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NYG @ Dallas 2011 (the comeback)

djm : 7/7/2013 3:20 pm
props to SoZkillA for posting the link but I thought this deserved its own thread. I think it's safe to say that the 2011 NYG @ Dallas comeback win is the greatest regular season moment in NYG history. If you want to split hairs we could say it's the best NYG regular season game during the modern NFL era.

Think about the stakes and what was won and lost that night. If the Giants lose the season is over. No East title. No wild card win. No NFC title. No Super bowl title. Eli's heroic season is wasted. JPP's heroics are lost. Tuck never has a chance to run off 4 good playoff games and pad his super bowl sack numbers. Nicks doesn't put together a postseason for the ages. Cruz doesn't get to catch 10 passes in an NFC title game. No super bowl salsa. No Eli magic at Indy. Fewell likely does not survive. Shit who knows if Coughlin even survives a lost 2011 campaign. If Dallas can hold a 12 pt lead they are the East Winners. They are hosting a playoff game. The entire NFC East landscape hangs in the balance with Dallas taking a 12 pt lead with 5:40 left in the 4th.

Think about the individual performances in this game. All the big plays. The close calls. The Romo misfire to Austin that all but seals it. The Eli 4th quarter magic. The shots of Jerry Jones and Co. in the booth. The drama. JPP blocking a FG to win it....on and on and on. This game did not have much defense but it pretty much had it all.

With everything at stake and the manner in which NY pulled this sucker out, I have a hard time saying this is not our finest regular season moment in at least 30 years, and probably longer. Other games that come to mind are 1981 at home against Dallas---a game that really started it all. But the Giants did not win a division title that day or even win more than one playoff game off that victory. Another game that comes to mind is NYG @ RFK 1986. This game all but launched the Giants to the East title, home field and a world title but this game did not determine the season like 2011's game did. If the Giants lose to the Skins they still have a season. If they lose to Dallas we lose everything.

The 2011 win at Dallas gets lost in the shuffle somewhat because it was sandwiched in between two historical postseason runs but I don't think there is any question that the impact that win had was enormous. Historical impact. The fallout is still being felt. Rob Ryan is out of Dallas. Romo is wealthy but still can't escape the label of not good enough while Garrett is on the hot seat. On the other side, Coughlin and Eli are nice and comfy shining their 2 super bowl rings.

Lets put it this way, if there was one regular season game you had to give back, this is the one you wouldn't give back. This win carried the most weight. And I love that it came at Dallas....again. I just love crushing that team so damn much.


2011 comeback at Dallas - ( New Window )
djm  
Moondwg : 7/7/2013 3:23 pm : link
It was an epic victory (can't say best ever, but I don't know how I'd say that for any game. Too many to choose from).

One downside is just how often #31 got burnt. I appreciate Ross' contributions to the Giants, but even on those highlights, he had what seem to be a number of bad plays. (Maybe he didn't get the backup help he was supposed to--I can't see from these videos, but he didn't look very good.)
Don't forget the 4th and 17 game  
Moondwg : 7/7/2013 3:24 pm : link
against the Vikings in '86.
Remember the end of this game so vividly.  
BoldRuler : 7/7/2013 3:27 pm : link
Appreciate the vid, wish the music hadn't been added.
there are plenty  
djm : 7/7/2013 3:32 pm : link
but the only game that can boast an all or nothing scenario is this one. 4th and 17 was not all or nothing. And it was the Vikings.

No game comes close. If you had to pick one game not to give back, it's this one. There are dozens of classic NYG games that i'm proud to have witnessed but this game here is the tops. There is absolutely no question that a loss means we don't go on to win a super bowl and the manner and team they did it to....it's a slam dunk in my eyes. It's the greatest regular season moment in NYG franchise history during the modern era. Eli's biggest comeback in terms of what was at stake and the degree of difficulty.

I'm slightly biased because of my disdain for Dallas but that really doesn't matter here.

This is a game we will be talking about 30 years from now. If you ask me there are 6-7 epic games in the Eli era and this game is that same class along with supe 42, supe 46, playoff Lambeau 2008, playoff dallas 2008 and playoff san fran 2012. Close, classic, dramatic games
haha, no, hating Dallas is pretty much universal here  
Moondwg : 7/7/2013 3:38 pm : link
Quote:
I'm slightly biased because of my disdain for Dallas but that really doesn't matter here.


That's why for many of us, beating Dallas in the 2007 playoffs was as elating an experience as winning the SB.
I was in Texas at the time  
Big Blue '56 : 7/7/2013 3:53 pm : link
and the headline in the Austin-American was, "This one hurts."
^^^  
djm : 7/7/2013 4:01 pm : link
if the Giants didn't do anything big before or after this game, other than win the East title, we would be showering this game with a lot more attention and praise. The reason why this game gets lost is because of the historical postseason runs before and after this game. This game preceds the Jets Cruz 99 yard game and the big win at home against Dallas 3 weeks later. Then a playoff run for the ages...it's easy to forget this game even though it was probably the most amazing moment in that entire season and even postseason.

I was at the game, right in the endzone where Ballard caught the TD  
PatersonPlank : 7/7/2013 4:17 pm : link
The stadium was nervous even when the Giants were driving for their first TD. When the Giants got the ball back the stadium seemed to have an air of inevitability. It was weird, instead of yelling and screaming everyone was like "here we go again". When Romo missed on the last drive people were just like "that figures".
I'm pretty sure I woke up neighbors  
Ben in Tampa : 7/7/2013 4:29 pm : link
when JPP blocked that FG. My girlfriend was certainly not happy with me.
that guy sgn3322  
Essex : 7/7/2013 4:30 pm : link
is the bomb. he has some of the best Giants compilations on the internet.
Essex  
Moondwg : 7/7/2013 4:33 pm : link
absolutely. That guy is doing a hell of a service to Giants fans.
the time he spends is ridiculous  
Essex : 7/7/2013 4:45 pm : link
he did one compilation of LT's forced fumbles and basically pointed out forced fumbles that would have been counted as such if there was instant replay in some of his early days. Unreal. Guy is just incredible
Def my favorite Regular season game  
Route 9 in LEH : 7/7/2013 5:31 pm : link
in the "eli manning era"

such a great game
The Collinsworth commentary  
Route 9 in LEH : 7/7/2013 5:34 pm : link
was spectacular by the way, the whole thing about him saying "the best QB performance in the clutch that hes seen in a long time"....i think its on AG or the super bowl blu ray or both
It was a great regular season game.  
Reese's Pieces : 7/7/2013 7:00 pm : link
If I'm looking for the Dallas/New York game that I think really defined the Cowboys and the Giants for the next decade (not there yet), it would have to be the 1907 Division Playoff. The Cowboys owned the Giants in the first half but let the Giants tie the game in the last forty-seven seconds in what was the beginning of the Eli comeback legend.

The Giants' offense did very little in the second half except score one short field touchdown. The 'Boys for the rest of the game kept getting the ball back with better and better field position, but Romo could not get the score, really beginning the Romo choke legend.

Everyone mentions the Austin "drop", but few remember the Cory Webster dropped Pick 6 in the second quarter.
I went to bed so  
jc in c-ville : 7/7/2013 8:01 pm : link
Fing happy. So happy.
funny typo  
Moondwg : 7/7/2013 8:02 pm : link
.
Bavaro  
Mike in Boston : 7/7/2013 8:18 pm : link
Carrying 3 defenders 15 yards to head the comeback vs SF in 1986.
I swear that I said this at the time, but  
Sonic Youth : 7/7/2013 8:25 pm : link
that 2011 Dallas game was the best game Eli Manning has ever played (so far). He was constantly under pressure, the line was in shambles, and he had the most incredible pocket presence and awareness, and just kept throwing off balance with perfect accuracy.

It's crazy...this game is beginning to feel dated (not a slight on Eli, and don't even mean this in a football sense -- just in a time sense, more tied to personal memories but I'm sure you guys can relate).
I think that is the best game Eli has played  
Bino5 : 7/7/2013 8:52 pm : link
he was on right on all night, spreading the ball around in a huge situation, and although he was not sacked he was on the move all night b/c the protection was really bad, and he had Boothe snapping the ball erratically
The end makes it soooo worth watching  
Blue Blood : 7/7/2013 9:06 pm : link
Jerry and his people in the booth LOL
I hate Dallas.  
George : 7/8/2013 11:37 am : link
I hate Philly and Washington, too, mind you.

But I HATE Dallas.
That game took so much out of me. An amazing ride.  
Exit 172 : 7/8/2013 11:39 am : link
I just could not believe JPP that night. There was nothing -- absolutely nothing -- he couldn't do.

And even when knucklehead Mario dropped that touchdown, as annoyed as I was, I had a calm feeling deep down, "That's OK, Eli will just do it again."

And, of course, he did.
1986 game at RFK is still my favorite  
Greg from LI : 7/8/2013 11:40 am : link
But the Dallas game was more important
I had somewhat forgotten how dreadful Ross was in that game.  
Exit 172 : 7/8/2013 11:46 am : link
Seeing his lowlights from that night now makes the minimal good feeling I had about his 2013 return evaporate.
yep, Austin dominated Ross in that game  
Greg from LI : 7/8/2013 11:48 am : link
.
he was the #2 CB in 2011  
djm : 7/8/2013 12:15 pm : link
he will be the #4 this coming season, hopefully.

I'm starting to get hopeful about T2....dammit i'm setting myself up for misery.
I had the biggest mood change during that Dallas game...  
TheEvilLurker : 7/8/2013 12:37 pm : link
After the Giants had gone down 12, I wanted Coughlin/Fewell gone. I thought the coach had lost the team.

After the Giants block the field goal to end the game, I wanted them both retained. My wife is looking at me strangely, by how vociferously I am defending him after wanting him fired. I have to explain that any team that can comeback like that with a little over 5 minutes left, down by 12, they need to keep the coach.

That's the last time I will ever lose faith in Coughlin.

I was at that game.  
chuckydee9 : 7/8/2013 6:08 pm : link
Its the best regular season game I've ever seen. I remember vividly watching the missed field goal. I didn't even know that the FG was blocked. It was tough to see what was going on at the line of scrimmage through the raised arms at the stadium... I just saw the second FG attempt fail and then obviously they had no replay on that huge screen... It wasn't until I got out of the stadium and into a car that found out it was blocked... All those cowboys fans were extremely disappointed... On a side note about the game... our secondary absolutely sucked that game... Romo hadn't seen so many open recievers since high school..
Imagine if they hadn't  
RB^2 : 7/8/2013 6:30 pm : link
converted the 2pt play. How big would that blocked FG have been then?
when dallas went up by 12  
Neverend : 7/8/2013 6:34 pm : link
i had an empty feeling. not frustration, just emptiness. no substance behind my feelings. just the thought that, its really over. they blew the season. i couldnt even get into the comeback until the end
Ruined by shitty music.  
giantgiantfan : 7/9/2013 3:50 am : link
Seriously, why did the poster of the vid of to pour their shitty musical taste into it. Just let me launch football.
awesome video  
Spock : 7/9/2013 9:12 am : link
loved the Cowboy faces both before and after.
also agree about the music  
Route 9 in LEH : 7/9/2013 11:22 am : link
I still remember in 06 that one YouTube video of Tiki Barber after he retired and the only part of the video I remember was "I misss you!!! I miss you!!!" so stupud lol
I was  
LMags : 7/9/2013 7:51 pm : link
So pissed at our def I almost dosnt realize what an epic performance Eli was doing. Of course I erased thegame after we lost to Washington like an idiot, great find on u tube, but the music, balls
yep  
djm : 7/9/2013 8:09 pm : link
texted you that the season was over when Dez caught the TD. Glad I kept watching...lol.

So easy to lose this game in the lights of the subsequent Jets and Dallas games the next few weeks and of course the dramatic postseason. If you really sit down and calculate things it's a slam dunk that this is the best regular season moment in NYG history. All the drama and individual efforts and what was at stake...It directly led to a NYG Eastern title, knocked Dallas the fuck out and led to a NYG super bowl title. Without it we are toast. Simple as that.

Man I love when this team makes its bones on the back of Dallas. It's fucking glorious.
Absolutely love and hate this game at the same time  
NYG82 : 7/9/2013 8:30 pm : link
I yelled some very mean things about some of our defensive players during this game but the end was just so fucking worth it.

The music kind of covers it, but I love 2 of Collinsworth's lines during the last two drives:

"Eli Manning is doing the impossible ... again!"

"This is as good of a quarterback performance, in the clutch, with the season on the line, that I have seen in a long, long time."

Also, after the last TD, the way Eli walks off the field, with everyone giving him daps and he just starts barking at the defense to hold the lead this time. Absolutely wonderful.
The Nicks catch on the sideline  
Route 9 in LEH : 7/9/2013 8:32 pm : link
such an underrated play
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