Five times this season the New York Giants have rallied from fourth-quarter deficits to win games. Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers the Giants needed a massive fourth-quarter rally to try and force overtime. They got close, but this time there was no miraculous finish as the Giants lost, 27-20.
Needing a touchdown to tie the game Eli Manning and the Giants converted a pair of desperation fourth-downs on their final drive, but Justin Smith batted a final one on fourth-and-two from the 49ers 10-yard line, sealing the victory for San Francisco.
49ers 27, Giants 20: My Recap For SB Nation New York
Truthfully, I thought this one was over when the 49ers scored after a fourth-quarter interception (which was on Marion Manningham for stopping his route, not on Manning for throwing the ball) to go ahead by two touchdowns, 27-13. The Giants, though, made the end of the game a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.
The loss dropped the Giants to 6-3, while San Francisco improved to 8-1.
There is a lot to digest, and dissect, from this game. In all honesty, though, this was a terrific game between two very good football teams. The Giants just made one or two more mistakes and wound up on the short end.