Giants Reset Clock
Great defenses made the New York Giants Super Bowl champions under Bill Parcells.
Jim Fassel didn’t change the formula in resurrecting the team and leading it Saturday to its first NFC East title since 1990.
On an afternoon the Gatorade bath and the cries of “Dee-fense” returned to the Giants Stadium, Jason Sehorn scored on a 35-yard interception return and the defense forced six turnovers. The Giants’ 30-10 victory over the Washington Redskins in East Rutherford, N.J., returned them to the playoffs for the first time in four years.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this good about anything involved with football,” said Fassel. “Like I told the players after the game: They never expected us to get here. We’re the Giants and we’re back.”
The victory guaranteed the Giants a home game in the first round of the playoffs in two weeks. It also put Washington in a situation where it must beat Philadelphia at home next week and then get help to make the playoffs.
Charles Way scored on a 15-yard run, Danny Kanell threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Chris Calloway and Brad Daluiso kicked three field goals for the Giants, whose offense sustained only one drive.
Giants 30, Redskins 10
Washington 0 3 7 0 - 10
N.Y. Giants 17 3 0 10 - 30
NYG-FG Daluiso 41
NYG-Way 15 run (Daluiso kick)
NYG-Calloway 7 pass from Kanell (Daluiso kick)
Was-FG Blanton 33
NYG-FG Daluiso 28
Was-Connell 43 pass from Hostetler (Blanton kick)
NYG-FG Daluiso 28
NYG-Sehorn 35 interception return (Daluiso kick)
A-77,571.
Was NY First downs 14 18 Rushes-yards 15-45 37-130 Passing 275 110 Punt Returns 2-5 2-5 Kickoff Returns 6-127 3-57 Interceptions Ret. 2-5 4-53 Comp-Att-Int 23-42-4 13-25-2 Sacked-Yards Lost 3-13 2-15 Punts 3-41.0 6-40.2 Fumbles-Lost 4-2 1-0 Penalties-Yards 4-40 5-46 Time of Possession 25:15 34:45
Individual statistics
RUSHING-Washington, Davis 10-41, Connell 1-3, Hostetler 2-1, Bowie 1-0, Turk 1-0. New York, Way 11-49, Hampton 11-43, Barber 13-32, Kanell 1-4, Patten 1-2.
PASSING-Washington, Hostetler 23-42-4-288. New York, Kanell 13-25-2-125.
RECEIVING-Washington, Connell 5-89, Mitchell 5-70, Asher 4-48, Davis 3-23, Thomas 3-21, Thrash 2-24, Ellard 1-13. New York, Cross 5-52, Calloway 2-17, Way 2-17, Toomer 1-14, Patten 1-9, Pierce 1-9, Barber 1-7.
MISSED FIELD GOALS-None.
Steelers 24, Patriots 21 (OT)
Just call Kordell Stewart “The Comeback Kid.”
For the second straight week, Pittsburgh’s multi-talented quarterback rallied the Steelers from a 14-point deficit, en route to an overtime win in Foxboro, Mass., that kept New England from clinching a playoff berth.
The game ended with Norm Johnson’s 31-yard field goal on the only possession of overtime. And it was made possible by Kevin Henry’s interception that led to Stewart’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Mark Bruener with 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter and his two-point conversion completion to Yancey Thigpen.
Pittsburgh 0 7 3 11 3 - 24
New Englnd 0 14 0 7 0 - 21
NE-Coates 18 pass from Bledsoe (Vinatieri kick)
NE-Gash 1 pass from Bledsoe (Vinatieri kick)
Pit-Stewart 1 run (N.Johnson kick)
Pit-FG N.Johnson 36
Pit-FG N.Johnson 34
NE-Meggett 49 pass from Bledsoe (Vinatieri kick)
Pit-Bruener 1 pass from Stewart (Thigpen pass from Stewart)
Pit-FG N.Johnson 31
A-60,013.
Pit NE First downs 22 15 Rushes-yards 40-138 18-42 Passing 266 211 Punt Returns 4-27 2-18 Kickoff Returns 5-102 4-109 Interceptions Ret. 2-54 2-15 Comp-Att-Int 26-48-2 21-36-2 Sacked-Yards Lost 0-00 0-00 Punts 5-43.0 6-44.5 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0 Penalties-Yards 10-72 5-35 Time of Possession 41:04 23:39
Individual statistics
RUSHING-Pittsburgh, Bettis 28-80, Stewart 10-57, G.Jones 2-1. New England, Cullors 5-19, Grier 6-14, Meggett 4-8, Gash 1-2, Bledsoe 2-(minus 1).
PASSING-Pittsburgh, Stewart 26-48-2-266. New England, Bledsoe 21-36-2-211.
RECEIVING-Pittsburgh, C.Johnson 6-87, Hawkins 5-77, Thigpen 5-45, Bruener 5-43, Bettis 4-12, G.Jones 1-2. New England, Jefferson 5-57, Coates 5-39, Meggett 4-66, Brown 3-32, Brisby 1-9, Byars 1-5, Cullors 1-2, Gash 1-1.
MISSED FIELD GOALS-None.