As I descended down the escalator by Gate B yesterday after the game, I overheard a Giants fan behind me say, “That was probably the most depressing win I’ve ever seen.” Now, I don’t entirely agree with him. I don’t think there is such a thing as a depressing win in the NFL. With a short 16-game season, any kind of win, whether it be a pretty win, an ugly win or even an accidental win, is a good win. Having said that (anyone who has seen the latest episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm knows why I had to throw that in), I could see where that fan was coming from. I wouldn’t call yesterday’s win a depressing one, or even an ugly one for that matter. Maybe “discouraging”. Perhaps even a little “unconvincing”. But a win, nonetheless.

When the game-winning field goal sailed off Lawrence Tynes’ foot and through the uprights with 11:06 to go in overtime, I celebrated loudly along with whoever else had decided not to leave the stadium when the Giants took a 31-17 lead. The truth is, the game shouldn’t even have come down to Lawrence Tynes and it definitely should not have come down to an overtime period because like I said earlier, the Giants had a 31-17 lead.

How did a two touchdown lead turn into an overtime coin toss in the span of 12 minutes? Well, I’m glad that you asked. It happened in very similar fashion to how we lost the game against San Diego. Instead of stepping up and making a big defensive stop or forcing a turnover in the fourth quarter, the defense instead folded like an origami swan. Matt Ryan took the Falcons down the field for two consecutive touchdown drives that looked about as difficult for Atlanta as heating up a Pop-Tart. I don’t typically use phrases like “dinking and dunking” because I’m not Ron Jaworski, but that’s exactly what the Falcons did on their back-to-back 12 play drives in the fourth quarter. They played it safe and kept everything in the middle of the field, which is ironically exactly what the Giants defense did. By guarding against the big play (a 70-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White or something along those lines) and trying to keep the clock running, they ultimately ignored the short to medium 10-15 yard passes over the middle and stayed away from Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez like he was a leper, even when he scored the game-tying touchdown with 28 seconds left.

Call me psychic if you want, but I knew that this game was going into overtime when the Falcons scored to cut the Big Blue lead to 31-24. It’s not that I’m a cynic or that my Gatorade cooler is half-empty, it’s just that if I’ve seen this once, I’ve seen it a hundred times. The Giants are just about the only team that can make a two touchdown lead feel like they’re losing. Giants fans shouldn’t have to sit on the edge of their La-Z-Boys or uncomfortable plastic stadium seats when the score is 31-17 with 12:08 to play in the fourth quarter, yet that’s exactly what I was doing yesterday.

Luckily, yesterday’s overtime drama didn’t last too long, but it was just long enough for my Overtime Anxiety Syndrome to kick in. I seem to be a magnet for overtime games lately, as yesterday was the third one I’ve been to in the past two seasons, but before I could start chewing on my hat like it was a 14 oz. NY Strip, Eli Manning stepped up just like he had been doing all day and completed a 29-yard strike down the far sideline to Mario Manningham to set up the Giants on the Falcons’ 23-yard line. A few plays later, as we held our collective breath, Tynes tucked one inside the right upright and the Giants had snapped their 4-game losing streak. The first win in 42 days.

The performances that stood out the most to me yesterday were the ones turned in by Eli Manning (25/39, 384 yards, 3 TDs), Mario Manningham (6 rec., 126 yards) and Kevin Boss (5 rec., 76 yards, 2 TDs). Our fearless leader put forth his second thoroughly impressive game in a row, and aside from an interception on the opening drive of the game, he was nearly perfect. His 384 yards marked a career-high total and the first time he had ever thrown for over 300 yards at Giants Stadium, a pretty odd statistic, considering he’s in his 5th full season and has started almost 50 games there. He stepped up and made big throws in big situations, including huge 51-yard pass to Steve Smith (4 rec., 79 yards) that led to the Brandon Jacobs touchdown run early in the 3rd quarter which gave the Giants a 24-14 lead and answered the Falcons previous touchdown drive to start the second half. As for Mario Manningham, my love affair with his athleticism grows by the week and he made some catches yesterday that made me forget all about Amani Toomer’s sideline acrobatics and Plaxico Burress’s one-handed grabs. He is going to be a phenomenal wide receiver one day, and I feel like we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg right now when it comes to his potential in the NFL.

All in all, the Giants picked up a sorely needed win yesterday that may have been the spark that they need to rejuvenate their season. Having said that, there are still several kinks that need to be smoothed out on the defensive side of the ball. We’ll be able to tell for sure on Thanksgiving night in Denver, but for now, a nice overtime victory works well to help me forget the fact that I picked up Jason Snelling for my fantasy team to replace Michael Turner and then left him on the bench and watched as he scored two touchdowns yesterday. That’s life.