The New York Giants are in first place in the NFC East division after winning over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night 30-27 and the victory came late after the Niners took the lead in the fourth quarter. Larry Donnell made the game-winning catch with under a minute to go and Eli Manning was helped along by Odell Beckham on the final drive to set up the winning score.
The Giants were down four points with less than two minutes left in the game and Manning was able to drive the team down the field for the winning score. The Giants gave up two games early in the season when they had double digit leads in the fourth quarter and they had the lead against the 49ers before falling behind late. Manning drove the Giants down the field and Beckham drew a penalty after returning to the game following a hamstring injury to set up the Donnell play.
Beckham and Rueben Randle were on the sidelines for part of the second half, but players like Shane Vereen and Dwayne Harris stepped up and helped Manning continue to move the chains late. The Giants had to go over 80-yards on the final drive and Donnell made the winning catch in the endzone on a nifty throw from Manning. The ball was high towards the back of the endzone above two Niners defenders and the tight end was able to rip it from the air and keep control all the way to the ground.
Manning set a team record with 41 completions in the game and he put up some strong numbers with 441 passing yards and three touchdowns. Vereen had eight catches for 86 yards and a TD in the game and he also added 24 yards rushing for the Giants. Beckham continued to play well for the Giants even after dealing with a hamstring injury that put him on the sidelines for a bit. Beckham came in and helped the Giants get down the field and he also drew a penalty that helped set things up in the red zone. Beckham said after the game that the injury was "not serious."
The Giants are now in first place in the division standings after starting 0-2 and they have won three games in a row. The team has the chance to take control in the NFC East, as they have the Eagles and Cowboys next on the schedule.
Check here for more on the Giants, Beckham and the division standings.
