• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Manning, Giants edge Bengals in overtime thriller

Sep 21, 2008 - 10:39 PM By Joe Rizzo PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The New York Giants were not perfect on Sunday, but their record remained unblemished.

Eli Manning directed an overtime drive that John Carney capped with his fourth field goal of the game, a 22-yarder with 8:39 remaining, as the Giants outlasted the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-23.

The reigning Super Bowl MVP, Manning made a pair of pivotal plays on the final drive to get the Giants (3-0) off to their best start since 2000. New York, which has a bye next week, improved to 16-4 all-time in games preceding its bye.

"That was a fun one," Manning said. "It wasn't pretty at all times. We didn't play our best football. But when we needed plays, guys stepped up and made plays. Your goal is to start fast. It's a good feeling. We're going to enjoy this week off."

Manning found Plaxico Burress, who beat Leon Hall for a 28-yard reception that moved the ball to the Cincinnati 38-yard line with 10 minutes left in the extra session.

"You just have to make that play," said Hall, who did an otherwise outstanding job at left cornerback of being the main defender against Burress. "That hurt us. We have to finish, especially in overtime like that."

After two incomplete passes, Manning lofted a 31-yarder to a wide-open Amani Toomer, who made an acrobatic catch outside of Chinedum Ndukwe along the left sideline before tip-toeing out of bounds at the Cincinnati 7.

Manning quickly led the offense to the line for a three-yard run by Derrick Ward, giving officials little time to possibly overturn the play by video review.

"I thought his feet were out," said Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who had a look down the sideline. "I would have taken a timeout. I don't know what they saw in the booth."

In overtime, any video review is initiated by the officials - the same rules that apply in the final two minutes of the half.

"If there's any question, they won't let you snap the ball, anyway," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.

It set the stage for Carney, who easily booted the 22-yard field goal two plays later to lift the Super Bowl champs to their second straight home win.

The 44-year-old Carney has been stellar in relief of Lawrence Tynes, who was kicking before the game as part of his knee rehabilitation.

"We knew mid-week that John was going to be our kicker," Coughlin said. "He's done very well. Let's face it, pretty much everything we have asked the guy to do, he has done it."

It was a thrilling end to a nerve-wracking day for the Giants, who squandered a late fourth-quarter lead when Palmer orchestrated a 10-play, 71-yard drive that Shayne Graham capped with a 21-yard field goal as regulation expired.

Palmer's late-game heroics countered a go-ahead drive by the Giants that culminated with Manning's 4-yard scoring pass to tight end Kevin Boss with 1:50 left, making it 23-20.

Cincinnati (0-3) grabbed a 20-16 lead with 4:39 remaining when Palmer connected with T.J. Houshmandzadeh on a 17-yard TD pass into tight double-coverage.

Palmer completed 27-of-39 passes for 286 yards while Houshmandzadeh finished with 12 catches for 146 yards.

"It's a tough situation, one we never envisioned ourselves being in," Palmer said of the winless start. "We have to find a way to scrap out a win, take a deep breath and say, 'OK, we got one.'"

"There we were again, as I told the guys, we made some positive plays, but you got to finish the thing out," said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who despite being frequently maligned has a 42-42 record in his six seasons with Cincinnati. "At the end of the day, we got to finish off the thing."

Manning finished 26-of-43 for 289 yards and completed passes to eight different receivers, including Steve Smith, who caught seven for 60 yards. Ward rushed for 80 yards on just nine carries while Brandon Jacobs scored on a 1-yard run for the Giants.

Despite being a two-touchdown favorite, the Giants had all they could handle with Cincinnati, which enjoyed its first lead of the season and held a 13-10 edge at the half. But Carney converted from 46 yards in the third quarter and 26 with 11:32 left in the game to give New York a 16-13 lead.

"It's about winning the game," Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "Not about covering some point spread. But at the end of the day, it's New York Giants, 3-and-0."

The Bengals secured their first lead of the season with 38 seconds left in the first quarter when Graham kicked a 22-yard field goal.

But they gave it up the ensuing possession as the Giants marched 80 yards in nine plays, with Jacobs diving over from the 1 to make it 7-3.

What was a punting battle in the first quarter became a scoring match, as Cincinnati responded with a 74-yard drive capped by Chris Perry's 25-yard scoring run around right end to give the Bengals a 10-7 lead.

It was Perry's longest run since 2005 and the Bengals' longest TD since Rudi Johnson's 36-yarder on October 25, 2004. Perry finished with 74 yards on 20 carries.

The Giants responded with a 24-yard field goal by Carney, but Graham answered from 30 yards just 32 seconds before the break as the Bengals took a 13-10 lead into the locker room.

Cincinnati returns home next weekend to take on the rival Cleveland Browns. After that, the Bengals will travel to Dallas, then return here to play the New York Jets.

"We know as a team, no one is going to lie down," Bengals defensive end Robert Geathers said. "At 0-3, we don't feel good as a team. We just have to keep fighting because it's a long season."