Giants standing tall after authoritative win

Football Betting Lines

10/16/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The three-game win streak the New York Giants brought into Monday night's battle with the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome came with an asterisk attached to it. The club overcame shoddy first-half performances in victories over Washington and the inter-city rival Jets, while a sluggish outing by a usually-potent offense made Big Blue's 16-3 triumph over an injury-ravaged Philadelphia squad in Week 4 seem less impressive than the final score indicated.

The Giants were finally able to put it together for a full 60 minutes this time around, resulting in a thorough 31-10 domination of the hapless Falcons that placed New York's 0-2 start to the season further in the rear view mirror.

New York piled up 491 total yards on offense, the team's highest output since the 2001 regular-season finale, and held the football for nearly 40 minutes. The defense allowed the Falcons to score on their opening two drives, then proceeded to shut down Atlanta's punchless attack the rest of the way.

Most importantly, however, was that the Giants were able to start a game out strong. After putting the team in unwanted early holes against both the Redskins and Jets, the offense had emphasized getting out of the gate quickly on Monday.

New York marched 73 yards in 11 plays on its initial possession, which was capped by a five-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Eli Manning to wide receiver Amani Toomer. The Giants went 82 yards in just six plays on their next drive, again resulting in a touchdown, and later extended their advantage to 21-10 when Manning hooked up with star wideout Plaxico Burress for a 43- yard score midway through the second quarter.

"It was good to come out and get points up on the board early, said Manning, who compiled 208 of his 303 passing yards in the first half. We got two quick touchdowns. We definitely needed that, as Atlanta started out fast as well."

That lead would stand up because of another solid job by the defense, which rebounded from a breakdown that enabled speedster Jerious Norwood to break off a 67-yard touchdown run on the Falcons' second offensive series. Atlanta only had one good scoring chance afterward, and that was due to a Manning fumble the Falcons recovered at the Giants' 28-yard line.

A couple of times (the Falcons) got within field goal range and got nothing out of it," said linebacker Antonio Pierce, who had a team-high eight tackles along with a sack. "A lot of credit goes to the defense and our coaches."

Since the second half of their Week 3 victory at Washington -- a span of 14 quarters -- the Giants defense has surrendered only two touchdowns and two field goals. In New York's first 10 quarters of the season, the opposition scored 13 touchdowns.

OCTOBERFEST

Monday's victory was the Giants' eighth straight victory during the month of October, a streak that dates back to 2005. New York went 4-0 during October last season and hasn't lost in the 10th month of the year since a 16-13 overtime setback at Dallas in Week 6 of the 2005 campaign.

The Giants figure to have a good chance of taking that unbeaten stretch into next year, with two winnable October games remaining on the 2007 docket. New York will host struggling San Francisco this coming weekend before heading to London's Wembley Stadium for a matchup with winless Miami.

TOOMER ON TOP

Toomer became the Giants' all-time leader in receptions with the last of his seven catches on the evening. The steady 12th-year pro now has 587 receptions in a Giants uniform and surpassed former teammate Tiki Barber for the top spot in team annals with a 16-yard grab in the fourth quarter.

The 33-year-old's touchdown catch in the first quarter was the 48th of his career, which moved Toomer into a first-place tie with Kyle Rote for the most in franchise history. He finished with 89 receiving yards for the game.

RB SHUFFLE

The Giants ended Monday's game with their top two running backs on the sideline with minor injuries, which provided an opportunity for seldom-used veteran Reuben Droughns. The two-time 1,000-yard rusher received the bulk of the work during the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 90 yards on 14 carries. Droughns also plowed over the goal line for a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter that gave New York a 14-10 lead.

Brandon Jacobs started the game in the backfield and rushed for 86 yards on 13 attempts before tweaking his ankle during the second half. The bruising back was playing his second contest since missing three weeks with a sprained right knee suffered in the Giants' season-opening loss at Dallas.

Derrick Ward, who filled in capably during Jacobs' absence, was also removed due to an ankle injury that's been bothering him for some time now. He had just 12 yards on nine rushes, including a nine-yard touchdown run on his final carry.

Droughns' increased time also led to speculation that the Giants could have been showcasing him for a potential deal prior to Tuesday's trade deadline.

TWO-MINUTE KILL

Manning continued a troubling trend of throwing an interception late in the first half during the Atlanta win, as his over-the-middle pass with 17 seconds left was snared by Falcons' linebacker Michael Boley to thwart a potential scoring drive. It was the third time in the Giants' last four games that Manning was picked off in the final two minutes of the second quarter. He threw one against the Redskins in Week 3 and suffered the same fate versus the Jets on October 7. Both of those turnovers were converted into field goals by the opposition.

The former No. 1 overall pick was also intercepted by Atlanta's DeAngelo Hall during the third quarter of Monday's game.

NEXT UP

The Giants will try to keep up their October success when the San Francisco 49ers visit the Meadowlands this Sunday. The Niners have been headed in the opposite direction as New York, having lost three games in a row after a promising 2-0 start to their season. San Francisco will be entering the contest well-rested, as the team had its bye in Week 6.

New York snapped a six-game losing streak in this series with a 24-6 victory over the 49ers in San Francisco on November 6, 2005. The teams did not face one another last year.

Niners head coach Mike Nolan served as the Giants defensive coordinator under Dan Reeves from 1993-96.