, they’ll have no fear of the team that will likely be waiting for them.