Eli Outshines Rodgers In 37-20 Rout

Thanks to Eli Manning and Hakeen Nicks,
Aaron Rodgers will not be discount double checking
 his way to another Lombardi Trophy in 2012.

Eli Manning made one mistake all game. The excellence of Eli Manning and his receiving corps enabled the Giants to pull away from the Packers tonight at Lambeau. The Giants made big plays happen where the Packers had no offensive play for 30 or more yards. The Packers turned the ball over 4 times where the Giants turned the ball over once. The Packers were still in it at the end despite all of these mistakes. They stayed the course and went back and forth with the Giants for three quarters. Rodgers was able to make plays with his feet and for the second time that they have played the Giants this year, Rodgers lead the Packers in rushing yards. The Packers were excellent at slowing New York's pass rush in the first half by using creative blocking schemes utilizing their tight ends and running backs to give Rodgers time. When the pocket collapsed, Rodgers would take off because the linebackers were worried about the Packers' deep receiving corps.

Ultimately, Rodgers could not be protected all game and at the end of the day, was sacked four times. The problem was that the Packers did not play spectacular tonight and could not get by on doing the little things right and small breaks like the fumble that wasn't in the first quarter. The Packers could not pull ahead of a Giants team that was doing the right things and making big plays, so the Giants pulled ahead of them. Game over.

The true star of the game tonight was Hakeem Nicks who grabbed 7 balls for 165 yards and touchdowns of 66 and 37, the latter being a Hail Mary to end the half. I compare this outing by Nicks to his breakout performance at North Carolina in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl where he caught 8 passes for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Packers really let down fans such as Ben Wilson with
their unspectacular performance.
Before I wrap up, a shout out to Ben Wilson. Ben is a fellow student at Mizzou and a lifelong Packer fan. He attended two Packer games this season. The Chiefs game and the game tonight.