Tough climbs back to the top
Both teams look to regain magic that led to Super Bowls
When the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI to end the 2011 season, it capped their second world championship in five years, and their fifth postseason trip in a seven-year span.
A year later, the Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl XLVII, highlighting a stretch during which the franchise won at least one playoff game in five consecutive years under John Harbaugh. The seasons that have followed for both teams are an indication of how difficult it is to win consistently in the NFL. The Giants haven’t been to the playoffs since their most recent Super Bowl victory, and they haven’t finished with a winning record since 2012. The Ravens have had one playoff appearance in three seasons since claiming their second world championship.
When the two teams meet today at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.,
both will try to end losing streaks that are threatening to derail another season. The Giants have lost three straight games and have fallen into last place in the NFC East. The Ravens have lost two in a row, prompting Harbaugh to fire offensive coordinator Marc Trestman and replace him with quarterbacks coach Marty Mornhinweg.
“There’s a big urgency. When you see somebody go, you see somebody essentially get fired, it lights a fire under everybody,” Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta said. “You understand that nobody’s job is safe, from the head coach down to the long snapper. Marty steps up and is in this position, and we all want to play well for him. We all want to go out there and be explosive offensively and do really good things for him.”
Both teams disputed the notion that this is a must-win game, although wide receiver Mike Wallace summed up the prevailing attitude in the Ravens locker room when he said, “At the same time, we need to win.”
That’s something neither the Ravens nor the Giants have done consistently since getting to the NFL mountaintop.
After promoting Ben McAdoo to replace longtime head coach Tom Coughlin and an offseason spending spree to fix their defense, the Giants started this season 2-0. But they lost at home to the Washington Redskins, then were overmatched in dropping back-to-back road games to the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.
Star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s behavior has been a weekly topic of conversation, and struggling left tackle Ereck Flowers added to the perception that the Giants are a frustrated team by pushing an ESPN reporter after the loss to the Packers. On the field, the offense has played so poorly in recent weeks that some wonder how much good football quarterback Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, has left at the age of 35.
“I think when things go wrong, everyone needs something to point at,” said Beckham, who has had a relatively quiet start in terms of on-field
Changes of fortune
production. “It’s easy to point the finger here and there. Internally between all of us, we have to play better.”
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who has a Super Bowl MVP award of his own, can certainly relate to Manning’s struggles. In three of the Ravens’ five games, an offense that was billed as one of the most talented the team has ever had has made only one offensive touchdown.
The anemic offense cost the Ravens (3-2) in back-to-back losses and led to Trestman’s dismissal after 21 games as the team’s offensive coordinator. Mornhinweg’s debut as the Ravens’ play caller will come at a time when top receiver Steve Smith Sr. is dealing with an ankle injury, and the team could be without at least two starting offensive linemen, including Marshal Yanda, perhaps the best guard in football.
“We just have to do what we are doing better,” Flacco said. “Find a better rhythm, take advantage of some more opportunities.”
Manning and Flacco have gotten used to carrying their team’s fortunes in recent seasons. For all of Manning’s late-game heroics, it was the Giants defense that shut down Tom Brady and the vaunted Patriots offense in two Super Bowls.
But as defensive stars such as Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora have moved on, the unit hasn’t remained playoff-caliber.
Manning has had his moments, but he’s been unable to lift a perennially injury-marred supporting cast back to the postseason. Since winning the Super Bowl, the Giants are 30-39, and they’ve finished in third place in their division in three consecutive years. They sit in last place in the surprisingly strong-starting NFC East.
“It’s tough,” Manning said in a conference call with Baltimore-area reporters last week. “You have to play good football week-in and week-out and be consistent. … [It is about] just trying to figure out how to do that.”
Asked about the importance of today’s game, Manning said: “We know we have to get going. Guys are committed to doing whatever it takes to change things and get back to winning again.”
The Ravens’ struggles since winning the Super Bowl behind Flacco’s magical run have been less jarring. They are 26-27 heading into today’s game, and they made one return trip to the playoffs in 2014.
However, last season’s injury-filled 5-11 season, the franchise’s worst since 2007, upped the ante this season.
Things started well as the Ravens reeled off close victories over the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars to start 3-0. But the past two losses have brought a “here we go again” feel.
“We are itching for a ‘W,’ ” said Ravens rush linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “When you lose, everything is bad. You can fill in the blanks. The food is bad; everything is bad. We need to get a ‘W,’ and we need one now. They are coming off [three] losses, too. There is only going to be one winner come Sunday, and we want it to be us.”