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

After two poor to mediocre performances vs. the Eagles and Cowboys, Manning came to life and had one of his best games of his career vs. the Saints. It was his first time ever throwing 6 TDs in a game and to do it with no interceptions is almost shocking considering Eli Manning’s history. Unfortunately he was over shadowed by one of the best QB performances in history by Drew Brees in the same game. Manning’s season has been up and down a little bit but he is having his best year of his career at this point (99.9 Passer rating and 66.0 Completion % would be career highs and he is on pace for 34 TDs to 8 INTs). So lets take a look at what Eli Manning can do when his game is on.

Quarter 1

Pass #1

Situation: 1st and 10 NYG 40
Description: Q1-(13:40) E. Manning Pass Deep Middle to R. Randle to NO 41 for 19 Yards (B. Browner)

This play action pass shows off Manning using his eyes to open up a throwing lane. Manning coming off the play action initially looks to his right at WR Odell Beckham Jr. This moves WILL Ramon Humbar to his left. Combine that with MLB Stephone Anthony and SAM Hau’oli Kikaha respecting the flare route of FB Nikita Whitlock and a window opens up for Manning to throw through to WR Ruben Randle who beats CB Brandon Browner to the inside on the man coverage. The throw is good but not great as he gets it by Anthony but forces Randle to slow down but this could of been to prevent a big hit by FS Jarius Byrd. (1/1, 19 Yards)

Pass #2

Situation: 2nd and 9 NO 40
Description: Q1-(12:30) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Short Left to R. Randle (B. Browner)

This should of been defensive holding on Browner as he is grabbing Randle’s shirt around the shoulder area before the ball is thrown. But i digress. Manning sees the blitz coming by Humbar and Anthony and needs to get rid of the ball quickly. Randle is his hot read and initially beats Browner to the inside. Manning’s pass needs to be lower and inside to make this a completion as Brown has Randle by the shirt and is using his grab for leverage to make a play on the ball. Manning doesn’t have much choice but to go to this route as the coverage across the field is very good by the Saints. (1/2, 19 Yards)

Pass #3

Situation: 3rd and 9 NO 40
Description: Q1-(12:25) E. Manning Pass Short Middle to O. Beckham Jr. to NO 28 for 12 Yards (D. Breaux). Penalty on NO-K. Vaccaro, Defensive Holding, Declined

The referee called the wrong player on the defensive holding as CB Delvin Breaux held Beckham. SS Kenny Vaccaro was in deep coverage and was playing deep zone. Manning on this play shows great anticipation and is reading the body position of Breaux. Manning knows Beckham is coming back to the inside on his slant route. Beckham set up Breaux with and outside move and Breaux’s is turned facing the outside of the field. Breaux has no chance to cover the slant even with him holding Beckham as his momentum is going the wrong way. Manning sees this and start to throw before Beckahm gets open on the slant. Manning throws a good pass and the Giants pick up a first down. (2/3, 31 Yards)

Pass # 4

Situation: 2nd and 14 NO 32
Description: Q1-(11:29) E. Manning Pass Short Left to S. Vereen Pushed Out of Bounds at NO 8 for 24 Yards (B. Browner)

The Saints are in a Cover 3 Zone with Vaccaro assigned to play in the flat zone. Manning’s eyes to begin the play are locked on TE Will Tye who is running the post route. Vaccaro either blows the coverage or tries to gamble and jumps on Tye’s post route. This opens up the flare route by RB Shane Vereen because Browner has to respect Beckaham on his deep release when playing his deep third coverage. Manning sees Vaccaro jump the TE post and throws the easy pass to Vereen for a big gain on second down. Vaccaro as soon as the ball is thrown knows he screwed up and looks dejected during the play. (3/4, 55 Yards)

Pass #5

Situation: 1st and Goal NO 8
Description: Q1-(11:22) E. Manning Pass Short Right to R. Randle Pushed Out of Bounds at NO 1 for 7 Yards (K. Lewis)

This is a well designed play as CB Keenan Lewis has no chance to cover Randle on his route on the play action bootleg pass due to Randles route starting behind the line of scrimmage. Manning makes the easy and correct throw as Randle is open while Beckham is being held/locked up against by Breaux. (4/5, 62 Yards)

Pass #6

Situation: 4th and Goal NO 2
Description: Q1-(9:43) E. Manning Pass Short Right to O. Beckham Jr. for 2 Yards and Touchdown

This is a designed rub route play as well as WR Dwyane Harris runs the flare route to prevent Breaux from following Beckham in man coverage. This is perfectly legal since Harris never touches Breaux and has the right to run his route. Manning’s first read is to Beckham and Manning throws it with good timing as it allows Beckham to cut up field for a touchdown between Breaux and Humber. Manning didn’t do anything special on this play but he executed the play to perfection. (5/6, 64 Yards, 1 TD)

Pass #7

Situation: 2nd and 6 NYG 32
Description: Q1-(6:55) E. Manning Sacked at NYG 27 for -5 Yards (R. Humbar)

We can’t talk about the good without the bad and this sack is on Manning. Manning is pointing to Kikaha and calling him the “Mike.” Mike is a common term used to say which player on a blitz does the offensive line pick up. This forces the offensive line to shift to there left to account for this Mike call. Kikaha drops into coverage though and Humbar comes off the right edge. Since RT Marshall Newhouse is blocking to his left on DE Cameron Jordan’s slant, this allows Humbar a free rush at Manning. Manning is looking to his left initially until he sees Kikaha dropping into coverage. He tries to come back quickly to his right to Randle (who is open short as Vaccaro is playing off in his man coverage) but Humbar is on top of him for the sack.

Pass #8

Situation: 3rd and 11 NYG 27
Description: Q1-(6:16) E. Manning Pass Short Right to S. Vereen to NYG 34 for 7 Yards (D. Breaux; K. Vaccaro)

Not much to say here. Its a designed screen pass to Vereen and Manning completes the pass. (6/7, 71 Yards, 1 TD)

Pass #9

Situation: 1st and 10 NYG 21
Description: Q1-(2:19) E. Manning Pass Short Right to O. Beckham Jr. to NYG 30 for 9 Yards (D. Breaux)

This looks like an easy throw as Beckham gets open on the slant route against Breaux; but there is more to throw then initially appears and Manning makes a very good throw. The play action fake by Manning helps open up the window for the throw as Anthony respects the run fake. Anthony is dropping into the window fast after the play fake though and looks like he can undercut the slant route. Manning doesn’t allow this though by throwing it slightly behind Beckham. Beckham is forced to slow down his route but this avoids Anthony completely and allows for a good completion on first down. (7/8, 80 Yards, 1 TD)

Pass #10

Situation: 1st and 10 NYG 36
Description: Q1-(1:14) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Deep Right to D. Harris

Manning makes the right read on this play. Harris has a lot of speed and is running the go route against Lewis who is still recovering from hip surgery. Harris gets even with Lewis and Manning knows Lewis can’t keep up with Harris. Combine that with Vaccaro not being aware of the go route in his deep coverage (he is focused on Tye instead) and Harris is open for the touchdown. Manning’s mechanics look fine on the throw but he just misses the pass to Harris. (7/9, 80 Yards, 1 TD)

Pass #11

Situation: 1st and 10 NO 47
Description: Q1-(0:31) E. Manning Pass Short Left to R. Randle Pushed Out of Bounds NO 38 for 9 Yards (B. Browner). Penalty on NO-B. Browner, Unnecessary Roughness, 15 Yards, Enforced at NO 38

Manning does a good job reading the technique used by Browner in his man coverage of Randle. Browner is using technique to keep Randle from beating him deep on a route. This opens up the curl route though as Browner can’t react to Randle’s turn in his route. Manning sees this technique and makes the right read to go after Browner. The timing is a bit late but Browner lacks quickness so Randle is able to come back to ball with ease for the completion. Manning also does a good job going through his reads and making a quick decision as Randle is his second read (TE Larry Donnell on the seam route is his first read but Cover 1 takes away this route easily). (8/10, 89 Yards, 1 TD)

Pass #12

Situation: 1st and 10 NO 23
Description: Q1-(0:06) E. Manning Pass Deep Middle to L. Donnell to NO 1 for 22 Yards (B. Browner)

This pass is set up by a good play action fake by Manning. MLB/OLB Michael Mauti bites on the good play action fake, opening up Donnell on the seam route out of the backfield. Mauti cannot get underneath the route and Manning makes the right read going to Donnell. The pass is mediocre as he overthrows the ball to Donnell. Donnell bails him out with a great one handed catch though for a big play. (9/11, 111 Yards, 1 TD)

The 2nd Quarter throws are on the next page.

Quarter 2

Pass #13

Situation: 2nd and Goal NO 1
Description: Q2-(14:21) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Left to R. Randle (B. Browner). Penalty-NO-B. Browner, Defensive Holding, 0 Yards, Enforced at NO 1 - No Play.

I think Manning is trying to throw this ball to Donnell on this play and it isn’t a bad idea. Donnell is a big TE at 6’6″, 265 lbs and is matched up against the 6’0″ 214 lbs Vaccaro. Manning can just throw it up for Donnell and let him body up Vaccaro. But Manning’s throw placement is in my opinion poor as he tries to throw it low enough that only Donnell can make a chance. Whether this works or not is impossible to tell because Browner uses Randle like a sling shot to attempt the INT. Browner gets called on the easy holding penalty and the Giants get a new set of downs.

Pass #14

Situation: 2nd and Goal NO 1
Description: Q2-(13:34) E. Manning Pass Short Right to O. Beckham Jr. for 1 Yard and Touchdown.

This is a carbon copy of the first touchdown as Randle runs the rub route combination with Beckham. Breaux has to go around Randle in man coverage which opens up Beckham on the slant. Manning again throws it with good timing as he throws it between Breaux and Mauti for the touchdown. (10/12, 112 Yards, 2 TDs).

Pass #15

Situation: 2nd and 8 NYG 25
Description: Q2-(10:23) E. Manning Sacked at NYG 22 for -3 Yards (K. Edebali)

Manning does two things wrong on this play. The first is not throwing to This first read Tye on the curl route. Mauti may be closing in but this is an easy completion if it throw to Tye’s right. This could of been an short completion to set up a 3rd and medium play. Instead Manning tucks and runs with the ball. This makes no sense either as the pocket was pretty good. Manning has more time in the pocket but his internal clock is going off (maybe due to poor protection in the past). OLB/DE Kasim Edebali is put on the ground by C Weston Richburg but Manning runs right into him for the sack.

Pass # 16

Situation: 3rd and 11 NYG 22
Description: Q2-(9:45) E. Manning Sacked at NYG 9 for -13 Yards (Team). Fumbles (Team) and Recovers at NYG 9. E. Manning to NYG 9 for 0 Yards (C. Jordan)

The ball slips out of Manning’s hand on the throw to Vereen on the screen pass. That’s all I have to say about this play.

Pass #17

Situation: 1st and 10 NYG 20
Description: Q2-(1:46) E. Manning Pass Short Right to S. Vereen Pushed Out of Bounds at NYG 27 for 7 Yards (B. Browner)

Manning’s eyes open up Vereen again on the flare route. Manning is look towards the middle of the field toward Tye and Beckham. Both of them are running in breaking routes which holds Browner and Vaccaro towards the middle of the field. Vereen leaks out of the backfield and Browner doesn’t follow him out the backfield because he is trying to read Manning’s eyes. Vereen is open in the flat because of this and Manning doesn’t look his way until he is basically throwing the ball to him. Manning’s good eye manipulation holds the defense in place which gives him an easy throw. (11/13, 119 Yards, 2 TDs)

Pass #18

Situation: 1st and 10 NYG 34
Description: Q2-(1:23) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Left to D. Harris (D. Swann)

Manning is reading the two man route combination of Randle and Harris and sees that CB Damian Swann is trailing behind Harris on the out route. Manning makes a good read to throw it to Harris and throws with good timing on this route as it is before the break. Swann is able to recover and break up the pass though. I actually think Manning’s throw is not the problem on the play. Harris runs a very sloppy out route and rounds his cut. This A) allows Swann to recover as he can undercut the out route and B) messes up the trajectory of the since it was thrown before the cut. The ball ends up behind Harris, allowing Swann to break up the pass but if Harris makes a good break on the route, I don’t think Swann can recover and the ball would have been in a better location. (11/14, 119 Yards, 2 TDs)

Pass # 19

Situation: 2nd and 10 NYG 34
Description: Q2-(1:19) E. Manning Pass Short Middle to S. Vereen to NYG 35 for 5 Yards (S. Anthony)

Manning does a good job going through his read and going to the check down once he sees his first two reads are not going to be open. He is reading the Post-Out Combination of Beckham and Tye. Beckham beats Breaux in man coverage but Jarius Byrd does a great job getting over and taking away the post route. Tye cannot get separation from Browner in coverage as well so Manning goes to Vereen is open for the dump off underneath Anthony. Manning throws a good pass that prevents Anthony from making a play on the ball for a quick gain. Its a shame the read wasn’t left to right as Randle had bailing man coverage by Lewis on the play and was open on the curl. (12/15, 124 Yards, 2 TDs)

Pass #20

Situation: 3rd and 5 NYG 39
Description: Q2-(0:59) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Right to W. Tye (B. Browner). Penalty on NO-B. Browner, Defensive Holding, 5 Yards, Enforced at NYG 39 - No Play

Manning’s first and only read he goes to on this play is Tye on the out route. Tye gets Browner on his back so his is able to get open to the outside. While Browner is in decent position (thanks to him holding) there is really no where else to go as everyone else is covered. Manning’s throw on this play though is perfect as it is high and outside where only Tye can catch it. Tye isn’t able to bring it in (Browner may of punched the ball out when he brought it in) but Browner get called for the holding call.

Pass #21

Situation: 1st and 10 NYG 44
Description: Q2-(0:54) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Deep Right to O. Beckham Jr.[H. Kikaha]. Penalty on NO-H. Kikaha, Roughing the Passer, 15 Yards, Enforced at NYG 44 - No Play

Manning’s eye manipulation is again spot on as he is always going to go to Beckham on this play. He looks Vaccaro though by looking to his left towards Randle. Vaccaro can’t cheat over to Beckham. When Manning looks to his right, he sees Beckham has beaten Breaux and has a step on him. Manning makes the right read but the throw is under thrown. This slows down Beckaham and allows Breaux to take away one of Beckham’s hands. Beckham tries to make the great one handed catch ut he is unable to do so. If Manning lays this ball out, Beckham gets there before Vaccaro can and may have a touchdown. This is all for naught though as Kikaha takes out Manning at the ankles and gets the roughing the passer penalty.

Pass #22

Situation: 1st and 10 NO 41
Description: Q2-(0:50) E. Manning Pass Short Left to O. Beckham Jr. Ran Out of Bounds at NO 33 for 8 Yards (D. Breaux)

I don’t pretend to know what any of Eli Manning’s hand signals mean but I think this hand signal was an audible to kill the call and go to set play. The audible was due to the potential blitz of Anthony and Manning knew he had man coverage (since the Saints don’t hide what the do for coverage most of the time). Breaux is playing very off coverage Beckham and Beckham is easily open on his slant route. This is an easy read and throw and Manning executes it well. (13/16. 132 Yards, 2 TDs)

Pass #23

Situation: 2nd and 2 NO 33
Description: Q2-(0:43) E. Manning Pass Short Left to S. Vereen Pushed Out of Bounds at NO 30 for 3 Yards (S. Anthony)

Manning’s first read is to Beckham on this play. Breaux has him on lock down but Beckham’s route bu accident serves as a rub for Vereen’s flare route as Anthony has to go over the top of the Beckham. This open up Vereen for the easy completion in the flat and Manning sees this. This is an easy pitch and catch for a first down and Manning doesn’t do anything special. (14/17, 135 Yards, 2 TDs)

Pass #24

Situation: 1st and 10 NO 30
Description: Q2-(0:39) E. Manning Pass Short Left to M. White Ran Out of Bounds at NO 22 for 8 Yards

I honestly don’t know what this defense is suppose to be (specifically Browner looks completely lost) but if I had to guess this is Cover 3. Manning takes advantage of this and eyes play a key roll. Manning is looking to the trips side of the field and his first read is to Tye on the seam. He sees three Saints (Anthony, Byrd, and Browner) all around him. Seeing Browner playing deep in inside tells him he has one on one on the outside with WR Myles White against Breaux. Breaux is playing a deep zone and White’s comeback route easily beats this coverage. If Browner is where he is suppose to be (flat coverage), he would be underneath this route but instead he locks onto Manning’s eyes and stays inside. Manning whips his eyes to the left and immediately makes the right read and throw to White. (15/18, 143 Yards, 2 TDs).

Pass #25

Situation: 2nd and 2 NO 22
Description: Q2-(0:34) E. Manning Pass Short Right to R. Randle to NO 9 for 13 Yards (K. Vaccaro)

The success of this play is partly based on play design and partly on Manning’s throw. The Giants run a very common Slant-Flare combination and CB Kyle Wilson has to go out with Beckham on the flare route since he has flat coverage in Cover 3. This opens up a hole in the zone for Randle to get in on the slant route. Manning’s throw is great though since the window is pretty small as Anthony has a good read on the play. Manning throws this slightly behind Randle to get it past Anthony and gets the completion for the first down. (16/19, 156 Yards, 2 TDs)

Pass #26

Situation: 1st and Goal NO 9
Description: Q2-(0:14) E. Manning Pass Short Right to W. Tye Pushed Out of Bounds at NO 2 for 7 Yards (B. Browner)

Manning’s read progression on this play is excellent as Tye is his third or forth read on this play. Manning starts on his left and is looking at the Go-Out route combination but sees that both of them are covered well in man coverage. He comes back to his right and sees Beckham is covered well by Breaux but Tye has beaten Browner on the out route (Browner was cheating on an in breaking out and got beat easily). Manning’s throw is also excellent as he puts it high and outside where only Tye can get it for the completion. (17/20, 163 Yards, 2 TDs)

Pass #27

Situation: 2nd and Goal NO 2
Description: Q2-(0:07) E. Manning Pass Short Right to S. Vereen for 2 Yards and Touchdown

Manning doesn’t do anything special. Vereen vs. Anthony is a complete mismatch and Manning throws the easy pass to Vereen for a touchdown. (18/21, 165 Yards, 3 TDs)

Click on the Next Page for Manning’s 3rd Quarter Throws

3rd Quarter

Pass #28

Situation: 2nd and 5 NYG 40
Description: Q3-(14:18) E. Manning Pass Short Left to D. Harris to NYG 48 for 8 Yards (M. Mauti)

Manning knows a blitz is coming and figures out that Mauti is not the one blitzing (he points to Anthony as the Mike I think). Manning immediately goes to his hot read which is Harris in the slot. The Saints bring Swann off the edge on the blitz, opening up Harris quickly as Mauti has no chance to get into his hook zone and Breaux in the disguise is playing off in his flat coverage. Manning recognition of the blitz makes this an easy completion for a first down. (19/22, 173 Yards, 3 TDs)

Pass #29

Siutation: 2nd and 8 50
Description: Q3-(13:08) E. Manning Pass Deep Right to O. Beckham Jr. for 50 Yards and Touchdown

Every team in the NFL runs the play action boot flood pass. The Giants run this play but instead of Beckham coming across the field, he runs the backside post. Manning rolls out and sees that Byrd as flowed with the bootleg, giving Beckham a one on one opportunity with Breaux deep. Once Byrd stops getting depth on his drop, he has no chance to catch up with the pass and Breaux cannot easily keep up with Beckham’s speed. Manning’s throw is not ideal as it is slightly underthrown but it is good enough as Byrd cannot make a play on the ball and Breaux gamble to break up the pass misses badly. This is partly great play design and partly good read by Manning in seeing Byrd had taken himself out of the play. (20/23, 223 Yards, 4 TDs)

Pass #30

Situation: 2nd and 6 NYG 47
Description: Q3-(9:32) E. Manning Pass Deep Middle to W. Tye to NO 21 for 32 Yards (J. Byrd)[H. Kikaha]. Penalty on NYG-E. Flowers, Offensive Holding, 10 Yards, Enforced at NYG 47 - No Play

I have a tough time determine if this play was good Manning or just poor defense. On one hand, Manning’s eye placemebt on Beckham keeps Breaux in his deep third coverage focused on Beckham and that influenced him not going deep with Tye. But Byrd is drifting to his left away from Tye and towards Harris. Maybe he is expecting Manning to try to look him off and is taking away the Harris throw but he and Breaux leave a giant gap in the seam for Tye to exploit. Manning makes the easy read and makes a better then expected throw for being in the process of being pulled down by Kikaha. Ereck Flowers holding call though negates a big play.

Pass #31

Situation: 2nd and 16 NYG 37
Description: Q3-(9:21) E. Manning Pass Short Incomplete Short Left to R. Randle. Penatly on NYG-W. Richburg, Ineligable Man Downfield, Declined. Penalty NYG-G. Schwartz, Offensive Holding, Declined

This play is a disaster from the beginning as RG Geoff Schwartz gets run over by Jordan and Kikaha gets inside penetration. Manning does a heck of a job getting out of the pocket and rolling out to his left. Randle should of be lit into after this play as he doesn’t follow the rules of the scramble drill. He should of turned upfield and try to go deep since he was on a short route. Instead he stands there and does nothing, giving Manning no where to throw. Manning should of either chucked this out of bounds or tired to run with the ball but instead he tries to force it to Randle and ball ends up being incomplete. (20/24, 223 Yards, 4 TDs)

Pass #32

Situation: 3rd and 16 NYG 37
Description: Q3-(9:13) E. Manning Pass Short Left to W. Tye to NYG 37 for No Gain (J. Byrd). Fumbles (J. Byrd), Recovered by NO-J. Byrd at NYG 37. J. Byrd to NYG 36 for 1 Yard (J. Pugh)

This is a designed “screen play” to Tye on the out route as Harris and Beckham are downfield blockers. There isn’t anything to talk about the play. (21/25, 223 Yards, 4 TDs)

Pass #33

Situation: 1st and 10 NYG 21
Description: Q3-(6:31) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Right to R. Jennings

Manning does a good job throwing this ball away as no one gets open on the play. The Saints Cover 2 takes away every route but the offensive line does a great job in pass protection. Manning is constantly scanning the field trying to find someone open but after four seconds the clock in his head is going off as he expects the pass rush to get to him. Harris gets open late but to expect Manning to hold the ball for 5-6 seconds and find him is asking a ton for any QB. (21/26, 223 Yards, 4 TDs)

Pass #34

Situation: 2nd and 10 NYG 21
Description: Q3-(6:24) E. Manning Pass Short Right to R. Jennings to NYG 46 for 25 Yards (D. Swann)

Even though Manning’s eye placement doesn’t mean much since the Saints are in man coverage, it shows great discipline by him and attention to details. This is a screen pass to the right but Manning is looking to the left until right before he throws the pass. Against zone, this would get the defense to move away from the screen pass but since it was man coverage, only the deep safeties were watching his eyes. (22/27, 248 Yards, 4 TDs)

Pass #35

Situation: 2nd and 10 NYG 46
Description: Q3-(5:08) E. Manning Pass Incomplete Short Middle to R. Randle (S. Anthony)

Manning’s mechanics betray him on this play as this was a completable pass to Randle. Manning as he has done all game does a good job of going though his reads and scanning the field for his receivers. Randle does open up late on the slant route and is open with an outside and high throw to him. Manning’s mechanics are horrible here though as his momentum is all moving to his left while Randle is moving right. This leads to a ball that is thrown very behind Randle and Anthony (who is behind Randle) makes a play on the ball instead. (22/28, 248 Yards, 4 TDs)

Pass #36

Situation: 3rd and 10 NYG 46
Description: Q3-(5:02) E. Manning Pass Short Middle to S. Vereen to NO 47 for 7 Yards (S. Anthony)

I don’t think there is much more Manning could do on this play. First off, the pocket collapses around him quickly and Edebali and Jordan both get edge pressure on Manning. His WRs don’t get open either on their routes and Tye falls over. This only leaves Vereen who is open but covered tightly by Anthony. Manning makes the right read and throw but Vereen cannot get past Anthony for the first down (23/29, 255 Yards, 4 TDs)

Pass #37

Situation: 1st and 10 NYG 20
Description: Q3-(0:29) E. Manning Pass Short Right to O. Beckham Jr. Pushed Out of Bounds at NYG 30 for 10 Yards (D. Breaux)

This is a very easy read and throw for Manning to make but again he sets it up with his eyes. Manning is looking at Tye initially on the curl route. This freezes up Vaccaro (who is suppose to drop into the flat in cover 3) and he stays on Tye’s route. This opens up Beckham on the outside because Breaux has to bail into his deep third zone. As soon as Manning sees Vaccaro sitting on Tye’s route, he whips his eyes to Beckham and throws the ball to him for a first down. (24/30, 265 Yards, 4 TDs)

Click on Next Page for 4th Quarter Passes

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.