EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Even Eli Manning’s feet are dangerous.
Manning punctuated his best pro season Sunday by throwing for three touchdowns and scrambling for a 14-yard gain that woke up New York’s offense. He sparked the Giants to a 24-2 rout of the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC wild-card game Sunday, their first postseason victory since their Super Bowl upset of undefeated New England four years ago.
Next up is just as big a challenge for the Giants (10-7): the defending champion Packers in Green Bay next Sunday. New York lost 38-35 to Green Bay in December.
”We know they are a good team,” Manning said. “We played them tough here, did some good things here, we scored some points. We know offensively we are going to have to play strong, score some points.”
The team that couldn’t run the ball will be sprinting there, bringing along a defense the Packers (15-1) actually might fear. Not to mention the offense led by Manning, who hooked up on a 72-yard catch and run by Hakeem Nicks in the third quarter that put away the inept Falcons (10-7). Manning also connected on a 4-yard TD with Nicks in the second period, and a 27-yard TD throw to Mario Manningham in the fourth quarter that finished it off.