Apparently Eli Manning needs to do a better job of covering his mouth in the huddle. During the Giants’ 21-14 win over the Steelers on Sunday, Pittsburgh players knew what play New York was going to run when they stopped Brandon Jacobs short of the goal line in the first half because Manning accidentally tipped the off.
Defensive end Brett Keisel overheard Manning mouthing the play call and lined up the defense before Jacobs was stopped inches short of the goal line on the fourth-and-1 play early in the second quarter.
The goal-line stand — Jacobs failed on three successive plays to get in from the 1 — temporarily preserved Pittsburgh’s 7-3 lead.
“I was watching Eli’s lips the whole time and I saw him say, ’32,’ so I went over and tried to tell everyone, ‘It’s right here,’ and we stopped it,” Keisel said. “That was a big play in the game.”
Asked if he heard Manning yell out the play call, Keisel said, “Yeah.”
Actually Brett, the big play in the game was when your long snapper snapped the ball over your punter’s head for a safety that tied the game at 14-14 in the second half. Then the bigger play was when you and your teammates allowed Manning to march up the field for a game-winning touchdown.
Your play was the big play in the first half. The big play of the game was the touchdown that allowed the Giants to win the game.
