When he returned to the game, Beckham contributed back-to-back touchdown catches, the first of which came in the third quarter on a 6-yard pass that brought his team back from a 24-17 deficit to tie the game.
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Then out of nowhere, Odell Beckham split deep coverage for a 84-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth to put the Giants ahead 31-24.
Manning concluded the day by performing at his season’s best, completing 27 of 31 passes for a total 337 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. His 87% completion percentage was a career high and his passer rating of 151.5 was his best in six years.
THE STANDINGS: The Giants (6-7) broke a three-game losing streak and are tied with the Redskins and Eagles for the lead in their woeful division.
Washington gets the short passing game going with Kirk Cousins, their defense starts turning the ball over, and I start wondering if they could upset someone in the playoffs.
The Dolphins (5-8) were eliminated from the playoff race by their latest loss, ensuring a franchise-record seventh consecutive season without a postseason berth, or even a winning record.
A couple of planned quarterback rushes by Ryan Tannehill produced results as well, so the abandonment of the ground attack by the Dolphins was a questionable coach’s decision.
“We knew we had to [get the run game going]”, Manning told the NFL Network.
-COACHING: C – Miami abandoned the run in the fourth quarter and left Beckham one-on-one more times than seemed wise.
Luckily, they’ve got a bone fide star in Beckham.
On its first score, Miami took advantage of a blitz by Giants safety Craig Dahl. He played only special teams against the New York Giants on Monday night. “We connected on a big play at a crucial time”. “The safety (Reshad Jones) was getting low and got Odell on a slant”.
Beckham outplayed Landry, his close friend and former LSU teammate. The pass was ruled incomplete originally, but a review showed Beckham got both feet inbounds, and the call was overturned. His final reception, a diving grab on third down at midfield, sealed the victory with less than 2 minutes left.
“He was one of the best receivers coming out (of college together)”, Beckham said, of Landry.
There’s no quick turnaround now, though, just a quick glance back, to the days when the Dolphins were a team of destiny, and not the one that continually leaves you longing. But Tannehill overthrew an open Landry behind the Giants’ secondary with his team trailing and less than five minutes to go. Even Coughlin himself shook off a punishing hit along the sideline from one of his cornerbacks, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who went flying into his head coach while trying to make a tackle. Lamar Miller rushed for 89 yards but carried only 12 times, and Campbell said he was nursing a sore ankle in the second half.
Andy Dalton won’t need surgery on his broken thumb and could play again this season. Dalton saw a specialist Monday who said the injury could heal without surgery. They blew the coverages and missed the tackles, they committed the penalties that cost the game. Dalton’s hand will remain in a cast for now. “And to not be discouraged by circumstances within the game, but rather to let that unite you, make you stronger, and do everything in your power to overcome it. That’s basically the way we went into the game”. A quarterback from Alabama hasn’t won an National Football League game as a starter since Jeff Rutledge in 1987, according to Stats LLC.
“That’s history”, McCarron said on Monday.
Denver at Pittsburgh, 3:25 p.m. Yeldon until later this week.
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Curt Macysyn has been covering the New York Football Giants for the past four seasons for Examiner.com, and he is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). Next time you watch a Giant game, watch the little things, you will be intrigued.
