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Despite Start, Manning Leads Way

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By IRA KAUFMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 7, 2008

TAMPA - The northwest corner of Raymond James Stadium was suddenly transformed into Meadowlands South late Sunday afternoon as the Giants and their transplanted fans celebrated the team's first playoff victory in seven years.

As jubilant New York players ran toward the tunnel, the chanting began in earnest by hundreds gathered to sing the blues for the NFC's No. 5 playoff seed, now headed to Dallas on Sunday for a divisional playoff matchup.

"Let's Go Giants," quickly turned into "G-Men," which segued into "Eli" when quarterback Eli Manning approached dozens of frenzied supporters who were dangling over a railing.

Some presumptuous fans even shouted out, "Arizona, Arizona," referring to the site of the Feb. 3 Super Bowl.

Running back Brandon Jacobs returned the favor, hopping up and down and bellowing a hearty "Thank you" before disappearing into the tunnel.

The last Giant off the field, fittingly, was veteran defensive end Michael Strahan, credited with New York's only sack and three of 11 quarterback hits against besieged Jeff Garcia.

"Big win, great win," Strahan said after the Giants reeled off their eighth consecutive road triumph after losing the season opener at Dallas four months ago. "We're going to be happy with this win because the Bucs are a good team, but we're thinking about Dallas right now."

The Giants (11-6) withstood Tampa Bay's quick start and registered three takeaways while Eli Manning directed a mistake-free attack.

"We didn't make many adjustments, we just kept on believing in each other," said defensive lineman Justin Tuck, part of the relentless crew in blue that battered Garcia for 60 minutes. "When you see the other team's quarterback get hit that much, you want to go the extra mile. By the fourth quarter, he didn't have the same swagger. You could see it, but anyone who gets hit every play is going to get frustrated."

With reserve cornerback Corey Webster shadowing Joey Galloway, Tampa Bay's big-play receiver was limited to one catch for 9 yards and Garcia was hounded into a pedestrian 60.5 passer rating.

At the start, it appeared New York had left its energy behind in East Rutherford, N.J., buried in that emotional 38-35 loss to the unbeaten Patriots.

When the Bucs went ahead 7-0 on Earnest Graham's 1-yard run late in the opening quarter, they had outgained the Giants 81-10 and led 7-0 in first downs.

But Manning remained poised en route to his first playoff win and the Giants scored 24 unanswered points to take command, despite missing injured center Shaun O'Hara.

"The Bucs came out with a lot of fire and they shut us down offensively," standout right guard Chris Snee said. "We kept chipping away and finally got our running game going a little bit."

With New York ahead 17-7 late in the third quarter, Manning finished off a 92-yard march by finding Amani Toomer on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line.

"That 15-play drive could have been our season," Snee said. "Eli did a great job and he always remains cool. We beat a good team today. The Bucs have one of the fastest defenses I've ever seen. They don't quit, but we kept our composure and now, we move on."

The Giants joined the Lions and Jaguars as Tampa Bay's only 2007 opponents who didn't commit a giveaway.

Are you surprised the Bucs went 0-3 in those games?

"My thought process was to play really safe, don't force anything," said Manning, whose longest gain among 20 completions was for 21 yards. "They do a great job getting turnovers. You want to get the ball out quick, don't throw interceptions and don't get back there too long where they can cause a fumble."

Former South Florida linebacker Kawika Mitchell wasn't about to miss Sunday's matchup in front of family and friends, although a knee sprain suffered against the Patriots kept him sidelined for more than half the game.

"I'm extremely proud and happy and there's no better place for me to get my first playoff victory than in Tampa," Mitchell said. "We knew the Bucs would come out hard - and they did - but we took their best shot and weathered the storm. The key was playing smart on the road. Tampa was plus-15 in turnover ratio for a reason, but Eli kept making plays and we kept knocking Garcia down."

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