80 Giants - Niners Takeaways

Just an epic game, so we're going long...

80) Jim Harbaugh really enjoys hitting QB Alex Smith on the shoulder pads, almost as much as Fox enjoys televising it

79) The first quarter block by Joe Staley on Jason Pierre-Paul was all kinds of manly, and got the Niners their initial first down

78) I bet the over on the number of times that Joe Buck discussed the coldness and wetness, and got paid off easily

77) It didn't take long for Giants Fan to scream "Crooooze", but they didn't sound as loud as they did in Green Bay

76) Troy Aikmann told us that when the running game isn't working and the Niners are getting no pass rush anyway, the Giants have to keep running it anyway for some reason

75) The first time the Niners got pressure on QB Eli Manning was the first third down they defended, which isn't exactly a coincidence

74) Fox really enjoys turning up the volume on their telecasts coming out of commercial

73) TE Vernon Davis was clearly saving himself for the post-season, and enjoys 15 yard pedestals

72) S Antrel Rolle might want to start talking less in pre-game, especially when he's chasing guys into the end zone

71) Ed Hochuli enjoys mic time, but might not have the tongue skills for it

70) The overhead cameras clearly needed wipers and defoggers

69) RB Brandon Jacobs continues to be a tremendously overrated short yardage option

68) The Giants missed a golden opportunity on a badly executed reverse, as Osi Umenyiora whiffed on the fumble recovery, and that kind of play hasn't happened to Blue for months

67) The ball that Smith nearly had picked at the end of the first quarter looked Tebow-esque

66) Rain in HD is nearly as much fun as snow

65) The 36-yard connection to Cruz might be as far as Manning can throw it in these conditions

64) This postseason is the best that Eli has ever played, and it's really not close to second place

63) The throw to Bear Pascoe for the score shows Eli will use anyone in the passing game, regardless of the snicker value of the player's name

62) You have to be impressed by the Niners' ability to turn the rain off while on offense

61) Davis was flagged for 15 yards on a play where the Niners had beef over an OL getting his helmet removed

60) At this point in their careers, Smith might have more straight line speed than RB Frank Gore

59) The Giants didn't jump on a fourth and 2, because that play never works (unless you need to clinch a game against the Eagles)

58) New York seemed oddly fixated on Travis Beckham, considering how many better options they had in the passing game

57) The Harbaugh family really doesn't go for aggression before halftime

56) Cruz bailed out his QB repeatedly in the two-minute drill

55)) Watching Eli's little dance before taking a delay of game penalty looked familiar to me, in that I've potty-trained daughters

54) It really is a treat to watch a defense where the first player to touch the runner tackles him

53) The Pierre-Paul sack made Buck achieve orgasm, which is to say, Buck reacted the way he usually does

52) Smith is clearly athletic enough to not get late hit flags

51) The Aaron Ross penalty for a first down was basically the equivalent of a defensive turnover, and clearly energized the Niners

50) Justin Tuck was fortunate to not give up another first down on a 50/50 running into / roughing the passer flag

49) For a team with conservative play calling and no WRs, the Niners have some quick-strike capability, at least as long as you let Davis run clear

48) You will be shocked to discover this, but when Eli has to deal with pressure, he's a remarkably less effective QB

47) Aikmann's rooting for the Giants started to get pretty blatant, even by the usual Fox standards

46) The Niner defense was not called for a brutal hit on a defenseless defender

45) Chris Canty gave the Niners 15 yards for something silly, which is to say, he gave them their biggest offensive play that wasn't a touchdown to Davis

44) The Niners held a lead in the fourth quarter despite going 0-for-8 on third down, which is downright hard to do

43) Harbaugh took an intentional delay penalty to give P Andy Lee the change to use his full leg and pin the Giants deep... only to watch him chunk it to just the 20-yard-line anyway

42) The Niners' DL really started to anticipate the snap late, and Eli really never adjusted

41) The HD slo-mo of Manning getting sacked with 11:30 left was kind of pornographic, not that I'm complaining too much

40) Kyle Williams' muffed punt should have been a Giants touchdown, as well as a play that the PR never gets near

39) The idea that who goes to the Super Bowl in the NFC depended on the availability of Ted Ginn Jr. boggles the mind, really

38) Manning to Manningham for the go-ahead score was the WR's first catch of the day, the biggest catch of his life, and more or less perfect

37) Williams nearly redeemed himself with a big kickoff returner, which was a nice reminder to the NFL that kickoff returns that aren't touchbacks are kind of fun

36) The Giant defense clearly has an issue with mobile QBs

35) The 49er line blocking on the 18-yard run by Kendall Hunter was pancake-riffic, and made the Giants' defense look like it needed a standing 8-count

34) Smith's low ball fake with six minutes left was downright goofy

33) 54 minutes without a third down conversion and tied in a conference championship game just does not compute

32) It would have been nice to have this David Akers last year

31) The three and out by the Niners was downright beastly, but the Giants 3 and out came with a big yardage sack, so it was more beastly

30) Lee's first really good punt of the day came when the Niners really needed it

29) You'd never guess we were in a pass-wacky age from the way these defenses played late in the game

28) The Giants were clearly bailed out by the non-fumble call on Bradshaw, and yes, that's the biggest New York media market conspiracy call of the game

27) The back to back 3-and-outs when the Giants had a chance to win in regulation won't do much for Eli's candidacy for Elite QB Status

26) Shawn Weatherford equalled Lee for the Punter Es Muy Macho side bet

25) I'm told that Michael Crabtree played in this game, but it's hard to see the evidence

24) The Niner 3-and-out that took 20 seconds off the clock will also not do much for Smith's candidacy for Isn't Just A Game Manager With One Legendary Day status

23) Manning to Bradshaw for the big gain showed courage and touch befitting of Elite status

22) Manning to Bradshaw for the small gain showed mobility and awareness that's better than his brother

21) Credit where due: the coverage on the third down throw to Cruz that could have ended the game was spectacular

20) No matter what the situation, Smith is ready to settle for a check down

19) Tuck got away with a helmet to helmet hit on Smith with 4 seconds left that could have made things a little more interesting

18) As if New England needed any more breaks this year, they'll play a team that had to go to extra time in the last game

17) At some point, Akers might not have enough energy to get a touchback, but that might not be until Monday

16) At the start of overtime, for the second time today, the Niner DBs prevented each other from making a big pick

15) Why NY is throwing to a guy who did not have a catch in the regular season on an overtime third down is beyond me

14) Watching both of these QBs blow opportunities to end the game was like watching a heads up poker game where the small blind always folds

13) Encroachment against the defense with 10:15 left in overtime is another one of those Hmm Media Market moments, and inspired Ahman Brooks to nearly remove Eli's arm

12) Justin Smith finally got into the sack parade at a pretty important time

11) Seriously, Kyle Williams should just go live in a leper colony with Billy Cundiff

10) Redskin Fan is kind of sick over the fact that Devin Thomas is finally helping a team win games

9) The nation's gamblers who had NY -3 desperately wanted Bradshaw to score the clinching touchdown, rather than settle for the figgie

8) The idea that a game as good as this one had to end over a muffed punt was nearly as unsatisfying as the earlier missed field goal

7) Icing the kicker doesn't make much sense when the offense is taking a delay of game

6) Eli knew the play clock better than Coughlin, which is funny in retrospect

5) Never in the history of humanity have so many people been so happy to go to Indianapolis in February

4) Weatherford and Tynes coped with a low snap, which makes him heroic, or at least, more clutch than Tony Romo

3) Niner Fan can console themselves with the fact that, well, they can go right back to doubting Smith again

2) All in all, not a very good day for the Harbaugh family

1) We have achieved Nightmare, just as you knew we would