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Gutsy Giants ride momentum to NFL title game
Source: Agencies |
January 23, 2012, Monday
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A never-say-die attitude has been the hallmark of the New York Giants, who rebounded from a four-game losing streak earlier this season and carried a winning momentum all the way to an NFC Championship victory yesterday.
A nail-biting 20-17 overtime triumph over the San Francisco 49ers after a bruising defensive battle earned the Giants a Super Bowl showdown with the New England Patriots in Indianapolis on Feb. 5.
"We just kept plugging away man," wide receiver Victor Cruz, who finished the game with 10 receptions for a total of 142 yards, told reporters at a damp Candlestick Park.
"We understood that it was going to be a long, drawn-out game, it went into overtime and we made the necessary plays to win the game.
"It's all about our perseverance, no matter what happens throughout the game, turnovers, whatever, we are going to pull this one through and do whatever we have to do win this game."
The Giants, who eliminated last year's Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers from the playoffs with a stunning 37-20 road win to reach the NFC title game, have now triumphed five straight times away from home.
"These last couple of weeks, we've finally realised that 11 guys playing as one is tough to beat," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said.
"We are playing our best football at the right time.
"We've had a kind of roller-coaster year this year but all that is forgotten because it counts now and we have started to gel, we are starting to play our best ball. Hopefully we still got our best game ahead of us."
Yesterday's win gave Giants quarterback Eli Manning five career road playoff victories, the most of any NFL player in his position.
"It's just his character man," Cruz said of the inspirational Manning, who led New York to the Super Bowl four seasons ago and won the MVP award.
"He never gets flustered, he never gets off keel.
"He is always focused on the task at hand, he's always finding his open receivers, understanding the coverages.
"It's almost like he doesn't even know or care that we are on the road, he's just sticking to it like we are at practice."
Manning, who was sacked six times and completed 32-of-58 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns, paid tribute to the 49ers.
"It was tough, and we knew it was going to be tough against this defense," he said. "We had to fight for every yard that we got.
"They are a great defense and they get after the quarterback. We knew we couldn't afford to make any mistakes and turn the ball over. We did a great job doing that. We played tough all game."
A nail-biting 20-17 overtime triumph over the San Francisco 49ers after a bruising defensive battle earned the Giants a Super Bowl showdown with the New England Patriots in Indianapolis on Feb. 5.
"We just kept plugging away man," wide receiver Victor Cruz, who finished the game with 10 receptions for a total of 142 yards, told reporters at a damp Candlestick Park.
"We understood that it was going to be a long, drawn-out game, it went into overtime and we made the necessary plays to win the game.
"It's all about our perseverance, no matter what happens throughout the game, turnovers, whatever, we are going to pull this one through and do whatever we have to do win this game."
The Giants, who eliminated last year's Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers from the playoffs with a stunning 37-20 road win to reach the NFC title game, have now triumphed five straight times away from home.
"These last couple of weeks, we've finally realised that 11 guys playing as one is tough to beat," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said.
"We are playing our best football at the right time.
"We've had a kind of roller-coaster year this year but all that is forgotten because it counts now and we have started to gel, we are starting to play our best ball. Hopefully we still got our best game ahead of us."
Yesterday's win gave Giants quarterback Eli Manning five career road playoff victories, the most of any NFL player in his position.
"It's just his character man," Cruz said of the inspirational Manning, who led New York to the Super Bowl four seasons ago and won the MVP award.
"He never gets flustered, he never gets off keel.
"He is always focused on the task at hand, he's always finding his open receivers, understanding the coverages.
"It's almost like he doesn't even know or care that we are on the road, he's just sticking to it like we are at practice."
Manning, who was sacked six times and completed 32-of-58 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns, paid tribute to the 49ers.
"It was tough, and we knew it was going to be tough against this defense," he said. "We had to fight for every yard that we got.
"They are a great defense and they get after the quarterback. We knew we couldn't afford to make any mistakes and turn the ball over. We did a great job doing that. We played tough all game."
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