New York Giants 24 – Atlanta Falcons 2

by | Jan 8, 2012 | News and Notes

Giants Roll Over Falcons; Move On To Packers: The New York Giants defeated the Atlanta Falcons 24-2 earlier today at MetLife Stadium. With the victory, the Giants now move on to the next round of the playoffs and will face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday at 4:30PM.

The home playoff win was the first of the Tom Coughlin-Eli Manning era. The last time the Giants won a playoff game at home was the 2000 NFC Championship Game against the Minnesota Vikings.

It was a dominating performance by the Giants, who out-gained the Falcons in first downs (19 to 14), total net yards (442 to 247), net yards rushing (172 to 64), net yards passing (270 to 183), and time of possession (34:34 to 25:26).

Offensively, the Giants were not sharp early in the game. In three 1st quarter possessions, the Giants only gained 30 yards and one first down. Worse, early in the 2nd quarter, on the Giants’ fourth possession, QB Eli Manning was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety and a 2-0 lead for the visiting Falcons.

Meanwhile, New York’s defense was holding up its end of the bargain. Atlanta went three-and-out on their first two possessions of the game. On their third possession, the Falcons drove 66 yards in 13 plays to set up a 4th-and-1 from the Giants’ 24-yard line on the very first play of the 2nd quarter. Atlanta decided to go for it but QB Matt Ryan was stuffed on the quarterback sneak, turning the football over on downs.

After the safety, the Giants’ defense gave up one first down and then forced another punt by the Falcons. Atlanta had two more offensive possessions in the half: one being a three-and-out and the other ending at the Falcons’ 45-yard line as time expired in the first half.

The Giants had only one productive drive in the first half. On New York’s fifth possession, the Giants drove 85 yards in 13 plays to take a 7-2 lead on Manning’s 4-yard touchdown pass to WR Hakeem Nicks. The big plays on the drive were a 14-yard scramble by Manning on 3rd-and-2, a 7-yard pass from Manning to HB Ahmad Bradshaw on 3rd-and-2, a 34-yard run by HB Brandon Jacobs, and a 2-yard run by Jacobs on 4th-and-1.

The Giants had one more possession in the first half but went three-and-out for the third time. At the half, the Giants led 7-2.

In the second half, the Giants pulled away, scoring 17 points on their first three possessions after the break. On New York’s first drive of the 3rd quarter, the Giants went 82 yards in 11 plays to set up a 22-yard field goal by PK Lawrence Tynes. Unfortunately, the Giants bogged down inside the 5-yard line after facing a 1st-and-goal from the 5. But the field goal gave the Giants a 10-2 advantage. Key plays on this possession included a 19-yard pass to Nicks on 3rd-and-8, a 22-yard pass to WR Victor Cruz on 3rd-and-12, and a 30-yard run by Bradshaw.

Atlanta threatened on their second possession of the half, driving 58 yards from their own 21 to the Giants’ 21-yard line. But again, on 4th-and-1, Ryan was stuffed on a quarterback sneak and the Falcons turned the ball over on downs.

The momentum shift continued in dramatic fashion three plays later when Manning hit Nicks over the middle on 3rd-and-3. Nicks split the Falcons’ safeties and raced for a 72-yard touchdown and a 17-2 Giants’ lead with under three minutes to play in the 3rd quarter.

The Falcons went three-and-out on their third possession, being stuffed on 3rd-and-1. The Giants then put the game away early in the 4th quarter with a 10-play, 85-yard drive that ended with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Manningham. With under 10 minutes to play, the Giants led 24-2. The key play on this drive was an 18-yard pass from Manning to Bradshaw on 3rd-and-6.

The Falcons went three-and-out on their fourth possession, and the Giants put together a 12-play, 71-yard drive that took off almost six and a half minutes off the clock. Unfortunately, Tynes missed the 32-yard field goal attempt with three minutes to play. On the Falcons’ last possession, they drove to the Giants’ 17-yard line, but on 4th-and-10, Ryan was sacked by DE Osi Umenyiora with just over a minute to go in the game. New York then ran out the clock.

Offensively, Manning finished the game 23-of-32 for 277 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Nicks caught 6 passes for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns; Manningham caught 4 passes for 68 yards and 1 touchdown. Jacobs rushed for 92 yards on 14 carries and Bradshaw 63 yards on 14 carries.

Defensively, S Antrel Rolle and LB Chase Blackburn had 9 tackles each. DE Jason Pierre-Paul had 8 tackles, including 2 tackles for a loss. Umenyiora and DT Rocky Bernard each had sacks.

Highlights/lowlights of the game are available at NFL.com.

Video of the post-game locker room celebration is available at Giants.com.

Injury Report – Ross and Ware Suffer Concussions: CB Aaron Ross and HB D.J. Ware suffered concussions in the 3rd quarter of the playoff game and did not return. No word yet on the severity of either injury. S Deon Grant also suffered a quad injury but later returned to the game.

Head Coach Tom Coughlin’s Post-Game Press Conference: The transcript and video of Head Coach Tom Coughlin’s post-game press conference are available at Giants.com.

Post-Game Player Media Q&As: Transcripts and video of post-game media sessions with the following players are available at Giants.com:

Post-Game Notes: Inactive for the Giants were HB Da’Rel Scott, WR Ramses Barden, OC Jim Cordle, OT James Brewer, DE Justin Trattou, DT Jimmy Kennedy, and LB Mark Herzlich (ankle).

DE George Martin, RB Ottis Anderson, and WR David Tyree – each representing a Giants Super Bowl championship team – joined captains QB Eli Manning, DE Justin Tuck, LS Zak DeOssie, OG Chris Snee, and S Deon Grant at midfield for the coin toss.

The Giants’ 442 net yards was their third-highest total in a postseason game. They gained 518 yards in the 2000 NFC Championship game vs. Minnesota and 446 yards in a 39-38 loss at San Francisco in a 2002 NFC Wild Card Game.

Eli Manning has thrown 11 career postseason touchdown passes, a Giants record. The previous mark of 10 was owned by Phil Simms. Manning’s second touchdown pass was a 72-yarder to WR Hakeem Nicks that is tied for the longest postseason play in Giants history.