It's a wonder the score was so close.  The Niners dominated much of the game, but to the credit of Big Blue's D, they bent but did not break, and denied San Francisco several times in the red zone.  If only the offense had been able to take advantage…

But no.  Every time it seemed as if points were in prospect, Bad Eli threw another one to the Niners.  Even so, with time running out in the fourth quarter, the G-Men were down at the five with first and goal.  Four runs with Rashad Jennings and maybe we steal the win.  Instead we got three fades (all incomplete) and an INT.  Game over.

The only good to salvage from the afternoon: it does appear New York has found a genuine star in Odell Beckhem Jr.   He could very well turn into the best wideout the Giants have had since… well, since forever… and next year, if Victor Cruz returns to form, Big Blue could have one of the best receiving tandems in the league.

But that's next year.  And we'll still need some more studs on the O-line, to help keep Eli alive and upright.

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I woke up this morning expecting a long day of pain in front of the television.  The Jets were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers and their red-hot quaterback, Big Ben, and the Giants were facing the world champion Seattle Seahawks.  Given the way both New York teams had been playing of late, I figured we were in for two more soul-crushing defeats.

Turns out I was only half-right.

The Jets shocked everyone, including me, by upsetting the Steelers.   As Gang Green came into the game at 1-8, no one could have seen that coming.  But that's why they play the games, as Boomer likes to say.  (I expect he'll be saying it tonight on Primetime).  Truth be told, though the Jets played much better than usual, the Steelers really beat themselves, with turnovers.  And it is kind of a Pyrrhic victory, since it is way too late to make a playoff run.  It is certainly more fun to watch the Jets win than to watch them lose, but if they start racking up victories now, all it will do is ruin their chances of getting a real franchise QB in the draft.  So that's probably just what they will do, watch and see.

I can bemoan that later, however.  For the moment, I will enjoy the win, and wonder what might have happened if Rex had only benched Geno Smith earlier.  (I was distressed to see Geno back as second string, and Matt Simms inactive.  Simms showed more in his brief appearance last week than Geno has all season).   Some good play there by Percy Harvin, Erik Decker, and Chris Ivory.  And the D line.  Gang Green DOES have some good players, if only they could get a quarterback.

The Giants game started off promisingly as well.  Big Blue gave the world champs all they could handle in the first half, and even held the lead at certain points… but they couldn't stop the Seattle running game.  Marshawn Lynch is a beast, the kind of RB I love and wish we had, and Seattle's elusive  QB  Russell Wilson kept fooling the Giants D with fake handoffs and scampering around end for ten or twenty yards before any of the Giants even realized he still had the ball.  "Get him," I kept shouting, "he's right there, get him, get him, get him."  But they didn't.

Still, the Giants held in there for three quarters, and were about to take the lead again when a long bomb from Eli caromed off Odell Beckhem's hands to a Seahawk DB for a freak interception.  After that things fell apart quickly.  The last ten minutes of the game were ugly.

The season is over for the Giants as well, alas.  Their record is slightly better than the Jets', but not enough to make a difference.

 sigh

(And yes, for those who will ask, I will continue to watch, week after bloody week.  A true fan remains a fan in defeat as well as victory).

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