RB Brown and WR Barden set team marks

Posted Sep 25, 2012

Michael Eisen Senior Writer/Editor @GiantsEisen

and established new Giants records for opening-act excellence with their performances in the Giants’ 36-7 victory last week at Carolina.

Brown rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, and Barden caught nine passes for 138 yards as the Giants cruised in their first road game of the season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Brown’s rushing yardage and Barden’s receiving total were the highest by Giants players making their first NFL starts since the 1970 merger. Brown and Barden also are the first set of teammates to have 100 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards in the same game while making their first NFL starts since Sept. 12, 1999, when Indianapolis’ Edgerrin James (112 rushing yards) and E.G. Green (124 receiving yards) accomplished the feat vs. Buffalo.

Here’s how Brown’s and Barden’s first starts compare with the starting debuts of other prominent Giants running backs and receivers:

Running Backs
Name	Date	Opponent	ATT	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
Andre Brown	9/20/2012	at Car	20	113	5.7	31	2
Tiki Barber	8/31/1997	vs. Phi	20	88	4.4	21	1
Brandon Jacobs	9/9/2007	at Dal	6	26	4.3	7	0
Derrick Ward	9/16/2007	vs. GB	15	90	6	26	0
Ahmad Bradshaw	1/3/2010	at Min	7	13	1.9	8	0
Rodney Hampton	11/11/1990	at LA	4	24	6	19	1
Ottis Anderson	9/11/1989	at Was	23	93	4	16	1
Joe Morris	12/26/1982	at SL	4	11	2.8	5	0

Wide Receivers
Name	Date	Opponent	NO	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
Ramses Barden	9/20/2012	at Car	9	138	15.3	23	0
Hakeem Nicks	11/1/2009	at Phi	4	53	13.3	35	0
Victor Cruz	11/6/2011	at NE	6	91	15.2	23	0
Mario Manningham	9/13/2009	vs. Was	3	58	19.3	30	1
Plaxico Burress	9/11/2005	vs. Ari	5	76	15.2	44	1
Amani Toomer	9/8/1996	at Dal	1	12	12	12	0
Ike Hilliard	8/31/1997	vs. Phil	1	19	19	19	0

*Barden was the first NFL receiver with at least nine catches and at least 138 yards in his starting debut since Dallas’ Austin Miles caught 10 passes for 250 yards on Oct. 11, 2009 at Kansas City.

*The Giants’ victory over the Panthers was Tom Coughlin 76th as the team’s head coach. With a win in Philadelphia on Sunday, Coughlin will tie Bill Parcells for second place on the Giants’ career list. Hall of Famer Steve Owen is first with 153 victories as the Giants head coach from 1931-53.

*Coughlin’s 144th career regular-season victory elevated him to 18th place on the NFL’s all-time list, one ahead of Hall of Famer Marv Levy and St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher.

*Carolina’s Ron Rivera was the 90th different head coach Coughlin has faced in his 17 years on NFL sidelines. Coughlin has at least one victory against 77 of the coaches he has faced. In addition, Coughlin either leads or is tied in the lifetime series with 67 of those 90 coaches.

*The Giants rushed for 125 yards in Charlotte, their first game this season with more than 100 yards on the ground. Under Coughlin, they are 37-10 in regular-season games when they rush for at least 100 yards.

* passed for 288 yards against the Panthers. That was his 22nd consecutive 200-yard game, moving him into a tie with Drew Brees for the second-longest streak in NFL history.
Most consecutive 200-yard passing games:

Name	No.	Years
Dan Fouts	45	1980-83
Eli Manning	22	2010-present
Drew Brees	22	2007-09

Manning most recently threw for fewer than 200 yards vs. Minnesota in Detroit on Dec. 13, 2010, when he finished with 187 yards.

*’s sack of the Panthers’ Cam Newton increased his career total to 70.0. He is the fourth Giants player to total at least 70 sacks since they became an official statistic in 1982.

Giants Career Sack Leaders (since 1982)
Michael Strahan	141.5
Lawrence Taylor	132.5
Leonard Marshall	79.5

*’ 18 points at Carolina increased his Giants career total to 479. That places him fifth in Giants history, just three points behind No. 4 Joe Danelo and five points behind No. 3 Frank Gifford.

*Tynes has 99 regular-season field goals as a Giant and needs one more to become the fourth player in franchise history with 100:

Pete Gogolak (1966-74)	126
Brad Daluiso (1993-00)	123
Joe Danelo (1976-82)	104
Lawrence Tynes (2007-12)	99

*Tight end is the first player in Giants history with a touchdown reception in each of his first three games with the team. The last player to score touchdowns of any kind in his first three games with the Giants was Barber, who rushed for scores in each of his first three games as a rookie in 1997.

* has intercepted a pass in each of the first three games, the first Giants player to record a pick in three consecutive games since Phillippi Sparks from Oct. 15-Nov. 5, 1995. Boley is the first Giant with interceptions in each of the first three games of a season since Terry Jackson in 1978.

*The Giants had 1,009 total yards in their last two games (604 vs. Tampa Bay, 405 at Carolina), their highest two-game total since they had 1,054 on Oct. 1 and 8, 1967 (520 at Washington, 535 vs. New Orleans).