New York Giants Free Fall Continues With Loss At Green Bay (Highlights)
Rick Wood, USATSI

The New York Giants suffered their third straight loss, 23-16 against the Green Bay Packers and it wasn’t as close as it looks.

  • New York Giants 16 (2-3)
  • Green Bay Packers 23 (3-1)
  • Final Box Score, NFL Week 5
  • Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Another week brings another ugly New York Giants loss. After starting the season 2-0, Big Blue has lost three straight. The offense was an issue, yet again, as they blew countless opportunities to get back in the game against the Green Bay Packers.

Eli Manning and company continued their week’s long free fall. They could muster only 176 yards passing on what was one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses coming into the game. The Packers, without their top two CBs, allowed Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard a combined 70 yards. Victor Cruz didn’t have a single reception. The defense should credit Manning for that.

Eli was anything but elite. He completed 18/35 passes for 199 yards and one fringe garbage-time TD pass to Beckham. He was sacked four times and pressured fairly consistently.

Still, Manning missed at least five throws any NFL quarterback should be able to make. Throws he himself has made, countless times. None were altered by anything the Packers did up front, he just flat-out missed. Time and again, and added a couple of fumbles to boot. On his TD pass, Beckham bailed him out with a great catch-and-stab in the back of the end-zone.

The Giants defense didn’t have the greatest of nights, but it wasn’t all bad. They came up with their first takeaways of the year as Janoris Jenkins picked off Aaron Rodgers twice. Toward the end of the first half and carrying over into the second, the pass rush finally put the pressure on. In all, they held Rodgers to 259 yards passing on 23/45 (51%).

They didn’t have as much luck with Green Bays’ running backs. Eddie Lacy (11 carries, 81 yards) and James Starks (33 yards) punished Giants’ defenders, running out of tackles all night.

Game Notes

Eli Apple and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, both questionable coming in, both left the game early with injuries. Apple did not return. DRC did but wasn’t much of a factor.

RB Rashad Jennings missed his third straight game. The Giants have lost all three.

Big Blue returns home to MetLife Stadium to host the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday.