Pretty amazing how quickly things change in five years.
In 2012, the Giants went to San Francisco in an NFC Championship Game rematch. Jim Harbaugh talked all week about how the 49ers were the better team and how they got screwed by an early whistle on an Ahmad Bradshaw fumble the year earlier.
This was clearly a game the 49ers had circled on their calendar, and San Fran talked a big game all week. When it came time to actually play, though, the Giants won easily 26-3.
The Giants wound up missing the playoffs by one game, and the 49ers went on to lose the Super Bowl. Now both teams are in the cellar.
Rookies being relied on early, injuries, concussions forcing early retirement, bad O Line play, limited resources to true 4-3 DE's.....the NFL is so different than 20 years ago.
The Giants had some big wins later in the season, but definitely didn't run as smoothly as they did before then. Some around here speculated that Eli got an undisclosed injury during the game.
Post-game at Aces watching the World Series and celebrating with other fans.
Better days...
Runs - 37
Passes - 28
Giants defense - 6 sacks (we get pressure on the QB?)
49ers leading receiver - Mario Manningham
Vernon Davis - 3 catches, 37 yards (who says the Giants can't stop tight ends?)
Giants final drive of game: 4th quarter, 13 plays, all 13 were runs, 72 yards in 7:10. Ended in a FG to go up 26-3
(we run the game out on the ground and they can't stop us?)
This was the high watermark of the 2nd Super Bowl team. The only other game like this was 2008 at home against Baltimore.
They would never play this well again the rest of that season (despite other wins) and you can make a case they haven't played to this level on both sides of the ball in the last 5 years since this game.
2007 10-6 Win Super Bowl
2010 10-6 Miss playoffs
2011 9-7 Win Super Bowl
2012 9-7 Miss playoffs
Two close division losses really came back to bite the Giants at the end of the game. In addition to the 17-16 Redskins loss, there was the early game against the Eagles where an OPI penalty pushed the Giants just out of Tynes' range, resulting in him missing the potential game-winning field goal.
Nicks was a 23 year old superstar, Cruz had just broken out as a 24-25 year old stud, and Manningham was coming into his own at age 25 as well.
Manningham was pretty much out of the league by 27, Nicks was irrelevant by 26 and done by 28, and Cruz is out of the league despite only being 30.
Hakeem Nicks is the same age as Antonio Brown, Dez Bryant, and A.J Green and it seems like he has been out of the league forever.
Talk about some bad injury luck...
Yet Larry fitzgerald is still the greatest at age 33