Giants vs. Bengals (Week 10) | Game Highlights | NFL
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. For most of the past two years, the New York Giants" offense has consisted of Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. If the quarterback-wide receiver tandem didn"t play well or put up big numbers, the Giants didn"t have a chance. New York"s offense would sputter, and its defense wouldn"t be strong enough to carry it.
That no longer appears to be the case. The Giants have another weapon -- rookie wide receiver Sterling Shepard -- who is developing into a serious threat. He may not be at the level of Beckham, but Shepard is a quality player out of the slot -- another playmaker to complement Beckham.
Shepard caught a touchdown pass for the third straight game in Sundays 22-16win over the Chicago Bears at MetLife Stadium. He finished with five catches for 50 yards and 1 touchdown.
On a day when Beckham was held to 5 catches on 7 targets and just 46 yards, the Giants (7-3) still managed to do enough offensively to win their fifth straight game. That was just fine with Beckham.
No, Im happy we won, he asked if he was frustrated by the lack of touches.
It helped that Shepard was a major factor. He was targeted 11 times, and came through with two of the Giants biggest plays in the contest.
The second-round pick out of Oklahoma caught a fourth-down pass in the red zone on the Giants opening drive, and he had what proved to be the game-winning score in the third quarter. He used a nasty double-move to get wide open down the seam for the easy touchdown catch.
Manning was impressed.
Sterling is playing well. Hes just getting better on some routes and adding more to his arsenal of routes that hes winning, Manning said after finishing 21-of-36 passing for 227 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a nice third-down conversion on a crossing route. Obviously the touchdown, he had a double move and I think killed the guy. I think the guy was still running the shallow route thinking thats what hes running.
Hes done a good job just understanding the offense, understanding the timing of certain routes, how to set up things. Weve got to keep going with that.
Shepard also caught the game-winning touchdown last Monday night on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter against Cincinnati. Hes been making catches, and doing it in the clutch.
With Shepard becoming a more consistent threat and veteran wide receiver Victor Cruz chipping in with the occasional big play (he had a key 46-yard reception prior to Shepard"s touchdown grab), the Giants are no longer so reliant on just one playmaker. Its no longer Beckham or bust.
Were up for the challenge. This is why were here and why we play, Cruz said. We understand that theres going to be games where Odell is going to be seeing a lot of coverage and attention. Shep and I and the entire receiving corps, were ready to step up and make plays. When the time comes, we have to be ready.
It"s part of why the Giants won their fifth straight game despite a slow start and poor defensive performance in the first half. The Giants trailed 16-6 before slowly taking over against the inferior Bears (2-8).
It doesnt really matter how you do it or whom you do it against. Five straight wins in the NFL is impressive. The Giants are doing it with an improved defense and an opportunistic offense that now has a second consistent playmaker.
Source: http://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/49471/rookie-sterling-shepard-does-it-again-for-giants
