Green Bay Packers 35 – New York Giants 13

Giants Fall to Packers 35-13: After two games, two things are obvious: the Giants’ defense sucks, and it’s going to be a long, long season. After 14 more games, it’s likely that Head Coach Tom Coughlin and his coaching staff will be replaced. Team ownership and General Manager Jerry Reese will tell us that a bright future is in store for the Giants under the new coaching staff.

Whatever. We’ve heard the same crap ever since the 1990 season ended. The team blows from top down.

The Giants fell to 0-2 on the season with their lackluster 35-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The last time the Giants started a season 0-2 was 1996 and that year the team finished with a 6-10 record.

The Giants actually led at halftime 10-7 and could have had a bigger lead if it wasn’t for a stupid penalty on TE Jeremy Shockey that wiped out a 14-yard reception down to the Packers’ 16-yard line on 3rd-and-4. The Giants settled for a field goal instead. Earlier in the contest, on the Giants’ first drive, PK Lawrence Tynes missed a 34-yard field goal.

The Giants’ lone touchdown of the game came on an impressive QB Eli Manning-to-WR Plaxico Burress 26-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.

Immediately after halftime, the Packers took the lead for good. The Packers returned the kickoff to their own 49-yard line. 10 plays later, QB Brett Favre hit TE Bubba Franks for a 2-yard touchdown and a 14-10 advantage. The Giants responded with an impressive drive of their own as the Giants drove to the Packers’ 8-yard line. But a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on WR Amani Toomer moved the Giants back and New York was forced to settle for another field goal, which would represent the last points the Giants would score on the day.

The Packers blew the game open early in the fourth quarter. The Packers drove 80 yards in 10 plays, culminating in a 3-yard pass to TE Donald Lee. Packers 21-Giants 13. On the ensuing kickoff, HB Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled the ball away to Green Bay. Five plays and 22 yards later, Favre threw his third touchdown of the game. Packers 28-Giants 13.

The Packers added their final points on an embarrassing 38-yard touchdown run with just over four minutes to play in the game.

After that score, the Giants pulled Manning from the game. “I feel fine,” Manning said. “My shoulder didn’t bother me at all during the game. I felt like I could throw the ball. I had good velocity on everything. That was not an issue. If I feel like I can play, I’m going to play. I always listen to the doctors and the trainers. The doctor said (early last week), ‘You’re probably going to miss a few games.’ That doesn’t mean I have to believe it. It doesn’t mean I have to say, ‘I’m out two weeks or whatever.’ My mindset was I wanted to try to play this week. I didn’t really tell anybody that. But I was getting treatment and doing everything I could possibly do to get better. I felt I could play and help the team.”

Manning finished the game 16-of-29 for 211 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. HB Derrick Ward rushed for 90 yards on 15 carries.

Want to know how crappy the Giants’ defense is? After halftime, the Packers scored touchdowns on four of their five offensive possessions.

In two games, the defense has surrendered 80 points – the most in the first two games of the regular season since the dreadful 1966 Giants’ team. That team’s final record was 1-12-1.

Post-Game Notes: WR Steve Smith left the game with a scapula injury. HB Ahmad Bradshaw injured an elbow and QB Jared Lorenzen hurt his ankle. No word yet on the severity of the injuries.

The Giants’ inactive players were HB Brandon Jacobs (knee), WR David Tyree (wrist), CB Kevin Dockery (ankle), LB Gerris Wilkinson (knee), OT Adam Koets, OG Keith Boothe, and DT Russell Davis. Anthony Wright was the third quarterback.