New York Giants coach Ben Mcadoo, somehow pulled his ranks together to win a football game in Denver against the Broncos Sunday night. The NY Giants with a record of 0-5 coming into the game were given little chance of staying on the field (12 - 14 pt. underdogs) with the Broncos, much less beating them. The team from the Jersey Meadowlands put on their suspenders, brought their lunch pails, and all but shut down the 4-1 Denver Broncos. Playing in front of a nationally televised crowd these Giants were at a severe disadvantage.
Between the mental and physical wounds of losing the first 5 games of the season, and the decimation of their receiving corps, no one gave them a chance.
Playing without their most dangerous weapon, Odell Beckham Jr., and missing several key players on defense was not going to help New York's cause. Jonothan Casillas, and the suspended Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, as well as, free agent acquisition of two years ago, Olivier Vernon, would not play. No one was sure which weakness would doom the New York Giants on this night. But it was certain that, doomed they would be.
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New York Giants and Ben McAdoo pull one out
They say there aren't any moral victories in professional sports anymore. Maybe the cliche had been overused, but everywhere you look in competitive sports they do exist. A moral victory can feel really good to those that actually compete.
Just ask anyone that has ever suffered through a one-win season. The Ben McAdoo Giants got that moral victory Sunday night. While doing it, they proved another old adage. "On any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team in the NFL". In the case of the New York Giants, there was work to be done to prepare not to lose six in-a-row.
There was a game plan to be developed that could compensate for losing key players on all sides of the ball: offense, defense, and special teams. There was Ben McAdoo, second-year head coach of the Giants, who had to look at himself in the mirror and realize he was taking on too much. Head coaching and calling offensive plays on the sideline was simply spreading him too thin.
The head coach was actually hurting his team. Lastly, there was an unexplainable absence of key leader Dominique Rogers-Cromartie at team practices and meetings, that lead to his suspension by the Giants.
New York Giants remaining healthy players, "...we all we got"
So what did Jason Pierre-Paul, and Landon Collins and a couple of other survivors of this seemingly sinking ship do? They pulled their comrades in arms together, and let them know that "...we all we got". And, the Giants took that rallying cry to the field. Then they buckled their chin straps, passed off the play calling, shuffled the offensive line, ran the football, picked off two Bronco's passes, and kept the Broncos out of the end zone until garbage time.
The final score was New York Giants 23 Denver Broncos 10.
New York breeds pressure for Giants and McAdoo
Ben McAdoo was not the only one under pressure. General Manager Jerry Reese was also feeling the heat. After all, this Giants team was supposed to vie for the division title this year - not lose their first five games of the season! It was Mcadoo's decision that he would start this season calling offensive plays. McAdoo decided to stick with a young offensive line, that had struggled at times last year, reasoning they would have another year to gel. Both decisions went south, as they say.
So, now with the realization that no other NFL team has lost their first five games, and continued to the playoffs, the New York Giants have their first victory.
Yes, it was a moral victory. Because you see, they play in New York, the media center of the world. The lights are hotter and brighter than they are in San Francisco or even Los Angeles. Moreover, if you have ever competed at any level, you know it just feels better to win than to lose. Human nature being what it is, who knows, this could be the beginning of something we have not seen yet. At the very least, for the New York Football Giants, it was a pleasant flight back to NY at sometime after midnight.
