Gary Seymour, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Only recently had Odell Beckham Jr. made up with the kicking net after their public spat; now he may be looking into drywall-sensitivity counseling.
It was a disappointing last day of the season for the New York Giants, who late in the first half of last Sunday’s 38-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers got a dose of what they dished out five years ago.
In the first round of the 2011 playoffs, the Giants led the Green Bay Packers by 3 with the ball on the Packers’ 37-yard line in the final seconds of the first half.
Forgoing the field goal attempt, Giants quarterback Eli Manning lofted a Hail Mary heave that wide receiver Hakeem Nicks pulled down for a touchdown that set the Giants off on a 37-20 rout.
Last week it was Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb hooking up in the same end zone, on the final play of the half, to build on a lead that turned into a blowout.
Their 7-6 edge became 14-6 after the 42-yard jump ball and when they were finished the Packers had thoroughly waxed their outplayed visitors.
The big win was the Packers’ seventh in a row and eased the memory of the previous two postseason meetings with the Giants at Lambeau Field, both of which were won by New York.
Up next are the NFL East champion Dallas Cowboys, who are buoyed by their having drilled the Packers 30-16 in October but at the same time must be at least a little unnerved that the Packers have twice done what they were unable to do this season – beat the Giants. New York defeated Dallas 20-19 and 10-7.
How the Packers were able to put 38 points on a Giants defense that hadn’t allowed more than 29 in any game this season is a question the Cowboys must contend with on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
The obvious short answer is quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who continues to raise his game the higher the stakes become. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 362 yards against the Giants, with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Behind Rodgers’ lead, the Packers have made 47 plays of 20 yards or longer over the past nine games. Cobb caught three TD passes and Davante Adams had the other last week, and both will be relied upon heavily if Jordy Nelson is unable to go against Dallas. Nelson left the game in the second quarter after getting speared in the ribs by Giants safety Leon Hall.
After beating Detroit in the regular-season finale to earn a home game in the first round, Packers linebacker Julius Peppers remarked to the effect that it didn’t matter who the Packers had on the field because everyone on the roster had stepped up their game.
Peppers and linebacker Clay Matthews both made big plays last week – a sack for Peppers deep in Giants territory and a forced fumble for Matthews, who made the recovery himself 10 yards downfield amid a group of puzzled onlookers unclear on whether it was a fumble or incomplete pass.
The Packers’ secondary, shaky throughout the first quarter last week, confounded the talented group of Giants receivers the rest of the way. Manning completed only 23 of 44 attempts, and his most explosive target, the temperamental Beckham – who earlier this season exchanged blows with a kicking net during a loss to Washington – was frustrated to the point of punching a hole through the wall after the game.
Maybe the most concerning part of the 30-16 loss to Dallas back in October is that the Cowboys did it without wide receiver Dez Bryant, who was out with a knee injury.
Plus, as the karma thing goes, the Cowboys feel they have some coming their way. Two years ago, the Packers eliminated Dallas 26-21 in a division round playoff matchup at Lambeau – a game in which Bryant’s late fourth-quarter, fourth-down reception on the Packers’ 1-yard line was ruled incomplete on replay.
But chances are Sunday’s outcome will be decided by the stars on the field and not the ones in the sky.