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  Giants fall to Chargers, 21-20
  By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

NOVEMBER 8, 2009

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - A heartbreaking loss has left the Giants skidding into their bye week.

Philip Rivers' 18-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson completed an 80-yard drive with just 21 seconds remaining and lifted the San Diego Chargers to a 21-20 victory over the Giants Sunday in Giants Stadium. The Giants lost their fourth consecutive game after a 5-0 start. They next play on Nov. 22, at home vs. Atlanta.

"I just told the team we have seven games to go, we're 5-4, obviously we have to come back," Coach Tom Coughlin said. "If we play with the kind of energy we did tonight, and we upgrade our skill level and we eliminate the penalties, we got our turnovers under control tonight, then I think we can come back and be a good football team in the second half of the season."

But they're going to have to lift themselves off the canvas. Coughlin said, "We are all very, very upset, very disappointed obviously in the loss."

The players, unable to end the slump, spoke in hushed tones in the locker room.

"This hurts," tight end Kevin Boss said. "It is a real painful loss. I thought we had it. I'm pretty discouraged right now."

"It's very frustrating, it's humbling, and we had a great week of practice," cornerback Terrell Thomas said. "Everybody was alert, hustling. I thought we were going to come out with the win. There is nothing I can say right now; I thought we would win this game."

In many ways, it makes no sense that they didn't. The Giants outgained San Diego, 304-226, held the Chargers to 34 rushing yards (22 by LaDainian Tomlinson on 12 carries) and owned the ball for a whopping 37:47.

Eli Manning completed 25 of 33 passes for 215 yards, touchdowns to Steve Smith and Kevin Boss and no interceptions. He completed 76 percent of his passes, tied for the second-best one-game mark of his career.

But the Giants twice settled for field goals from in close in the fourth quarter, most notably after Thomas intercepted Rivers and returned the ball to the four-yard line with 3:14 left and the Giants leading, 17-14. A touchdown there would have all but clinched the victory.

"We should have had the game at that point," Coughlin said. "It wasn't to be."

Chris Snee was penalized for holding the Chargers' Luis Castillo on Brandon Jacobs' three-yard run, pushing the Giants back to the 14 - one of nine Giants penalties. The Giants made it back to the four, but Lawrence Tynes kicked a 22-yard field goal for a 20-14 lead.

"It is disappointing, because when you get the ball at the (four)-yard line with a chance to score a touchdown and you win that game and we didn't do it," Manning said. "That is just disappointing. Penalties, penalties all night hurt us. We overcame some of them, but we just didn't finish drives the way we needed to. We had too many mistakes that we weren't able to overcome."

The Chargers took possession at their own 20 with 2:05 remaining. They covered the 80 yards in eight plays, and never once faced a third down. The big play occurred just prior to the touchdown, when Rivers flipped a short pass that Darren Sproles turned into a 21-yard gain to the 18. On the next play, Jackson scored his second touchdown of the game when Rivers hit him on the right side of the end zone.

"Good throw and catch by the receiver," said Corey Webster, who was covering Jackson on the play. "You live to be in that position as a cornerback and receiver to go up on the last play of the game and make those plays. Today he was better, went up and made a play on the ball."

The Giants got the ball back one more time - at their 29 with 15 seconds left - but after two incomplete passes, Manning was sacked on third down to end the game.

"We are doing everything right during the week," center Shaun O'Hara said. "We are just not winning football games. We are not making the little plays that we made when we won five games in a row. There is no magic formula, there isn't one person to blame. There is not one person who is not doing this or that. It's football, it's a crazy game."

It was on the Giants' first series. Coughlin got his wish as the Giants won the coin toss. They moved from their 11 to the Chargers' 21 on the game's opening possession. But Ahmad Bradshaw was stopped for no gain on third-and-one. Tynes came on to kick what would have been a 39-yard field goal. But he never swung his leg, apparently because holder Jeff Feagles didn't have the ball set. Feagles was charged with a rush for minus-eight yards and a fumble that was recovered by Shawne Merriman.

"That should have been three points," Coughlin said. "Then we wouldn't have been in the bind we were in at the end."

So what did happen on the missed opportunity?

"I don't really have the full explanation," Coughlin said. "But what it looked like was as he caught the ball and struggled to get it down, the kicker was in his routine. The holder had both hands on the ball, so when he started to swing through the ball, but the ball was being held with two hands. I have to get more of an explanation on it. That's what it looked like from the side."

The Giants scored on Manning touchdown passes of six yards to Steve and eight yards to Boss, plus Tynes field goals of 38 and 22 yards.

Rivers threw three touchdown passes - two to Jackson and one to Kris Wilson, for San Diego, 5-3.

Manning's touchdown pass to Boss gave the Giants their first lead at 17-14 with 8:58 remaining in the game. On second-and-goal from the eight, the Chargers jumped offside, giving the Giants a free play. They took advantage of it as Boss eluded the Chargers defense and was ahead of the defenders on the left side of the end zone when Manning found him for the go-ahead touchdown.

"He had a corner route running on a linebacker, ran a good route, was patient, so he had a lot of time back there," Manning said. "The offensive line did a good job and I threw it up high for him to get it and he made a good catch."

The score capped a six-play, 39-yard drive that included two Manning passes to Mario Manningham that covered a total of 19 yards. Brandon Jacobs and Bradshaw each had key runs on the series.

The drive was set up by the Giants' best defensive stand of the day. After Tynes' first field goal, San Diego took possession at its own 20-yard line. Fred Robbins sacked Rivers for a seven-yard loss, Justin Tuck tackled Sproles for a nine-yard loss after a reception and Sproles ran for a yard on third down.

Tynes' field goal with 14:09 remaining in the fourth quarter lifted the Giants to within 14-10.

Just prior to the score, the Chargers won a replay challenge, though the Giants also benefited.

On third down, Manning threw to Smith, who gained eight yards to the San Diego 19 before fumbling. The officials ruled Smith was down by contact. Chargers coach Norv Turner challenged, saying Smith lost the ball before his knee hit the ground. After review, Walt Anderson overturned the call - but said Smith never had control of the ball, thus it was an incompletion and not a fumble. The Giants retained possession and got three points on Tynes' field goal.

Before the kick, the Giants drove 60 yards in nine plays, including a short pass that Hakeem Nicks turned into a 29-yard gain to the Chargers' 35-yard line. Nicks then gained nine yards on an end-around. Danny Ware ran twice for nine yards to conclude the third quarter.

Three plays into the fourth quarter, Tynes scored.

Rivers' short scoring toss to Wilson regained the lead for San Diego at 14-7 with 3:51 remaining in the third quarter. On second-and-goal from the two, Wilson was all alone on the right side of the end zone when Rivers threw to him for an easy touchdown.

The Chargers drove 51 yards in six plays, but their biggest gain was a 29-yard pass interference penalty on Webster, who was covering Jackson. Because the infraction occurred in the end zone, San Diego had a first down at the Giants' one. Tomlinson lost a yard before Wilson scored.

The teams were tied at halftime, 7-7, the Giants' first deadlock after two quarters since the NFC Divisional Playoff Game at Dallas on Jan. 13, 2008 (a 21-17 victory) and first in the regular season since Nov. 11, 2007, also against the Cowboys (a 31-20 loss).

Manning completed 15 of 17 passes for 129 yards in the half.

Manning's six-yard touchdown pass to Smith with 4:20 remaining in the second quarter tied the score at 7-7. On third down, Manning was given outstanding protection, giving him time to scan the field and fire a short pass to Smith at the goal line.

"It was tight," Manning said. "He ran the out and the guy was kind of running with him and Steve did a good job being quick and coming back underneath it, making the tough catch, and getting down and getting in the end zone."

The score concluded a 76-yard drive that required 16 plays and took 10:35 to complete - the most plays the Giants have run on a possession since that 2007 home game against Dallas and their longest possession in terms of time since Oct. 31, 1993, when they kept the ball for 10:45 vs. the Jets.

On the drive, the Giants converted three third downs (including a 19-yard pickup on third-and-18) and overcame 25 yards in penalties.

They faced a third-and-six from their own 39 early in the series when Manning rolled to his left and found Nicks along the sideline for a 10-yard gain.

Three plays later, Manning's six-yard pass to Madison Hedgecock was nullified by Bradshaw's 15-yard penalty for throwing a chop block. That left the Giants with a first-and-25 that soon became a third-and-18. Manning kept the drive alive by throwing a 19-yard strike to Smith at the right sideline, resulting in a first down at the San Diego 25.

O'Hara's holding penalty moved the ball back to the 35. The Giants got back to the original line of scrimmage on third down, and Manning threw a short pass that tight end Darcy Johnson turned into a 14-yard gain to the 11. Three plays later, Manning and Smith connected for the touchdown.

The Chargers scored the game's first points on the initial play of the second quarter, when Rivers threw a 10-yard pass to Jackson. On first down, Jackson found an opening in both the center of the end zone and the middle of the Giants' defense and easily caught Rivers' pass.

Despite the disappointing defeat, the Giants insist they still have enough time, talent and confidence to turn their season around.

"We haven't hit bottom," Manning said. "When you hit bottom that is when you see guys quitting. We didn't quit. We fought tonight, we rallied, we made a little comeback in the fourth quarter and got the lead and did some good things and rallied the team, but they made some great plays."

"We have a lot of football to play," Webster said. "We have to keep on working and getting better. A tough loss like this we have to learn from and keep moving forward. We can't keep our heads down for long."

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