Packers Escape New Jersey With Unbeaten Season Intact
In what was a critical Week 13 game for the Giants, the Packers emerged with a 38-35 victory thanks to a 30-yard game-winning field goal kick by Mason Crosby as time expired Sunday evening in East Rutherford, N.J.
The final score was the exact same as another famous Giant attempt to spoil a perfect season. On December 29, 2007 the New York Giants hosted the 15-0 New England Patriots and the Patriots won 38-35, becoming the first team in NFL history to complete a perfect 16-0 regular season. With the December 4, 2011 win the Green Bay Packers improve to 12-0 and are now four games shy of matching New England’s incredible regular season feat.
Clay Matthews had a big game with an interception return for a touchdown, a sack and a forced fumble. Matthews now has six sacks on the season.
On the offensive side of the ball, Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdown passes giving him nine games this season with at least three touchdown passes.
For the Giants, Victor Cruz had his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season, but the team fell just short in what was an immensely important game for them.
Coming into this weekend, the 2011 New York Giants had gone from being talked about as one of the teams in the NFC that might emerge as that second best team behind the Packers, to being on the verge of missing the postseason. Losing at home to the Eagles and being blown out by the Saints had the G-men down but not out. They were only one game out of both the division and the wild card entering Sunday’s game and knew that beating undefeated Green Bay would be huge.
The Giants got off an impressive start with a 67-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Travis Beckum just one minute and 36 seconds into the game. However, the Packers, who had clinched the playoffs before kickoff based on what happened around the league earlier in the day, went on to lead New York 21-17 at the half.
The score remained close throughout pretty much the entire game. The Packers led 28-24 going into the fourth quarter. From there a Giant field goal and a Packer touchdown made the score 35-27. The Giants were forced to convert on a two-point conversion to tie the game, which they did. But they gave the Packers enough time for one more drive and Crosby’s kick allowed Green Bay to walk away unscathed from a very close football game.
