The New York Giants have been eliminated from playoff contention for the fourth time in the last five years. With a 37-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers, Big Blue dropped to 5-8 on the season. The Giants were three point underdogs as they headed to San Diego on Sunday. No Surprise, the Charger fans still haven’t forgotten Eli Manning’s request for the Chargers not to draft him. That request ended with Eli Manning getting traded to New York and the rest is history. Right from the opening drive the Charger fans let Manning hear their presence. What started as boos toward Eli would soon turn into cheers for the home team Chargers, as they shut out the Giants in the first half and went into the locker room with all the momentum. San Diego scored with a touchdown pass to Danny Woodhead and two touchdown passes to Keenan Allen. Nick Novak added a field goal and the Chargers led 24-0 at the half.
Giants continued to beat themselves with turnovers and penalties, themes that have challenged the Giants all season long. Eli Manning threw two interceptions and Andre Brown had a fumble. The fumble came before the two-minute warning of the first half. Brown was originally called down by contact but the two-minute warning gave the Chargers time to look at the play and threw the challenge flag. The fumble turned into a touchdown for the Chargers. Chargers kicker Nick Novak missed a kick in the second quarter, but an offside call gave Novak a second chance and would capitalize on the second chance. Mathias Kiwanuka added to the Giants frustrations with an unnecessary roughness call in the second half.
In the second half, the Giants would have touchdowns from Peyton Hillis and Brandon Myers. The Chargers had a touchdown from Ryan Mathews and a pair of field goals from Nick Novak.
Eli Manning ended the game with 259 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Phillip Rivers ended the game with 249 yards and three touchdowns.
After winning Defensive player of the week last week, Justin Tuck stepped up and had another good game for the second week in a row in the absence of Jason Pierre-Paul. The Giants captain recorded two sacks and a forced fumble.
Next, Giants will play one of the NFCs best teams, as they will host the Seahawks at Metlife stadium next Sunday. With the playoffs out of the question, there will be a few players trying to shine as they look for new contracts, while the rest will be playing for pride. The Giants are expected to face many offseason decisions when it comes to a number of their players and coaches.
Tyler Henry: PureSportsNY