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Let's review Sunday's 23-20 overtime victory by the New York Giants over the Detroit Lions in our traditional 'Kudos & Wet Willies' style. This will certainly be a more pleasant 'K&WW' review than many of the ones we have gone through this season.
Kudos To ...
Jerrel Jernigan -- The third-year receiver has certainly made the most of his opportunity with Victor Cruz being hurt. He had six catches for 80 yards Sunday. Beyond the number of catches, the timing and quality were impressive. He had a sliding catch on the fourth-and-7 in overtime. On the Giants' first drive Jernigan had a pair of first-down catches, one a difficult sideline grab after which Tom Coughlin won a replay challenge. He score his first career touchdown, splitting two defenders to catch a 20-yard strike from Manning. Watching the game it was obvious that Manning was looking Jernigan's way whenever he needed a play.
Justin Tuck -- Tuck just kept going and going Sunday despite suffering a left shoulder stinger, getting stepped on, banging up his knee and ending up with the flu on Sunday morning. That is how Tuck leads. He ended up with a brilliant interception, showing that Jason Pierre-Paul isn't the only Giants' defensive lineman who can just pluck a ball out of the air. Tuck had only two tackles and one other pass defensed, but it was his refusal to give in to all of his maladies that was impressive.
Mathias Kiwanuka -- Kiwanuka played his finest game of the season. He had two sacks, six tackles, a forced fumble, a pass defensed and five hurries. His first sack knocked Detroit out of field goal range.
Will Hill -- Nine tackles and an interception return for a touchdown that tied the game. Hill was everywhere. The guy can be star, if he isn't already, provided that he can stay out of trouble away from the field. With Hill, that is never a certainty.
Prince Amukamara --The third-year corner shadowed Calvin Johnson Sunday, and Johnson caught only three balls for 43 yards. Megatron was limited by a knee injury, certainly, but Amukamara played well. He jumped in front of Johnson on a slant near the end of the first half, nearly making an interception. This was a good step for Amukamara in his development.
Dallas Reynolds -- Brandon Mosley did not make it through the Giants' first offensive series before breaking his hand, necessitating that Reynolds, picked up as a street free agent during the season, move in at right guard. The former Philadelphia Eagle did an admirable job as Ndamukong Suh, lined up across from Reynolds, ended up with just one assisted tackle and two pressures of Manning.
Kevin Gilbride -- A creative day of play-calling from the Giants' beleaguered offensive coordinator. He moved the pocket several times to help his struggling offensive line protect Manning. There was a nice throwback screen to Andre Brown. There were bubble screens. There were a few deep shots at good times. The Giants struggled offensive for much of the second half, but that is hard to pin on the play calls.
Josh Brown -- Three-for-three on field goals, including the game winner. All of Brown's kicks were outside 40 yards -- 41, 45 and 52 yards. The veteran placekicker has been excellent for the Giants this season, and Sunday put an exclamation point on his season.
Must Reads
Wet Willies To ...
Eli Manning -- Manning's 26th interception, this one near the end of regulation, set the Giants' single-season record for interceptions. This one was a terrible, back-foot throw way over the head of Jernigan that ended what looked like a potential game-winning drive. Manning finished 23-of-42 for 256 yards with a passer rating of 71.1. On the Giants' opening drive Manning missed open receivers twice on plays that would have been touchdowns, over-throwing both Rueben Randle and Hakeem Nicks. Perhaps you can argue this should be a 'Kwillie' since the Giants did win, but Manning could have been much better.
Tom Quinn -- There was yet another offside penalty that gave Detroit a first down on the Giants' punt coverage team, and the culprit was once again rookie Damontre Moore. There was a 50-yard punt return by Jeremy Ross. Quinn's job is to prevent these things from taking place, yet they happen week after week.
Damontre Moore -- Moore had his fourth special teams penalty of the season, jumping offsides to give Detroit a first down late in the first half. The rookie defensive end is an exciting player with vast potential, but these continued penalties are troubling. There is no excuse for jumping offsides when you are lined up directly in front of the ball on a punt. Defensively, Moore had one tackle and no quarterback pressures in 16 snaps. Moore may have a bright future, but he is still a work in progress.
Will Beatty -- Beatty had another rough outing, allowing both sacks suffered by Manning. Ziggy Ansah trucked him with a bull rush en route to a sack of Manning. Worst of all, Nick Fairley went around Beatty on a third-quarter stunt to sack Manning for a safety.
