It’s official: Taking Seinfeld off the air in Green Bay did not stop Eli Manning from sending the New York Giants to an unlikely Superbowl appearance, with the Giants beating the Packers 23-20 in overtime.The wild card Giants will play the New England Patriots in Arizona on Sunday fortnight.Think the Giants can stop the perfect Pats? Bet now with Lasseters
There will be no fairytale season finish for veteran Packers quarterback Brett Favre (19 for 35, 236 yards, 2 TD, 2 int), outshone by a steadier Manning (21/40, 254 yards, 0 TD, 0 int)
In conditions more akin to the Iditarod than a football game, even by Lambeau standards, temperatures dropped to -4, with an obscene -24 wind chill factor.
The Giants opened the scoring with a Lawrence Tynes 29-yard field goal late in the first quarter. That lead extended to 6-0 when Tynes landed a 37-yard FG. The home side came roaring back with a spectacular 90-yard TD play from Favre to Donald Driver.
The Packers led 10-6 at the half thanks to a Mason Crosby 36-yard FG.
The Giants were making a habit of long, time consuming drives, finally cashing in when Brandon Jacobs ran it in from 1 yard. Manning attempted just one pass in the final nine plays of the drive, with the Packers penalised no less than four times.
Green Bay were playing a more balanced game, a necessity with their running game stagnating, with Favre completing three consecutive passes to send Donald Lee over for a 12 yard TD.
The almost immediate response could have been a demoralising blow for the visitors, however they mounted a short reply of their own.
Manning was finding his range, delivering to Amani Tooner in consecutive plays before Ahmad Bradshaw rushed a 4 yard TD.
The Giants led 20-17 at the final change.
A key play came early in the fourth quarter, when Favre was picked off by R.W. McQuarters, who advanced the ball eleven yards up field, only to be stripped of possession by Packers running back Ryan Grant. Mark Tauscher’s recovery put the Packers in a better position than where they were originally. Four plays later Crosby drilled a 37-yard field goal to leave match locked at 20-20.
A missed 43-yard FG from Giants kicker Tynes – which would have been the longest in Lambeau postseason history – left the game tied down the stretch.
With 2:30 left, a shaky Packers punt was returned by McQuarters, who ominously carried the ball beyond the 50, until he was stripped of possession. A mad scramble, in which both sides had a hold on the ball, resulted in the Giants retaining possession.
Manning kept the Giants moving forward, leaving Tynes a 36-yard attempt with :04 remaining. Once again the ball was hooked badly and the match went into overtime, just the second in NFC Championship history.
The Packers won the coin toss, however with the Packers run now virtually impotent, Favre threw caution to wind, throwing an interception to Corey Webster, giving the Giants the ball on the Green Bay 34.
In what appeared to be a move bordering on masochism, Tynes was given an attempt from 47 yards. This time, the Giants kicker found his sweet spot, hooking the ball from outside the right post to perfection.
The Giants, who have won more games on the road this year than the Patriots, will be heartened by their week 17 showing against the perfect Pats, when New York held a 28-16 lead before losing, sending New England to the first perfect regular season in 36 years.
For the second straight season, a Manning will be at the Superbowl.
The build up to the game went from the sublime to the ridiculous when a Green Bay local station pulled an episode of Seinfeld from its schedule, after learning it was Manning’s favourite show. Fabled New Yorker Jerry Seinfeld sent the Giants QB the entire collection on DVD.
Share This Post!
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
HAHAAAAA!!! PACKERS!!! EAT DIRTY SNOW YOU LOSERS!!!!!!!!!!
“In conditions more akin to the Iditarod than a football game, even by Lambeau standards, temperatures dropped to -4, with an obscene -24 wind chill factor.”
I should point out, given that this is an Australian website and whoever posted this obviously got it straight from a US source, that those temperatures are given in Fahreinheit. In Celsius, -4 isn’t that cold at all. It gets colder than that in many places in Australia (which is a very warm country!).
So for an Australian audience, that sentence should read:
“In conditions more akin to the Iditarod than a football game, even by Lambeau standards, temperatures dropped to -20, with an obscene -31 wind chill factor.”
Now you understand why so much of a deal was made about the cold in this game! Minus 20 C is a seriously dangerous temperature, especially with that breeze blowing.
PS. I live in Australia but have lived in Green Bay for an extended period of time (including a few winters). It really is laughable how people in Sydney etc. complain about 10 C being “cold” when you see what most in the Northern Hemisphere have to deal with