Giants run wild during playoff-clinching victory
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Neither rain, sleet nor snow -- and not even Bills tight end Kevin Everett's inspirational return to Buffalo -- could prevent the New York Giants from clinching a playoff berth Sunday.
A rediscovered running attack and an opportunistic defense carried the Giants past the Bills and the elements in a 38-21 victory.
"I'm very proud," said running back Brandon Jacobs, who scored twice and finished with a career-high 145 yards. "I'm proud of my team. I'm proud of the defense. It means a lot."
Even coach Tom Coughlin could shrug off his sourpuss public persona for a moment, cracking a joke about the Gatorade bath he received on the sideline.
"It was the chunks of ice that gave me some mixed thoughts on the intention there," Coughlin said, smiling.
The game began with a pelting rain and winds gusting at more than 30 mph, and ended with flurries and wind gusts above 50. The conditions contributed to the teams committing 4 turnovers each and not mounting much of a passing attack.
Good thing the Giants had a plan to run the ball, something they were criticized for failing to do in a 22-10 loss to the Redskins a week earlier. They rushed for 291 yards, their most since they had 351 on Nov. 29, 1959, against Washington.
Jacobs' 2 scores, including a powerful 43-yard run, rallied the Giants from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit. And when the Southern Illinois product left the game with a sprained left ankle in the fourth quarter, New York kept running the ball, with backup Ahmad Bradshaw scoring an 88-yard touchdown that put the Giants up 31-21 with 6:12 left.
New York's defense did the rest as Kawika Mitchell intercepted Trent Edwards and returned it 20 yards for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter. Corey Webster then sealed the victory by scoring on a 34-yard interception return 22 seconds after Bradshaw's touchdown.
The Giants (10-5) won their seventh straight road game to establish a single-season franchise record. And they avoided what could've been a must-win finale against the league's top team, the New England Patriots, next weekend.
Even quarterback Eli Manning could shrug off a performance in which he went 7 of 15 for 111 yards with 2 interceptions and 2 lost fumbles.
"We've won some tough games, done a good job, and it's a relief," Manning said. "We all knew we wanted to do it this game."
The Bills (7-8) again proved they're incapable of beating a playoff contender. Six of Buffalo's losses this year have come against teams that have qualified for the postseason.
"It gets disappointing as the year goes on," defensive end Chris Kelsay said. "It's another year we're not going to the postseason. I'm getting frustrated."