From NFL.com
ST. LOUIS -- Justin Tuck swatted Marc Bulger's pass out of the air, plucked it from his shoulder pad, and then had time to take in the scenery en route to the end zone. His 41-yard interception return in the fourth quarter was one of several big plays by the New York Giants' defense in another stifling effort.
"I looked at the Jumbotron and saw I had enough room to slow down," Tuck said. "I don't need to sprint into the end zone. I like to act like I've been there."
The defense spent the entire afternoon in the Rams' backfield, sacking Marc Bulger six times while limiting St. Louis to a fluke touchdown in a 41-13 victory on Sunday.
"Hopefully, this is the start of big things to come," Tuck said. "Six today, but we had the opportunity to have more. You know, you're never satisfied."
Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes, sparking an offense that got one touchdown in the opener with a 97-yard drive in the third quarter. Much of the scoring was window dressing in the Giants' 12th straight victory away from home, a run that includes their Super Bowl victory last February.
The Giants (2-0) have not lost a road game since their opener last season and set an NFL single-season record with 11 straight wins away from home in 2007.
The Rams (0-2) came up with another dud in their home opener, which also served as a tribute to late owner Georgia Frontiere, and are 3-for-24 on third-down conversions in their first two games.
"Our quarterback can't be a pinata," tight end Randy McMichael said. "We've got to give him time."
Coach Scott Linehan fielded only one question in his postgame news conference, prefaced by a lengthy diatribe critical of his team's shortcomings and pointing out the offense has yet to play a down inside the 20. He did note that, unlike in the opening 38-3 blowout loss at Philadelphia, the Rams were in the game until the last half of the fourth quarter.
"The bottom line is we can't expect to win games playing the way we're playing," Linehan said. "We didn't finish, and they did."
Tuck added a pair of sacks and Fred Robbins also had two sacks for the Giants, who got to the quarterback only once in their opening 16-7 victory over the Redskins.
The Rams' 3-13 season in 2007 repelled fans. The last two home games, against the Packers and Steelers, had nearly as many visiting fans. The Rams briefly won back a restless fan base when Torry Holt scored on a 45-yard pass while flat on his back on a ball twice deflected by safety Kenny Phillips.
But the Giants immediately answered with an 82-yard drive capped when Ahmad Bradshaw was untouched on a 16-yard swing pass that made it 27-13 with 7:18 to go. Tuck's return came after he deflected Bulger's pass, and Bradshaw added a 31-yard run to cap a 21-point fourth quarter.
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