By Michael Stets
Last weekend’s 20-17 win over the Chicago Bears marked the eighth time quarterback Matthew Stafford has engineered a come-from-behind victory for the Detroit Lions in the fourth quarter or overtime this season. That’s the most ever by a quarterback in a single season since the NFL merger in 1970.
Trailing 17-13 with just under four minutes left, Stafford–who dislocated the middle finger on his throwing hand in the first quarter–lead the Lions on a seven-play drive covering 76 yards to reclaim the lead for good, finishing it off with a seven-yard rushing touchdown.
This week, the Lions wild and unpredictable season continues as they head to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. to take on the New York Giants and quarterback Eli Manning, who is no stranger to late-game heroics. Now in his 13th season with the Giants, the 35-year-old veteran has spearheaded 30 fourth quarter comebacks in his career, tying him with Fran Tarkenton and Brett Farve for sixth place on the all-time list, according to pro-football-reference.com. Stafford, by the way, is 15th on that list with 25, a spot he shares with Matt Ryan and Tony Romo.
On Wednesday’s conference call with local reporters, Manning weighed in on the eight fourth-quarter comebacks that Stafford has orchestrated this season.
“That’s impressive,” Manning told WJR. “He’s done a great job. [I’ve] seen a couple of them, just happened to be watching. You’ve got to understand, hey, that’s what veteran quarterbacks can do. He’s been in that situation a bunch and obviously they’re feeling good. A lot of it’s just that confidence that when you get in those situations you’re going to be able to make the plays to win the game. We’ve got to understand that. We’ve got to understand they’ve played in a lot of close games and so have we. So we’ve got to make sure if he gets in that situation, hopefully we can have a lead late and not give him a whole lot of time to work with.”
The Giants, like the Lions, have been in plenty of close games this season and have found a way to win them more often than not. 12 out of the 13 games the Lions have played in 2016 have been decided by seven points or less. The Giants have played in 10 such games, with Manning leading them from behind for the fifth time this year in last week’s 10-7 upset win over the Dallas Cowboys.
There are plenty of similarities between the two teams aside from their identical 9-4 records. Both teams have 6-1 home records. Both teams have won games in the fourth quarter. Both teams haven’t had much of a running game. And both the Lions and the Giants rely heavily on their quarterback to win them games. The two-time Superbowl winner agrees for the most part.
“Yeah, I guess so, just the fact that we’ve both played in a lot of close games,” said Manning, who has 23 touchdowns and 13 interceptions on the season. “Our wins are by less than a touchdown, one-score wins. I think we’ve both been in those tight games before and found ways to win. It’s not always the prettiest and perfect, but it’s efficient. We’ve just got to be ready. If it gets to that situation, they’re pretty good at it. They’ve done a good job. Teams aren’t getting a whole lot of big plays on them and scoring a whole lot of points. That’s the reason they’ve kept games close.”
The Giants offensive line woes continued against Dallas, as the Cowboys sacked Manning three times and hit him several other times. With the Lions leading pass rusher, Kerry Hyder (eight sacks) and Ziggy Ansah coming into town this week, Manning is well aware they need to be accounted for and he’s got to get the ball out of his hands quickly.
“Detroit has a very talented defensive front,” he said. “So like you said, Ziggy [Ansah] and [Kerry] Hyder’s been playing well and several guys … They do a good job of getting a rush on the quarterback, a lot of times just bringing four guys. So you know, our guys have got to play well and we’ve got to understand we can’t be sitting back there for four and five seconds. So they do a good job of getting a rush. We’ve got to get the ball out, we’ve got to run the ball, we’ve got to help them [the offensive line] and don’t put ourselves in a whole lot of third-and-long situations where we’ve got to hold it.”
Manning was also very complimentary of the Lions secondary, which has made some timely interceptions in big spots this season to seal games.
“Yeah, their secondary’s done a good job making plays,” Manning said. “Also, you know, a group that’s made plays at the end of games, getting interceptions, getting stops. Teams aren’t hitting a lot of big plays on them, you know, they’re not getting over the top of them, so they do a good job of either keeping things in front of them, making tackles and getting off the field, making stops. So we’ve got to make sure we’re seeing everything and have great recognition of their coverages. They do a good job of mixing up things.”
The Lions, of course, are going to have their hands full with Odell Beckham Jr., the talented Giants receiver, who broke the back of the Cowboys last week on a 61-yard touchdown on which he caught a slant pattern and out ran the defense the rest of the way to the end zone. The Giants had been struggling to muster anything offensively all game before Manning hit Beckham for what would be the game-winning score.
“Odell, he’s a tremendous athlete and does a great job just making big plays,” Manning said. “You never know when it’s going to come up. Just hey, throw a slant, throw something short and he can break the big ones, so you know, he’s done a great job just in his route-running, his technique and he does a great job getting open and then once he gets the ball in his hands, that’s when things can happen.”
The Lions and the Giants both continue to find ways to win games. With only three games to play and playoff berths to be clinched, there is a lot riding on this weekend’s pivotal matchup. The Lions missed the playoffs last season after making it in Jim Caldwell’s first season as head coach and haven’t won a playoff game since 1991. Meanwhile, the Giants haven’t been to the playoffs since 2011, the year they won Superbowl 46.
After back-to-back 6-10 seasons and three consecutive losing seasons overall, Manning said the team “feels good” now that they’ve been winning games and are playing meaningful football in December. But, he knows a lot can change with three games left to play.
“We’re finding ways to win and it’s exciting. It’s exciting to be in these situations and you know, we’ve still got a long journey left and trying to earn a playoff spot just like Detroit, and so this is a big game for both teams and it should be a great atmosphere.”