Welcome to Super Bowl Preview Week at PFF! To kick off our look at the Giants and Patriots, we’re going to break out the Analysis Notebook and check out three key plays from the New York Giants’ season.
New York’s season was a real roller coaster ride from the outset. They lost their opening day contest on the road to the Washington Redskins (the only team to beat the Giants twice this season), but then rebounded to win five of the next six games en route to a 6-2 start. From that point, the wheels fell off the wagon, and the Giants fell to 6-6, losing at the death in a close game to the undefeated (at the time) Green Bay Packers.
The next week saw them rise to see off the Cowboys before stumbling at home to Washington, and then rattling off five wins in a row, including taking down the NFC’s top two seeds on the road in the playoffs, earning themselves a spot in the Super Bowl.
We’re going to take a look at three key plays from their season that helped bring them to this point.
Week 13 vs. Green Bay | 4thQ, 0:51 | 1st-and-10
The Situation:
Coming into this game, the Giants were 6-5 on the season. After a hot start and a 6-2 record, they had lost three straight and were now facing an undefeated Green Bay side that was looking to roll over them. New York was arguably the better team in a close encounter, but a couple of close calls and video reviews all went against them. A New York touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter tied the game with a two-point conversion. The Giants kicked the ball back to the Packers, and Aaron Rodgers took over with 58 seconds left in the game. On the first play of the ensuing drive, LB Jacquian Williams tried to jump an out route to Jermichael Finley, but came up short and allowed the Packers' TE to pick up 24 yards on first down, setting up this play from the Packers' 44-yard-line.
Outcome:
Aaron Rodgers hits Jordy Nelson on a double move down the left sideline, picking up 27 yards on first down to put Green Bay into field goal range.
Why it worked:
The Giants committed the cardinal sin of defense on this drive, which was a mess from start to finish from a defensive standpoint. With under a minute left on the clock, the Giants got greedy and ambitious, looking to pick-off passes and make the glory play rather than giving the Packers anything short and inside and using the clock as their friend.
The Giants had been forced to put backup and special teams player Will Blackmon in the game at right cornerback because of injury, and on this play he was matched up in man coverage with Jordy Nelson on the outside. The Packers run a short route in the slot with Greg Jennings, and Nelson fakes a similar route from his spot before breaking back outside and running past Blackmon.
Though he gets beaten by the inside move, Blackmon actually recovers pretty well and isn’t in a bad position by the time the ball arrives, but the throw and catch from the Packers’ duo is too good and he never has a chance to affect the play.
The Giants had stacked the line with a pretty aggressive defense on this play. They had seven guys in the box in a nickel package, and sent the middle linebacker on a blitz to try and force pressure. It looks as if there might be confusion among the Giants, which takes the single high safety out of the picture. Kenny Phillips looks like he moves to cover the running back out of the backfield, but so does the weak side linebacker, leaving the deep secondary completely alone. In truth a throw to the sideline is never going to be affected by a Cover-1 safety anyway, but it is interesting that he ends up so badly out of position, on the far side of the field to the strong side of the Green Bay formation.
Blackmon allows himself to be suckered inside by Nelson’s fake, and gives up the deep sideline, which is a definite no-no given the circumstances. This completion puts the Packers inside field goal range, and a few plays later they kick the winning points to put the Giants' season into serious question.
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Week 14 @ Dallas | 4thQ, 0:51 | 2nd-and-Goal from the 2
The Situation:
After falling in the final seconds to the undefeated Packers the week before, the Giants sat at 6-6, losers of four straight, and faced a talented Dallas team who were aiming to take control of the division. With five minutes to go, Dallas had opened up a 12-point advantage and looked to be sending the Giants’ season spiraling out of control with another defeat, but New York rallied. With 3:20 left, Eli Manning cut the lead with a touchdown pass to TE Jake Ballard. Dallas was forced into a three-and-out on their next series and the Giants got the ball back with 2:12 to go. They marched down to the goal line with a minute on the clock and couldn’t get in on their first attempt. Facing 2nd–and-goal from the 2, New York needed a touchdown to take the lead.
Outcome:
Brandon Jacobs punches the ball in with a run off right tackle to give the Giants the lead with 0:46 seconds remaining.
Why it worked:
This play is a classic goal line encounter; a real hark back to the days when this is what the line of scrimmage looked like on every play–seven or eight guys each side up on the line and ready to see who is more physical.
New York lines up in an I-formation, with Brandon Jacobs 7-yards deep in the backfield and FB Henry Hynoski in front of him to lead block. To complete the formation, they have a sixth offensive lineman to the strong side as an extra tight end, and then their regular top two tight ends on the edge of the formation, one on either side. Dallas countered with their goal line package of five defensive linemen, four linebackers, and a pair of defensive backs.
The Giants elect to run right towards the strength of their offensive formation, the right side. RT Kareem McKenzie and sixth offensive lineman Jim Cordle double team the outside defender for Dallas, Kenyon Coleman, sealing him to the inside. This gives Jacobs his target point and he follows his lead blocker into the hole. Hynoski gets a great drive on LB Keith Bullock, jacking him backwards on first contact and driving him out of the hole, and Jacobs does the rest–powering forward and making sure he gets in. Bear Pascoe from his tight end spot makes sure the force defender never gets close to affecting the play.
The Giants out-numbered the Cowboys at the point of attack by running towards the strong side of their formation, and Dallas simply never got the bodies over there to be able to matchup on the play. Strength will always beat strength when one side doesn’t bring enough bodies to the party, and that is exactly what happened here, giving the Giants the lead that saved their season.
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NFC Championship Game @ San Francisco | 4thQ, 8:41 | 3rd-and-15
The Situation:
The Giants had rescued their season with the Dallas game, and despite a speed bump against the Redskins, had now rattled-off four straight victories, two in the playoffs, including a revenge game against the Packers. San Francisco was the venue for the NFC Championship game and while the Giants were holding their own, two inept plays in coverage had allowed the 49ers to put 14 points on the board with passes to tight end Vernon Davis. The clock was now winding down in the fourth quarter and the Giants faced a 3rd–and-15 from the San Francisco 17-yard-line. If they failed to convert, the best they could do was kick a field goal and close to within a point, but would still need to score again.
Outcome:
Manning connects with Mario Manningham for a 17-yard touchdown to take the lead for the second time in the game.
Why it worked:
Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz are the names everybody thinks about when they focus on the Giants passing attack, but Manning keeps finding Manningham in key situations for huge plays, and this was another such example.
The Giants spread the field on this 3rd–and-long play, with three receivers and tight end Jake Ballard all split out from the line and HB Danny Ware flanking Manning in the shotgun. The 49ers were in a dime defense, with six defensive backs, a pair of linebackers, and three down-linemen to rush the passer.
This play works because of a couple of things. Firstly, the Giants are working against a cornerback whose career to this point was 129 snaps old. Tramaine Brock had been thrust into the lineup when starter Tarrell Brown was injured in a collision with FS Dashon Goldson earlier in the game as they were both going for an interception on an errant Manning throw. Brock doesn’t do a particularly bad job on this play, but he is a half-step slow driving on Manningham's route, and these are the inches that define games at this level. The second thing that makes this play is the route combination from the Giants and the way Ballard in particular influences the zone coverage from the 49ers.
Manningham runs a deep post route from his LWR position, and though he gets to the inside of Brock, what opens up the throw into the heart of the 49ers' quarters coverage is Ballard's route. From his slot left position, Cruz attacks the linebacker before breaking off his route and sitting down at the 12-yard-line. This is some way short of the first-down marker, but NaVorro Bowman has to honor Cruz' ability to make things happen after the catch and so he releases Ballard and jumps up to cover Cruz. Ballard runs his route to about the 5-yard-line and breaks inside, forcing Goldson to come up to take him and turn to the inside on Ballard's break, taking Goldson away from the in-breaking route of Manningham. This combination of routes opens the hole to the left side of the defense that Manningham is running into and gives Manning enough of a window to fire in the touchdown pass.
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