2006 New York Giants season

*Game time: 4:15 PM EDT/1:15 PM PDT
*Game weather: 65 °F (Sunny)
*Stadium: Qwest Field
*Television announcers (FOX): Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
*Referee: Mike Carey
*Game attendance: 68,161

In a rematch of a bitter 2005 loss for the Giants, when kicker Jay Feely missed three game-winning field goal attempts at the end of regulation and overtime in a 24-21 loss, the Seahawks made sure this game wouldn't be as close. After trading interceptions, with Corey Webster picking Matt Hasselbeck and Ken Hamlin intercepting Manning, the Seahawks jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Shaun Alexander. After forcing a punt, Hasselbeck tossed a 12-yard touchdown to Nate Burleson. Manning would be intercepted again by Hamlin on the ensuing drive, leading to a 4-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to Darrell Jackson, and in eleven minutes, Seattle had a 21-0 lead.

Manning had the ball on his own 43 with 10:43 left in the half when he threw his third pick of the game, this time to Michael Boulware. The Seahawks converted, going on a 12-play, 63-yard drive, capped off by a ten-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to Will Heller. The game got worse for the Giants, as Plaxico Burress fumbled following a reception, with Leroy Hill recovering for Seattle. Hasselbeck then threw his fourth touchdown pass of the first half, this one going 21 yards to Bobby Engram. The Giants finally got on the board with a 46-yard field goal by Jay Feely as time expired.

Seattle pushed the lead to 42-3 in the third quarter with a 17-play, 70-yard drive that ate up 9:58, capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to Jackson. The Giants' offense, dormant all game, finally sprang to life in the fourth quarter. Manning found Amani Toomer on a 13-yard touchdown strike. After Fred Robbins intercepted Hasselbeck, Manning wasted no time finding Tim Carter on a 25-yard touchdown pass. When R.W. McQuarters intercepted Hasselbeck for a 27-yard touchdown return, the once-enormous Seattle lead was suddenly cut to 42-24, with 9:30 to play. The Giants would inch even closer after forcing a punt, and Manning found David Tyree on a 9-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead down to 42-30. The two-point conversion failed, however, and Seattle recovered the ensuing onside kick with less than three minutes remaining, effectively ending the game.

Week 5: vs. Washington Redskins

*Game time: 8:30 PM EDT
*Game weather: 63 °F (Clear)
*Stadium: Texas Stadium
*Television announcers (ESPN): Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann, and Tony Kornheiser
*Referee: Peter Morelli
*Game attendance: 63,512

The Giants started off hot right away against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. Eli Manning hit Plaxico Burress deep down the field for a touchdown and linebacker Lavar Arrington sacked quarterback Drew Bledsoe for a safety and a 9-0 lead. Arrington however would be lost for the season, tearing his Achilles tendon in the 2nd quarter. The Cowboys got back into the game on a one yard run by Bledsoe, but gave the momentum back as cornerback Sam Madison made a big play, intercepting Bledsoe at the goalline late in the half, keeping the Giants ahead 12-7.

In the second half, Bill Parcells relieved Bledsoe with young backup Tony Romo. The Giants intercepted Romo right away as linebacker Antonio Pierce caught a deflected ball. The Giants cashed in as Manning hooked up with Jeremy Shockey for a short touchdown. Following a Brandon Jacobs touchdown run on 4th down, the Giants opened up a 26-7 lead. Although the Cowboys threatened, the defense preserved the victory as reserve cornerback Kevin Dockery intercepted Romo and ran 96 yards for the clinching score. The Giants also held Terrell Owens to under 100 yards receiving.

The Giants defense was the story however, notching six more sacks including two from Strahan, and one apiece from Arrington and Osi Umenyiora. On offense, Tiki Barber shined again, rushing for 114 yards, while Brandon Jacobs added 40 yards. Quarterback Eli Manning maintained his poise to overcome a shaky game to throw for 189 yards and two touchdowns. The win moves the Giants to 4-2 and one half a game ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The game drew the biggest audience in the history of cable television with an average viewership of 16,028,000, besting the previous high water mark set during a 1993 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) debate between vice president Al Gore and presidential hopeful H. Ross Perot. [
*Game time: 8:15 PM EST
*Game weather: 48 °F (Intermittent rain)
*Stadium: Giants Stadium
*Television announcers (NBC): Al Michaels and John Madden
*Referee: Ed Hochuli
*Game attendance: 78,641

The Chicago Bears met the Giants in a highly anticipated showdown of NFC powerhouses. The Giants got off to a good start when Bears quarterback Rex Grossman was intercepted by Mathias Kiwanuka, returning the ball to the Chicago one-yard line. Running back Brandon Jacobs plowed in for a 7-0 lead. After forcing two Chicago turnovers, kicker Jay Feely atoned for an early miss (33 yards) with two long field goals giving New York a 13-3 lead late in the first half.

The Bears responded making the first of several game-turning plays. On third and 22, with the Giants likely to get another possession before half's end, running back Thomas Jones ran practically untouched for a first down. A few plays later, Grossman hit Mark Bradley on a 29-yard strike putting the Bears within three. At the start of the second half, the Bears used excellent field position and soft coverage to make big plays, getting inside the Giants 10-yard line. Grossman hit a strike to Muhsin Muhammad for a 17-13 lead. Following a forced fumble, the Bears broke the game open on a Grossman two-yard pass to tight end Desmond Clark.

The Giants did not fold; running back Tiki Barber (19 carries, 141 yards) broke a 46-yard run to put the Giants inside the Chicago 10. Jacobs capped off the drive with his second touchdown run, getting New York within four. After a Bears punt, kick return star Devin Hester broke the Giants' backs. Facing a long 51-yard field goal into swirling winds, Jay Feely's kick fell well short and into Hester's hands in the end zone. Seeing the Giants' players not paying attention, Hester scampered up the sideline with the ball for a 108-yard touchdown return. The Giants did not threaten again. A Thomas Jones touchdown run would put the game away for the Bears.

For the Giants, Plaxico Burress and David Tyree finished with four catches, and Fred Robbins and R.W. McQuarters had sacks. Eli Manning in his worst performance of the season, threw for 121 yards and two interceptions in the defeat. The game was the first one moved to Sunday night due to the NFL's new flexible scheduling policy.

Week 11: at Jacksonville Jaguars

*Game time: 4:15 PM EDT
*Game weather: 45 °F (Clear)
*Stadium: Giants Stadium
*TV announcers (FOX): Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
*Referee: Walt Coleman
*Game attendance: 78,666The Giants have been victims of their own self inflicted wounds during the past three games and today's game against the Cowboys yielded no exception as the Giants made crucial mistakes at the worst times, leading to their defeat. Tony Romo threw to tight end Jason Witten for a big play with only about 50 seconds remaining. Newly acquired kicker Martin Gramatica then hit a 46 yard field goal to give Dallas a 23-20 win and a two game lead in the NFC Eastern Division. It was a hard fought game from start to finish, but several mental mistakes by the Giants including four personal foul penalties, a fumble after an interception, terrible play calling in the redzone and questionable timeout with 1:43 remaining cost the team dearly.

The Giants began well with Eli Manning playing one of his best games in weeks. The Giants traveled 66 yards in 10 plays. Using a combination of good running and pass mixture, Eli Manning hit an open Jeremy Shockey for a 17 yard touchdown. Romo then threw his first of two interceptions, to defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who fumbled the ball as he ran, leading to a Dallas recovery. Three plays later, Dallas was in the endzone as Marion Barber scored. Late in the first half with the Giants moving, New York made another critical mistake. With fourth and inches at the Dallas 21, the Giants called a long handoff that was stuffed. Dallas then went ahead with a field goal for a 10-7 halftime lead.

New York had several opportunities to put the Cowboys on the ropes in the second half, but poor play calling following long drives hurt them. After traveling to the Dallas five late in the period, a poor pass by Manning, a run for nothing, and another dangerous pass forced the Giants to tie the game with a field goal. After Dallas made a field goal to take a 13-10 lead, Manning again led the Giants downfield. This time, while inside the 10, running back Brandon Jacobs was unthinkably removed from the ball game despite his ability to pound the football. The Giants had to tie the game at 13.

With nine minutes left, Romo led the Cowboys to a 20-13 lead by converting on several crucial first downs on a 12 play, 66 yard drive. On one third down, safety Gibril Wilson nearly intercepted Romo, which would likely have resulted in a Giants touchdown. However, in a trend of mistakes, he did not make the play, and the pass was complete for a first down. Down by seven with minutes to play, Eli Manning led the Giants downfield using a no-huddle offense. Following a long screen pass to Tiki Barber, the Giants committed another mistake; they called a timeout to keep an additional 40 seconds on the clock. Manning would cap off the 63 yard march with a seven yard strike to Plaxico Burress to tie it at 20-20.

But the Giants had no answer on defense for Tony Romo's confidence or late game heroics. The bad timeout came back to haunt the Giants as Romo found Jason Witten open downfield and Gramatica kicked the game-winner. Manning was 24-36 for 270 yards and two touchdowns, and Tiki Barber rushed for 90 yards. Shockey led the Giants with six receptions. The differences in the game were once again the questionable playcalls and poor execution at crucial times in the game. Romo for the day was outstanding following his two early interceptions, finishing 20 of 34 for 257 passing yards.

Week 14: at Carolina Panthers

*Game time: 1:00 PM EST
*Game weather: 52 °F (Sunny)
*Stadium: Giants Stadium
*Television commentators (FOX): Dick Stockton and Troy Aikman
*Referee: Bill Carollo
*Game attendance: 78,539

In Tiki Barber's final home game as a Giant, New York needed a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive. The game started well for the Giants with Eli Manning throwing a 55-yard touchdown to Plaxico Burress touchdown on the Giants' opening possession. After stopping the Saints, returner Chad Morton fumbled a punt, resulting in a Saints field goal. After a second field goal, the Saints marched downfield again, orchestrating an 18-play drive for a touchdown. Twice, the Saints converted on fourth down, including a two-yard touchdown from Drew Brees to Marques Colston for a 13-7 lead.

In the second half, the Saints took command of the game, as the Saints running game frustrated the Giants defense. Reggie Bush added a one-yard touchdown to put the Saints up 20-7. Deuce McAllister later scored a nine-yard touchdown and John Carney hit his third field goal to close out the scoring in a 30-7 loss for the Giants, their sixth in seven games. In his final home game, Barber was held to 71 rushing yards, the Giants dropped eight passes, and Manning missed on 16 of his final 19 pass attempts. Towards the end of the third quarter, a chant of "Fire Coughlin" rained down from the rafters of Giants Stadium from fans disgruntled with the Giants' play in the second half of the season. [
*Game time: 8:00 PM EST
*Game weather: 48 °F (Sunny)
*Stadium: FedExField
*Television announcers (NFLN): Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth
*Referee: Walt Anderson
*Game attendance: 86,141Quarterback Coach Kevin Gilbride took over the play calling this week, and the Giants went back to what worked in 2005, the running game. Tiki Barber, in his final regular season game as a Giant, played the best game of his career, rushing for a franchise-record 234 yards on 23 carries, including three touchdowns to help spark New York to a 34-28 win over the Washington Redskins. At 8-8, the Giants, despite a 2-6 second half of the season, were able to qualify as a wild card team in the NFC playoffs.

The defense made the first big play of the game as Fred Robbins picked up a Ladell Betts fumble and ran 67 yards to the Redskins' 12. Jay Feely hit a short field goal for a 3-0 lead. After Washington took a 7-3 lead on a touchdown pass from Antwaan Randle El to Santana Moss, Barber took control. He ran straight through the Washington front four to score from 15 yards out for a 10-7, then added a 55-yard spectacular run for a 17-7 lead. Feely added another field goal for a 20-7 halftime lead.

The Giants defense set the tone for the third quarter as backup safety Jason Bell intercepted Jason Campbell. Eli Manning, despite a mediocre performance, tossed a perfect six-yard play action pass to wide receiver Tim Carter extending New York's lead to 20. However, the Giants defense, which has been susceptible to giving up leads this season allowed Washington to get back into the game. After Osi Umenyiora missed a sack on Campbell, the Redskins quarterback hit Betts on fourth down for a touchdown. After a Giants punt, T. J. Duckett closed the lead to six with a one yard plunge.

Barber extended the lead by ripping off another big run, this time from 50 yards for a 34-21 lead. But the Redskins didn't go away. A lack of pass rush added to poor coverage in the secondary allowed the Redskins to move 68 yards in eight plays for another touchdown. At last, on fourth-and-10 late in the game, safety Gibril Wilson broke up a pass intended for Randle El, and the Giants ran out the clock. Barber's 234 rushing yards were the most ever by a Giant in a single game. For the season, he rushed for 1,662 yards. And Tiki Barber became the third active player in NFL history to have four 2,000 total yard seasons, joining Marshall Faulk and Dante Hall. Manning, despite throwing for only 101 yards, did not make any crucial mistakes and finished the season with 3,244 passing yards with 24 touchdowns. The big improvement however was in his completion percentage. For the year, he hit on 57.7% of his passes, a near five percent improvement from 2005.

Because the St. Louis Rams, the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans won their games the following day, the Giants clinched the strength of victory tiebreaker over the Green Bay Packers to clinch the final playoff spot in the NFC. The Giants became the eighth team in NFL history to make the playoffs with an 8-8 record.

Playoffs

NFC Wild Card Round: at Philadelphia Eagles

*Game time: 4:39 PM EST
*Game weather: 52 °F (Mostly cloudy)
*Stadium: Lincoln Financial Field
*Television announcers (FOX): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver, Chris Myers
*Referee: Pete Morelli
*Game attendance: 69,094

The Giants were defeated on a last second, 38 yard field goal by the Philadelphia Eagles' David Akers in their first round playoff game to finish the 2006 season. The 23-20 defeat officially ended the Giants' season and Tiki Barber's career. Quarterback Eli Manning, despite an 0-2 postseason record was far better this time around as compared to last year's matchup versus the Carolina Panthers. He got off to a fast start against the Philadelphia Eagles today.

Taking the opening kickoff, Manning used some solid passes and Barber running to move right down the field. The 67 yard drive was culminated in a 17 yard strike from Manning to Plaxico Burress. However, after the opening drive, the offense missed several opportunities to break the game open in the first half as the defense stuffed the Eagles' attack, yielding good field position. Three separate times the Giants started at their own 47 or better, but could not get any more points. The Eagles finally got going in the second quarter as Giant killer Brian Westbrook ran 49 yards to tie the game at 7-7. Philadelphia extended their lead to 10-7 with a short Akers field goal after the defense tightened up at the goalline.

New York responded with an 11 play drive to get inside the Philadelphia five yardline, but in a recurring theme this season, the offense could not score a touchdown. Brandon Jacobs was taken out of the game and the move was questioned by analysts and fans alike. Jay Feely's field goal tied the game at 10-10, but the Eagles moved 80 yards in 10 plays to take a 17-10 halftime lead. Jeff Garcia who was held in check for most of the game, hit Donte' Stallworth on a 28-yard pass to score the touchdown.

The Eagles extended their lead to 20-10 with a 48-yard field goal in the third quarter before the Giants responded with a 65 yard drive to cut the lead to 20-13. However, the Giants after getting inside the 10 again, could not convert and Feely was summoned for the kick. The Giants' defense, tough all day stopped Philadelphia again and then Eli Manning led a tremendous 13 play, 80 drive to tie the game at 20-20. On the drive, the Giants converted three third downs, including a 3rd 12 after the Giants had 1st and 30. Burress converted the final third down, then Manning hit him with a bullet for a touchdown to the tie the score. But the Eagles would not be denied. Westbrook's tough running and safe passes from Garcia got David Akers in position for the game winning kick as the clock ran out.

For the day, Manning completed 16 of 27 passes for 161 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. Barber in his final game rushed for 137 tough yards and Burress led the Giants with five receptions for 89 yards in the postseason defeat.

Division standings

ee also

*History of the New York Giants (1994-present)

Footnotes and references

External links

* [http://giants.com/history/ New York Giants official website: history section]