The 2008 season began with a bang for the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. They ripped off three straight wins against Washington, St. Louis and Cincinnati before breaking for their bye in Week 4.
When they returned, the the 3-0 Giants played host to Mike Holmgren’s 1-2 Seattle Seahawks. It did not go well for the visitors.
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Everything was going right for Tom Coughlin’s Giants. The AP hit the nail on the head with their recap of the game.
In a nearly flawless performance, Eli Manning threw two touchdowns, Brandon Jacobs ran for two more and the unbeaten Giants scored on their first five possessions in a 44-6 victory that embarrassed the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
The win was the eighth straight for the Giants (4-0) dating to last year’s playoffs, and it gave the Super Bowl champions their best start since 1990, when they posted a 13-3 record and also won the NFL title. The Giants rolled up 523 yards in total offense, their most since collecting 524 yards against Green Bay on Jan. 6, 2002, and limited Seattle to 187.
The next week, they would get ambushed by the Cleveland Browns, 35-14, on Monday Night Football but then immediately got back on track by reeling off seven consecutive wins to up their record to 11-1.
Then, the wheels were about to come flying off the wagon. Star wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg a few days before the Giants’ November 30th 23-7 win over Washington.
Burress not only ended his season, he also derailed the Giants’ quest for a repeat. The incident proved to be too much of a distraction for the Giants to overcome. They lost three of their final four regular season games to finish at 12-4 but still gained the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs.
But that would not matter. The Giants logged in a lethargic performance in their divisional round game against the Philadelphia Eagles, losing 23-11.
