Eli Manning vs. Saints: 30/41, 350 Yards, 6 TDs

4th Quarter

Pass #38

Situation: 2nd and 7 NYG 45
Description: Q4-(14:41) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Left to R. Randle. Penalty on NO-B. Browner, Defensive Pass Interference, 18 Yards, Enforced at NYG 45 - No Play

I think Manning is trying to take advantage of the Randle vs. Browner match up as Browner has been a penalty machine all game. He diagnoses that this is the “Seattle Cover 2” that the Saints run sometimes and knows Randle has a one on one matchup on Browner on what looks like a stop and go. Browner is in good position though so I don’t know what Manning would try to go after this. Beckham to the trips side is wide open on the hitch route as Swann carried Harris’s seam route deep. This is one of the few read Manning has made all day that I think he was dead wrong on but he gets bailed out as Browner against commits a penalty.

Pass #39

Situation: 2nd and 6 NO 33
Description: Q4-(14:05) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Left to D. Harris

I think Manning sits too long on Randle waiting for him to get open and misses a great opportunity to get at least five yards to Harris. The Saints are back in the Cover 2 again and Randle has the one on one match up with Browner again. But Mauti is expanding in his drop underneath Randle’s route and there is no way Manning can throw this ball to Randle. Harris is running the crossing route underneath and he is wide open as the LBs have dropped deep in their drops. Manning doesn’t look for Harris till the end of the play and by then Edebali has gotten some pressure on him. Manning cannot step into his throw and doesn’t get enough on the pass for the completion. (24/31, 265 Yards, 4 TDs)

Pass #40

Situation: 3rd and 6 NO 33
Description: Q4-(14:00) E. Manning Sacked at NO 38 for -5 Yards (B. Richardson). Fumbles (B. Richardson)[B. Richardson], Recovered by NO-T. Davison at NO 38. T. Davison to NO 38 for No Gain (J. Jerry). Penalty on NO-D. Breaux, Defensive Holding, 5 Yards, Enforced at NO 33 - No Play

Manning has no chance on this play for two reason. First is DE Bobby Richardson makes LG John Jerry look bad and gets immediate pressure up the middle. The second is Manning’s first read (Beckham) is getting held by Breaux. Before Manning can get to the second read he is getting planted by Richardson and fumbles the ball. Breaux gets called for the hold though and the Giants keep the ball.

Pass #41

Situation: 2nd and 7 NO 25
Description: Q4-(13:25) E. Manning Pass Short Left to R. Jennings Pushed Out of Bounds at NO 19 for 6 Yards (B. Browner)

This is a classic Slant-Flare route combination that most teams run in the NFL. Manning is reading the CB and LB on his left. Browner bails in his deep third coverage and Mauti gets occupied with Randle’s slant route. This opens up Jennings on the flare route and Manning makes the right read to go with him. This wasn’t a hard read but it was the right choice. (25/32, 271 Yards, 4 TDs)

Pass #42

Situation: 3rd and 1 NO 19
Description: Q4-(13:09) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Right to D. Harris [K. Vaccaro]. Penalty on NO-T. Davison, Defensive Offside, 5 Yards, Enforced at NO 19 - No Play

Eli Manning has one of the best hard counts in the NFL and he pulls it out on this play. He gets DT Tyeler Davison to jump offsides and gets a free play. He needed it as Jennings messes up his blocking assignment and lets Vaccaro get into the backfield unblocked. Manning knows he has a free play so he tries to lay it up for Harris but this pass as little hope for being accurate becasue of the pressure.

Pass #43

Situation: 2nd and 5 NO 9
Description: Q4-(12:34) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Right to O. Beckham Jr.

This is one of the few times Manning makes a poor read against the Saints. His firs read (Tye to the left) is well covered so him comes back to the trips side. Lewis gets caught up on Beckham route and Randle gets open on the slant route in between Lewis/Breaux and Anthony. Manning doesn’t see this though and instead basically throws it away as he tries to throw a perfect pass to Beckham who is well covered. If he throws the slant route to Randle, its an easy touchdown for the Giants. (25/33, 271 Yards 4 TDs)

Pass #44

Situation: 3rd and 5 NO 9
Description: Q4-(12:29) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Left to S. Vereen

Manning gets no favors from his receivers as none of them get open quickly on the play. Manning goes through his progression and sees that Harris and Tye are both covered well. This leaves him with Vereen as his third option. He is somewhat open but Vacarro is on his hip. Manning’s clock in his head is going off and rightfully so as Edebali is pushing Flowers into his lap so he throws it out to Vereen. His mechanics are off as he throws it flat footed, causing the ball to float and Vereen can’t bring the pass in. (25/34, 271 Yards, 4 TDs)

Pass #45

Situation: 4th and 5 NO 9
Description: Q4-(12:24) E. Manning Pass Short Middle to D. Harris for 9 Yards and Touchdown

Uh, this is basically everything you aren’t suppose to do as a QB but since its 4th and 5 you have to give Manning a pass on this throw. Manning gets pressured quickly as Jordan pushed Newhouse into his face but Manning is able to get out of the pocket to his right. As a QB, you are never suppose to throw against your body back to the middle of the field. But no one opens up for Manning and the only receiver who has a chance for a completion is Harris in the middle of the field as Swann is cheating to the outside of the field. Manning throws a perfect throw and with a little help of Swann making a rookie mistake (jumping too early) gets a touchdown. (26/35, 280 Yards, 5 TDs)

Pass #46

Situation: 1st and 10 NYG 35
Description: Q4-(10:31) E. Manning Pass Short Left to O. Beckham Jr. Ran Out of Bounds at NO 27 for 38 Yards

The Giants again run the slant-flare combo and Manning makes the right read again. With Wilson going into the flat with Harris and Breaux bailing in his deep third coverage, Beckham is open in the hole in the coverage between Wilson and Anthony. Its not a big window as Anthony is widening in his drop but Manning fits it through the window perfectly and Beckham does the rest. (27/36, 318 Yards, 5 TDs)

Pass #47

Situation: 1st and 10 NO 27
Description: Q4-(10:03) E. Manning Pass Short Left to R. Randle Pushed Out of Bounds at NO 20 for 7 Yards (B. Browner)

This play is all based on the pre-snap read as Browner is playing off coverage on Randle. Manning sees this and he hits Randle for the easy completion on first down as Browner is playing the deep third zone. (28/37, 325 Yards, 5 TDs)

Pass #48

Situation: 2nd and 3 NO 20
Description: Q4-(9:37) E. Manning Pass Deep Right to D. Harris for 20 Yards and Touchdown

If you would put together a reel of great quarterback play, this play should be on this reel. Manning’s eyes are deadly on this play as he moves Byrd to his left with his eye placement. This opens up Harris on the seam route as he beats Wilson with an inside move. Wilson is in decent trail position but Manning gives him no chance to make a play on the ball as the ball placement is perfect. He throws it over Harris’s inside shoulder to the outside and only Harris can make the catch for the touchdown. (29/38, 345 Yards, 6 TDs)

Pass #49

Situation: 1st and 10 NYG 20
Description: Q4-(0:36) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Deep Left to R. Randle

I feel like a broken record at this point but Manning’s eyes set up this play. Manning is looking to his right which keep Byrd in the center of the field. Randle is able to get on top of Lewis on the go route and is open for a huge gain on first down. When Manning comes back to the left, he sees Randle deep and throws a decent ball to Randle. This play is very frustrating for a fan for two reasons. One, Lewis could of easily been called for pass interference on this play as he is tugging on Randle’s shoulder. Two, Randle needs to lay out for this pass. Its not a perfect throw but it is definitely catchable and he needs to lay out and get the catch. Manning does almost everything right on this play and needs Randle to make a play. (29/39, 345 Yards, 6 TDs)

Pass #50

Situation: 2nd and 10 NYG 20
Description: Q4-(0:30) E. Manning Pass Short Middle to S. Vereen to NYG 25 for 5 Yards (J. Byrd)

I don’t think Manning made the optimal throw on this play. Manning is looking to his right towards Harris and Beckham and there is a window for a throw to Harris on the seam. But Manning comes off the route too quickly and looks at Tye. Tye is open for at least five yards but Manning decides for the shorter pass for Vereen instead. I don’t understand this at all as there are 30 seconds left and every yard counts. Vereen may be safer but Tye was open as well. (30/40, 350 Yards, 6 TDs)

Pass #51

Situation: 3rd and 5 NYG 25
Description: Q4-(0:25) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Left to D. Harris (K. Lewis)

And Harris was having such an amazing 4th quarter. Manning is looking to his left from the begining to the Go-Out route combination of Randle and Harris. Randle is covered but Harris beats Wilson on the out route easily and is open. Manning makes the right read to go to Harris and while his throw isn’t perfect, its in a good spot for Harris to catch. Harris tries to catch it like a punt though instead of extending for the ball and the ball tips off of his hands. Manning did what he had to do on this play.

Overall Impression

The key thing I saw from Manning in this game was he is a master of eye manipulation. He is excellent in moving the defense around with his eyes and opening up receivers. He also made the correct read and throw the vast majority of the time. He understood what the Saints were throwing at him and picked it apart. He didn’t need to make a ton of difficult throws because of everything he did before the throw. He recognized the defense quickly and used his eyes to create windows to throw through. He wasn’t perfect for sure and he needs to be more accurate with the deep pass. The Giants offense also came up with a great strategy to take advantage of the Cover 3 system of the Saints which helped him out immensely. But this was a amazing performance by Manning and shows why he was given the big contract before the season began. He was great not for his arm talent, but for his intelligence and QB savvy.