Under clear, sunny skies at Arrowhead Stadium, the New York Giants notched up another victory after they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 27–16 on Sunday.
The Giants started the game well, capitalizing on a Chiefs turnover on the opening kickoff after kick returner Jamaal Charles lost the ball. Bryan Kehl fell on the ball for the Giants.
Starting at the 16-yard line, the Giants methodically drove toward the end zone before Manning threw a quick three-yard strike to Steve Smith, putting New York up 7–0.
The Chiefs cut into the lead with a 34-yard field goal, following a Giants turnover at their own 44-yard line after Manning was sacked by defensive-end Tamba Hali and lost the ball.
But starting the second quarter, New York went back to work and put together another scoring drive that included two good runs by Ahmad Bradshaw and a 15-yard roughing penalty on Chiefs’ cornerback Jarrad Page, who was called for a questionable high hit on Steve Smith near mid-field.
On the next play, Manning threw another touchdown pass to Smith—this one for 25-yards, extending the lead to 14–3.
The Giants scored again with under two minutes remaining in the first half. Getting the ball deep in their own territory, the G-men marched 81 yards downfield, leaving just enough time on the clock for Lawrence Tynes to kick a 25-yard field goal.
Starting the third quarter, the Giants got another heads-up play by Kehl, who fell on an onside kick attempt by Kansas City. With great field position, New York put together an efficient drive and capped it off with a Lawrence Tynes 40-yard field goal.
With the fourth quarter under way, the Giants added to their lead when Manning threw a quick pass to rookie Hakeem Nicks, who ran 54 yards downfield along the sideline, eluding several defenders and scoring the touchdown making it 27–3.
On the play before, the Giants got a slight scare as Manning planted his right foot into the turf and came up awkwardly. He left the game shortly after, mostly out of precaution by the coaching staff. His injury is not suspected to be serious.
When David Carr came in for Manning the offense sputtered, forcing the defense to stay on the field for most of the quarter. Kansas City took advantage of the situation and scored two quick touchdowns but it wouldn’t be enough as the Giants prevailed 27–16.
Manning commented on his team’s victory, “I think it just all comes back to having a team mentality. If we win, it’s a team win. I think it’s just trusting each other and knowing that we’re going out there and guys are going to have our back and support each other with everything we go through.”
Efficient Win
For most of the game, New York’s defense was outstanding, limiting the Chiefs to 193 total yards and sacking quarterback Matt Cassel five times.Linebacker Michael Boley had a big game with four tackles and a sack. Another Giants newcomer, Rocky Bernard, had a 14-yard sack on Cassel late in the game.
On offense, Manning was efficient, throwing for 292 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those scoring passes went to Steve Smith who hauled in 11 catches for 134 yards.
Eli praised Smith for another impressive performance, “Steve Smith had a great game. He ran some great routes and made some great plays down the field.”
The Giants are 4–0 for only the sixth time in franchise history, however, despite the win, head coach Tom Coughlin knows his team can play even better.
“We are pleased we came in here to win and we did win. But we had some opportunities we didn’t take advantage of. There are some things that we can obviously improve on.”
