Giants 21, Steelers 14

Giants use late fourth-quarter comeback to down Steelers

Associated Press - From NFL.com

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers, stretched thin by injuries and their own mistakes, repeatedly kept the New York Giants out of their end zone. A game the Steelers were controlling turned dramatically when they couldn't stay out of that end zone themselves.

Eli Manning threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Boss with 3:11 remaining for the Giants' only touchdown after they tied it several minutes before on a bizarre safety.

Emergency snapper James Harrison snapped the ball out of the end zone to give New York the pivotal two points, and the Giants rallied to beat Pittsburgh for a 21-14 victory Sunday in a matchup of division leaders.

The resilient Steelers (5-2), playing with backups all over the field, tried to make up for Ben Roethlisberger's four interceptions and five sacks by turning two big-play scores into a 14-12 lead they preserved with a goal-line stand midway through the fourth quarter.

The Super Bowl champion Giants (6-1) tied it with 6:48 remaining when Pro Bowl linebacker Harrison, playing center due to long snapper Greg Warren's torn anterior cruciate ligament, snapped the ball over punter Mitch Berger's head.

"Nobody has two long snappers on their team; what you have are emergency snappers," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "James Harrison is regarded as the lead candidate. We got some snaps on the sideline and we felt comfortable.... We just weren't able to get it done. That was the first game I have been involved in that we didn't have a snapper."

Giants coach Tom Coughlin knew Pittsburgh was without a snapper, saying, "That's why we brought the pressure. I don't know if it disturbed them, but the snap was high."

The snapping predicament came shortly after the Steelers, already playing without injured left tackle Marvel Smith, left guard Kendall Simmons, running back Willie Parker and cornerback Bryant McFadden and suspended wide receiver Santonio Holmes, lost safety Ryan Clark (dislocated right shoulder) during the physical game.

"I was nervous about snapping for the first time in a game," Harrison said. "But my feeling was that even if I shot it over his head, we still had a chance to stop them."

John Carney kicked four field goals for New York, hitting from 26, 35, 25 and 24 -- an indication of how many times the Giants threatened but couldn't get into the end zone against the NFL's top-ranked defense until Boss scored.

"You want situations where they kind of have you in a corner and you have to come out swinging," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. "Obviously, we responded pretty well. ... Guys really understand what it takes to win in situations like this."

Manning, held in check most of the game while going 19-of-32 for 199 yards, finally took advantage of the tiring and depleted Steelers defense by finding Steve Smith for 25 yards to the 25 on the decisive drive.

Brandon Jacobs followed with an 8-yard run, and Manning hit Plaxico Burress for 8 yards ahead of Derrick Ward's 7-yard run. The TD pass to Boss came on a second-and-2 play.

"Things weren't going well at times and it's easy to get frustrated, but we didn't," Manning said. "We hung in there tough and found a way to win. Getting frustrated is not going to fix anything. Sometimes you've got to take the field goals and hope that the defense will keep playing tough."

The Steelers had won their previous nine home games against NFC teams, and Roethlisberger (13-of-29, 189 yards) had been 13-3 against the conference, but Pittsburgh couldn't hold on despite getting two big-play touchdowns from backups.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap?game_id=29641&displayPage=tab_recap&season=2008&week=REG8

Giants 29, 49'ers 17

Giants use dominating defense to hold off struggling 49ers

Associated Press

- from NFL.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Who cares that the New York Giants' run on the road is over? The Super Bowl champions are winning at home this season.

Brandon Jacobs ran for two touchdowns, Eli Manning threw for one, Michael Johnson had two interceptions and the Giants managed to make fewer mistakes than the woeful San Francisco 49ers in a 29-17 victory on Sunday in a sloppily played game.

The victory was the fourth straight at home for the Giants (5-1) -- one more than they had last season -- and it sent the 49ers (2-5) to their fourth straight loss.

"Last year I don't want to say we didn't want to come home and play," said defensive end Justin Tuck, who had two sacks. "But we felt more comfortable on the road."
Not this year.

"It's fun to win here when you get fans like this behind you," added defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who had a key fumble recovery. "They really understand the game and they love it. It gives you an added incentive that makes it important to us."

While the fans had a lot to cheer about, this game wasn't pretty for either team, especially San Francisco, which turned over the ball three times, allowed six sacks, a safety and had 13 penalties for 134 yards. Combined it handed New York 19 points.

The problem for San Francisco is that the season is slipping away quickly.

"We've got to turn this thing around," center Eric Heitmann said. "I think everyone on the team feels this isn't the same team (5-11) we had last year. This is a different team, a much better team. This is a team that should not be 2-5. The character on this team will do everything to turn this around, and it starts right now with Seattle coming up."

The Giants had their ugly moments, too. On the verge of building a 17-point lead late in the third quarter, Manny Lawson blocked John Carney's field-goal attempt and Nate Clements returned it 74 yards for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 24-17.

Carney atoned moments later with a 48-yard field goal, and the defense iced the game with a sack that led to a safety when receiver Josh Morgan kicked the ball out of his end zone.

"We're happy to be at 5-and-1," said Manning, who was 16-of-31 for 161 yards. "We've played some outstanding games, offensively and defensively. Today our defense played well. That's football and you're going to go through all sorts of situations. It's all about finding ways to win, to gut it out. That's what we did."

New York never trailed in rebounding from a loss in Cleveland on Monday night that ended its 11-game road winning streak, 12 including the Super Bowl win over New England.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap?game_id=29623&displayPage=tab_recap&season=2008&week=REG7

Chinese GP: Hamilton One Step Closer to Title in Dominating Win in Shanghai!!!

Lewis Hamilton completely dominated the 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix to inch closer to the world championship on a day when Ferrari and Felipe Massa simply had no answer to the pace of the leading McLaren Mercedes. Heading to the season finale in Brazil, Hamilton leads the championship by seven points from Massa who was this afternoon gifted second position by Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton launched into the lead from pole position and quickly established a three second lead from the chasing Raikkonen. Running third, Massa dropped away to 15 seconds behind Hamilton by the first round of pit stops, a gap that the McLaren driver would manage to the chequered flag...

Hamilton’s fifth victory of the season at Shanghai International Circuit also marks the fifth straight winner at this venue. As Hamilton celebrates his most dominant win of the season, Ferrari can only look back on this even and admit they simply did not have the pace with the F2008 package. The silver-lining is that extend the lead from McLaren in the constructors’ championship to 11 points.

"The team have done a phenomenal job really preparing the car and making steps forward," beamed Hamilton. "We came here and the car felt fantastic all weekend and I owe so much to the guys not just at the track but back home. They have done a phenomenal job and the car is really a dream to drive."

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/081019103923.shtml

FINAL RESULTS:

1) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren -Mercedes

2) Felipe Massa - Ferrari

3) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari

4) Fernando Alonso -Renault

5) Nick Heidfeld - BMW

6) Robert Kubica - BMW

7) Timo Glock - Toyota

8) Nelson Piquet Jr - Renault

DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP:

1) Lewis Hamilton - 94

2) Felipe Massa - 87

CONSTRUCTOR'S CHAMPIONSHIP:

1) Scuderia Ferrari - 156

2) McLaren - Mercedes - 145

Japanese GP: Alonso Wins Second in a Row as Championship Race Tightens at Fuji!!!

BAMBINO: I didn't see the race because it was on at an un-Godly hour, but I did see race highlights. Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton made moves against one another with Massa punting Hamilton off a chicane resulting in Massa getting a drive-through penalty.

The punt benefitted Massa as he was able to finish 2 points ahead of Hamilton closing within 5 points of the Driver's Championship with two to go.

FINAL RESULTS:

1) Fernando Alonso - Renault

2) Robert Kubica - BMW

3) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari

4) Nelson Piquet Jr - Renault

5) Jarno Trulli - Toyota

6) Sebastien Vettel - Scuderia Toro Rosso - Ferrari

7) Felipe Massa - Ferrari

8) Mark Webber - Red Bull - Renault

Browns 35, Giants 14

Browns knock Giants from the ranks of the undefeated

Associated Press - from NFL.com

CLEVELAND -- Through weeks of frustration, injuries and a near-quarterback change, the Cleveland Browns never lost hope in this season.

On Monday night, they may have saved it.

With quarterback Derek Anderson outplaying Eli Manning, Braylon Edwards making big catches and Eric Wright returning an interception 94 yards for a touchdown, the Browns won on Monday night for the first time since 1993, ending New York's 11-game road winning streak with a 35-14 win over the defending Super Bowl champions.

Anderson, whose job was in serious jeopardy and may have been down to one more loss, threw one of his two touchdown passes to Edwards, who announced his team's return to the NFL's prime-time weekday slot by performing a cartwheel and back flip during pregame introductions and then making the Giants look foolish.

In their first four games, the Browns (2-3) had shown no signs of living up to high expectations following a 10-6 season. They had dropped their first two games at home and had only a triumph over winless Cincinnati so far in 2008.

Now, they've got something to brag about.

"This is us," Anderson said. "These were the guys who made plays all last season."
Anderson finished 18-for-29 for 310 yards, Edwards caught five passes for a career-high 154 yards and Jamal Lewis scored on a 4-yard run for the Browns, who handed the Giants (4-1) their first loss, leaving the Tennessee Titans as the NFL's only unbeaten team.

Manning was picked off three times and the Giants, so dominant through their first four games, were roughed up by the Browns.

In the closing minutes, Browns fans chanted "Over-rated" at the high-profile New Yorkers.
Aside from some more silly penalties, the Browns were superior to the Giants, who had reeled off 11 straight wins -- 12 counting the Super Bowl -- outside of New Jersey since Week 1 last season. But Manning was not himself and New York, which embarrassed Cleveland during the exhibition season, missed an opportunity to open a two-game lead in the brutal NFC East.

"I threw three interceptions," Manning said. "That's unacceptable. That's not the way we win games. You're going to lose a game every once in a while, but we don't like the way we played. That's what's disappointing."

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap?game_id=29616&displayPage=tab_recap&season=2008&week=REG6

Giants 44, Seahawks 6

Giants score on first six possessions in blowout win over Seahawks, from NFL.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants are this year's New England Patriots -- so far.

In a nearly flawless performance, Eli Manning threw two touchdowns, Brandon Jacobs ran for two more and the unbeaten Giants scored on their first five possessions in a 44-6 victory that embarrassed the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

The win was the eighth straight for the Giants (4-0) dating to last year's playoffs, and it gave the Super Bowl champions their best start since 1990, when they posted a 13-3 record and also won the NFL title. The Giants rolled up 523 yards in total offense, their most since collecting 524 yards against Green Bay on Jan. 6, 2002, and limited Seattle to 187.

"You want to win every game," Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "That's not very realistic. It's only happened twice in the NFL, teams went to the postseason undefeated. If we can go undefeated in the division, that could be the best undefeated record we could have."

When pressed about a comparison with last year's Patriots, whose only blemish was their Super Bowl loss to the Giants, Pierce downplayed the unbeaten record.

"We're one of the top five, 10 teams in the league," he said in self-deprecating manner. "Some other guys have better special teams, better name players, better coaches, a lot of things. We're just one of the teams that is lucky to get to 4-0."

Not only did the Giants get to 4-0, but they did so with leading receiver Plaxico Burress suspended for a game for missing a team activity on Sept. 22.

They even did it after a bye week. New York had been 4-15 in post-bye week games.
"We have been kind of soft after our bye week but we knew we had to come out here and play ball, because this team beat us pretty badly the last two times we played them," said Jacobs, who rushed for 136 yards on 15 carries.

For the Seahawks, this was another dreadful trip east. They are 1-6 in their last seven cross-country flights and are 3-8 in their last eight road games overall.

Making matters worse for the four-time defending NFC West champions, they are now 1-3, their worst start since 2002.

"Well, that was a good, old-fashioned, you know what," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "I believe we are a better football team than that, but the Giants really took it to us."

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap?game_id=29595&displayPage=tab_recap&season=2008&week=REG5