In Giants.com's "Top 5" series, we rank the best games, plays and moments from the 2016 season. Here are the Top 5 Games of 2016:
GIANTS VS. COWBOYS, PART II
Date: December 11, 2016 (Week 14)
Location: MetLife Stadium
Score: Giants 10, Cowboys 7
In a rematch of the season opener, the Giants became responsible for the NFC East rival's only two losses of the season to that point, defeating Dallas 10-7 and ending its 11-game winning streak. Late in the third quarter, Odell Beckham Jr. took a short slant from Eli Manning and won a foot race against cornerback Brandon Carr for a 61-yard touchdown that put the Giants ahead for good. With the win, the Giants improved to 9-4 in their postseason hunt and locked up a winning record for the first time since 2012.
GIANTS VS. RAVENS
Date: October 16, 2016 (Week 6)
Location: MetLife Stadium
Outcome: Giants 27, Ravens 23
Eli Manning and the passing attack exploded for 403 yards, including clutch touchdowns of 75 and 66 yards to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The result was a 27-23 victory over the Baltimore Ravens to break a three-game skid before a trip to London. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie broke up Joe Flacco's last-ditch pass in the end zone as time expired. There were four lead changes in the second half, including two touchdowns in the final 2:04. The Giants were 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversion attempts.
GIANTS VS. COWBOYS, PART I
Date: September 11, 2016 (Week 1)
Location: AT&T Stadium
Outcome: Giants 20, Cowboys 19
Big Blue lost by the same margin –one point-- in its trip to Dallas the year before, but the team held on this time for the first victory of the Ben McAdoo era. On third-and-10 from the Dallas 46 with 12 seconds left in the game, rookie quarterback Dak Prescott completed a pass to Terrance Williams for a 14-yard gain down the right sideline. Williams was tackled inbounds by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as the clock kept ticking. The Cowboys rushed to get the next snap off, but it never came.
Dan Bailey, who had already made four field goals from 56, 54, 25 and 23 yards, would have faced a 58-yard attempt to win the game. Victor Cruz, who suffered season-ending knee and calf injuries in 2014 and 2015, made his return one for the books and caught what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on a three-yard pass from Eli Manning with 6:13 to play.
GIANTS VS. LIONS
Date: December 18, 2016 (Week 15)
Location: MetLife Stadium
Outcome: Giants 17, Lions 6
The Giants made it a point not to let the previous week's victory over the first-place Cowboys be their best performance of the season. So they went out and did it again to another division leader at the time. In their 2016 home finale at MetLife Stadium, the Giants defeated the Detroit Lions, 17-6, for back-to-back wins over two of the NFC's top teams. The Giants continued their stellar play in the red zone, where the Lions went 0-for-3 while Big Blue was 2-for-2.
On third-and-1 at the Lions 4, Odell Beckham Jr. snagged a pass with his left hand and ran it in for a touchdown, his 10th of the season and 35th in 40 career games. The score gave the Giants an 11-point cushion with 5:47 to play. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie then intercepted Matthew Stafford's pass intended for Anquan Boldin in the end zone, giving the ball back to the Giants with 1:58 left in the game.
GIANTS VS. SAINTS
Date: September 18, 2016 (Week 2)
Location: MetLife Stadium
Outcome: Giants 16, Saints 13
In 2015, the Giants and Saints combined for 101 points. In 2016, they totaled 29. Thanks to key stops by the defense, a special teams touchdown, and the 30th game-winning drive of Eli Manning's career in the regular season, Big Blue came away with a 16-13 victory in its home opener at MetLife Stadium.
Wide receiver Victor Cruz hauled in a 34-yard pass from Eli Manning down the right sideline to set up a first-and-goal at the Saints 2, forcing New Orleans to take its third and final timeout with 1:32 left in the game. Manning took a knee three times to bleed the clock and set up the game-winning field goal as time expired.
