Jobu reviews the last two weeks of Giants footbal.

Busy day job schedules have kept me from doing one of these for the last couple of weeks, but my everlasting quest to catch up on the blog work has led me to group the last two games into one big weekly review. I know you guys are thinking… with all the millions I clearly make off of Jobu’s Rum, why even have a day job? Well, friends, sometimes you need something to fill the days, right? Anywho, onto today’s review. The Giants had a big loss to the amazing RGIII and his Washington Redskins in week 13, but bounced back with a huge drubbing of the New Orleans Saints this past Sunday at home. Here’s how it all went down.

Week 13 – Griffin Shines On: Redskins 17, Giants 16

Alfred Morris and Robert Griffin III have slowly begun transforming the Redskins from perennial losers to an impressive possible future powerhouse. I think we all thought Griffin had the ability to create a culture of winning for the Redskins, but I don’t believe too many people thought it would happen this quickly. The two rookies carried the Redskins to a thrilling (for them) victory over the Giants in week 13, shocking the G-Men with a fourth quarter comeback reminiscent of the ones Eli Manning is now world famous for.

Griffin ended up going 13-21 with 164 yards and a TD, and added another 72 yards and a TD on the ground. Morris, meanwhile, rushed 22 times for 124 yards. While he didn’t touch pay dirt himself, he helped move the ball down the field all game long against the Giants defense. Without him, Griffin wouldn’t have been able to throw that TD in the fourth to get the win. The Redskins did catch a major break early on in this game, when Griffin fumble deep in Giants territory. It was recovered by his own teammate, Joshua Morgan, who jumped into the end zone with the ball for the Redskins first score of the game. Without that lucky break, the Giants win the game, but that’s football, Suzyn.

The Giants, meanwhile, couldn’t muster all that much offense on this night. They weren’t terrible by any means, but the couldn’t seem to get the ball into the end zone. It’s a problem that the Giants often run into, and it’s a great reason to have Lawrence Tynes on your fantasy team (at least when he’s not missing). Anyway, Eli went 20-33 with 280 yards and threw a TD to Martellus Bennett in the second quarter. Ahmad Bradshaw, meanwhile, ran 24 times for 103 yards, which was one of his best outputs of the season so far. Again though, the Giants saw a lot of their drives stall in Redskins territory. Tynes ended up kicking 39, 40 and 35 yard field goals, but it wasn’t enough for the Giants to hold on. If they had managed to get in the end zone in just one of those drives, we’d be telling a different story.

Most Valuable Giants:

Eli Manning: 20-33, 280 yards, 1 TD
Ahmad Bradshaw: 24 carries, 103 yards
Victor Cruz: 5 Catches, 104 yards
Martellus Bennett: 5 Catches, 72 yards, 1 TD

Boxscore – 12/2/2012

Week 14 – Holy Beatdown: Giants 52, Saints 27

I honestly thought the Giants were going to lose this game. Not because the Saints are better, but because a loss would have played perfectly into the drama of “will the Giants blow the division?” I fully expected them to lose to the Saints, and then dominate the Falcons in week 15 to get the train back on the tracks, so to speak. Unfortunately, Dallas and Washington won earlier on Sunday, so the Giants felt compelled to put the beatdown on the Saints. Eli and the offense flexed all of their muscles, while the defense bent but didn’t break, and the Giants came away with a huge home victory and kept their one game lead in the division.

This game didn’t start out so hot for Eli and the Giants. They drove the ball down field on their first possession but stalled out, and then Eli threw a pick six to Elbert Mack on their second possession and the Saints took a 7-0 lead. The momentum came right back to the Giants though, as rookie David Wilson returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for the equalizing TD. It was the beginning of a very exciting day for young Mr. Wilson. The Giants took a 14-7 lead on a TD pass from Eli to Bennett later in the first. After a couple of field goals from the Saints’ Garrett Hartley made it 14-13, Eli struck again with 20 seconds to go in the half, hitting Domenik Hixon for a 5-yard TD pass.

The Giants opened up the third quarter with a 6-yard TD run by Wilson and another TD pass, this one to Nicks, from Eli, and they suddenly led 35-13. That’s when Drew Brees, mostly through Darren Sproles, went to work. Sproles ran one in from 13 yards out and then caught a 9-yarder from Brees for another score, which made this a very uncomfortable 35-27 game. Eli and the Giants offense went back to work, and the defense held the Saints the rest of the way. The Giants scored on Eli’s fourth TD pass, this one to Victor Cruz, a field goal, and then another exciting play by Wilson, who ran one in from 52 yards out to cap his wonderful game.

This game was a show of force for an inconsistent Giants offense that, in the last three weeks, has utterly destroyed two perennial contenders (although admittedly the Saints are having a bad year), and lost to a young upstart club. Hopefully they can build on this momentum, crush the Falcons like we all expect them to do, and seal up this division sooner rather than later.

Most Valuable Giants

Eli Manning: 22-35, 259 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs
David Wilson: 13 Carries, 100 Yards and 2 TDs, 4 kick returns, 227 yards, 1 TD (broke team record for total yards in a game)
Victor Cruz: 8 Catches, 121 yards and a TD
Stevie Brown: 6 tackles, 1 Forced Fumble, 2 INTs, 91 yards

Boxscore – 12/09/12

Featured image courtesy of: AP Photo/Kathy Willens