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| Frank Franklin II/Associate Press |
By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)
The third edition of the Manning Bowl
this weekend did not exactly live up to the hype that surrounded it pre-game;
unless you are a Denver Broncos fan. The Broncos ended up taking control in the
second half of the game as big brother Peyton was able to hand little brother
Eli his third loss in the head-to-head series. Eli’s New York Giants struggled
to get anything going on offense and the defense just could not contain Peyton
and the Broncos offense all game. I will break down the performances of each
team by grading them out; each team performed on opposite sides of the spectrum
and the grades will show that as the Broncos had the upper hand across the board.
Passing Offense: Giants; C-: Eli put up a monster game for the second consecutive
week in terms of yardage but for the second consecutive week he made a number
of mistakes. Eli threw four interceptions in the game, the first of which put a
sour taste in the Giants mouth heading into halftime as a heave towards the end
zone was picked off by Broncos’ cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie; this
interception was painful because the Giants were already well within the range
of kicker Josh Brown, who had made three kicks already in the half. The second
half was a disaster for Eli as he threw three more interceptions as the Giants
fell further and further behind the Broncos on the scoreboard. On the afternoon
Eli finished with 362 yards on 28-49 passing with four interceptions and one
touchdown; the touchdown came on a broken play in which he flipped the ball to
Da’Rel Scott and he did most of the work scampering for a 23 yard touchdown.
For the receivers, Victor Cruz once again
had a solid game catching eight passes for 118 yards. He started off the first
Giants drive with a 51-yard reception but the Giants had to settle for a field
goal. Hakeem Nicks had 83 yards on four receptions but had a costly drop early
on the game that resulted in him getting a dislocated finger; Nicks missed only
two plays but was hit hard in the fourth quarter near the sidelines as he was
roughed up throughout the game. Rueben Randle struggled after a big game
against Dallas in Week 1. Randle had only three catches for 14 yards as him and
Eli were not on the same page throughout the game. He also fumbled at the goal
line but was bailed out by a Broncos penalty. Brandon Myers had a solid game
once again with six catches for 74 yards. He could have had an even bigger game
if not for stumbling while running on his 27-yard reception and dropping a pass
inside the three-yard line.
Broncos;
A:
Peyton put on a clinic for Eli and the Giants Sunday afternoon as he picked
their defense apart with the precision of a surgeon. Peyton finished the game with 307 yards on 30-43
passing and two touchdowns. Peyton was barely touched all game as he wasn’t sacked
once and was only hurried twice. He was comfortable the whole game behind his
offensive line and it showed in his stats. He once again showed little brother
a thing or two.
Peyton spread the ball around and used
all of his weapons to decimate the Giants as he completed a pass to eight
different receivers. Eric Decker, after being plagued by drops and poor play in
Week 1, led the way for Broncos receivers with 87 yards on nine receptions.
Julius Thomas once again found his way into the end zone and finished the game
with 47 yards on six receptions. Wes Welker had a tough afternoon overall en
route to three catches for 39 yards but he was the other recipient of a Peyton
touchdown toss. Demaryius Thomas did not have a monster game but had a
respectable five receptions for 52 yards. He had a potentially game-changing
fumble following the Giants moving within one point of the lead but it was
recovered by Knowshon Moreno and the rest was history.
Rushing Offense: Giants; F: The only positive
to the Giants rushing game this week was that there were no fumbled this time
around; other than that it was just as much of a mess as in Week 1. As a team
the Giants ran for only 23 yards on 19 carries. David Wilson avoided fumbling
but was unable to mount much of an attack with a long rush of only six yards. The
newly signed former Giant Brandon Jacobs didn’t give much to the run game
either outside a one-yard touchdown in the second half. Scott actually played
the most snaps of the trio but was ineffective as the others running the ball,
managing only two yards on five attempts.
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| Andrew Mills/The Star Ledger |
Broncos;
B+:
The Broncos did not exactly light up the field with their running game but
compared to the Giants they were barn-burners. Led by Moreno’s 93 yards on 13
carries the Broncos finished with 109 yards on 29 carries; Moreno’s stats are
inflated by his two touchdown runs that went for 20 and 25 yards. Outside of
the 45 yards on touchdown carries the Broncos were not very impressive but they
did enough to get the job done. Moreno looks to have a stranglehold on the lead
back role in Denver currently as he was by far the most impressive running back
in the game and through the two weeks. This game could have been even more of a
blowout if not for a Montee Ball fumble on the opening drive at the goal line.
Pass Defense: Giants; D: Coming into the game it was no secret the Giants
struggled in pass defense and it was only further proven Sunday. The biggest
problem for the Giants was the lack of pass rush and pressure on Peyton as he
became too comfortable in the pocket. Jason Pierre-Paul once again struggled as
he works his way back from offseason back surgery; it got to a point he was
actually benched in the game. The only thing that kept this score from being an
F was the play of Prince Amukamara and Terrell Thomas. You may ask how two
cornerbacks can be applauded for their play in such a poor defensive
performance but without those two it would have been even more of a massacre.
Thomas hounded Welker all game into a poor performance and Amukamara was tasked
with slowing down the explosive D. Thomas which he did as well as you could
have hoped for; too bad the rest of the Giants defense was not up to the task.
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| Andrew Mills/The Star Ledger |
Broncos;
A-:
As close as the Giants were to a flat-out failing grade the Broncos were to an
A. They were able to intercept Eli four times as mentioned before and had a
number of other opportunities to add to that total. They got after Eli
relentlessly throughout the game though as they registered seven quarterback
hits and had him running away from the pass rush almost every time he dropped
back. The only negatives that came from the Broncos were the amount of
penalties they committed. They extended Giants drives and gave them some
chances to make this somewhat of a game but even their mental mistakes were not
enough to keep the Giants in it.
Special Teams: Giants; C+: The Giants put Wilson on kick return duties and he was
solid but not great. He didn’t break any big ones as he averaged 24.2 yards per
return on his five chances. The Giants will most likely use him back there more
often as he works his way back into the offense more as his confidence returns.
The best way to get his confidence up is in the return game where he was very
successful last season. Randle once again handled punt returns but was also
held in check with only 13 yards on two returns. The kicking and punting game
was solid for the Giants but when that is the highlight of a game things are
not going well. Brown knocked in all three of his field goal attempts and two
extra points while Steve Weatherford averaged 46.2 yards per punt on his five
chances.
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| Chris Faytok/The Star Ledger |
Broncos;
A-:
As like all the other grades on here the Broncos once again scored better than
the Giants. The ability to hold Wilson in check was very important as the
Giants were not starting drives in the best of field position. Kicker Matt
Prater booted his two attempts through the uprights as well as five extra
points. The punter Britton Colquitt had a solid game as well, averaging 42
yards per punt on his five attempts. The star of the game on special teams
though was Trindon Holliday, the 5’5” speedster from LSU. Holliday didn’t have
many chances in the kick return game, averaging only 17 yards on two attempts
but destroyed the Giants in the punt return game. Holliday returned one punt
for 81 yards to the house and averaged 30.3 yards on his four returns in the
game.
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