Giants Try Their Best, But Are Unable to Stop Perfect Pats

If there is such a thing as a good loss the Giants earned it when they lost 38-35 to the Patriots last night. History will remember the Patriots 16-0 mark, but unfortunately it will forget that in a meaningless game on a Saturday night they faced their toughest challenge.

Eli Manning finally looked like a #1 draft choice and the Giants built a 28-16 lead early in the third quarter. But, New England rallied back in part because of a 65-yard bomb to Randy Moss and took a 38-28 lead. The Giants added a late touchdown, but they could not recover the onside kick and New England escaped with the win.

The question is, was it worth it? The Giants will get points for character, but they suffered a number of significant injuries. Kawika Mitchell and Shaun O’Hara went down with sprained knees and Sam Madison suffered an abdominal strain. If they don’t play next weekend in Tampa Tom Coughlin will face a bevy of questions about why he went all-out in a meaningless game, but for now the Giants will focus on the positives as they get ready for the playoffs.

Photo of Reggie Torbor and Tom Brady by AP/Kathy Willens

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Peter Trinkle in News on December 30, 2007 1:38 PM

Comments [rss]

JenChungsBaby

Yeah. Great game. Fabulous. Woohoo.

Kawika Mitchell. Sam Madison. Shaun O'Hara.

Three starters needlessly injured seven days before a playoff game, AND FOR WHAT!?!?!?!?

This ain't tiddlywinks, it's football. Rest matters. What did this earn them, some flattering columns from some stupid writers praising them for the effort?

Big fucking deal.

How stupid. What a waste.

jenchungsgrammar

hey whats up, this is Dan. :)

Jen S

What a great game. I was so proud of their effort. If they'd let the Pats trash them (esp. while at home), I would've had to turn in my Blue card.

Semi-related: I may have found an Astoria-Boston portal in my neighborhood sports bar; there were only two of us in the place cheering the Giants.

MaiaW

What a great game...I don't think the Giants have a serious chance at the Super Duper Bowl anyway, so I'm glad they went all out. It was certainly worth it for the majority of the contest. I mean, it's why they play the gmaes, ya know? How lame would it have been if they'd sat the regulars, got their asses whooped and then lost in the first round?

jfernandez

yep that's me

jfernandez

yep that's me

jenchungsgrammar

hey jfernandez, did you happen to work at a certain search engine company recently? I think i know you.

jfernandez

One of the best games I've ever been to. The NJSCA should be punished for their awful handling of the NYC Bus line post-game, though. Several "lines to nowhere" were created, and some people waited almost 2 hours to get on a bus. Total screwup.

GREAT GAME, THOUGH

pandarelated

it was worth it. its how you gain fans. sure winning the superbowl would help. but their not going too. so instead they went out to stick it to new england.. and / or to win. thats what they should do. i dont like football. but i give them credit for going out and trying.

ed_Extinct

one of the best games.

Dave Hogarty

I'm glad it nearly went down to the wire, post-season consequences be damned. There's nothing more dispiriting than watching high-paid athletes phone it in. If every athlete thought of "the big picture" in terms of their career, they might try a little less hard every game to avoid injury and elongate their career. I'd rather watch a hard-fought loss than a half-baked performance by either team.