Game notes: Crosby was feeling confident from long range
Giants knew "something was up" on fake punt
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Mason Crosby kicked a couple of 60-yard field goals during pregame on Sunday, so he was plenty confident he could make the 57-yarder on the final play of the first half.
The kick pulled the Packers within four points at halftime, but they would get no closer in a 27-13 loss to the Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Crosby struck the long one incredibly well, and it looked as though it could have been good from several yards farther back.
"I don't know. I'm just happy it was good from 57," Crosby said. "As soon as it came off my foot, when I picked my head up after the strike, I knew I had gotten enough on it. I was happy to be able to capitalize there at the end of the half."
The kick was the longest outdoor field goal in franchise history and the second longest overall, just one yard shy of the 58-yarder Crosby hit at the Metrodome in Minneapolis back in 2011.
It was also the longest field goal in the rather brief history of MetLife Stadium.
Crosby also was good from 24 yards earlier in the first half, making him now 4-for-4 since he missed a pair of kicks from 53 and 42 yards last week, just his third and fourth misses on the season. He's now 23-for-27 on the year.
"I feel great with how I'm hitting the ball," Crosby said. "I'm disappointed with the ones I hit last week because I am striking the ball well. I need to make those to try to help us win."
Snuffed out: Safety M.D. Jennings normally is not the personal protector on the punt team, and he believes the Giants noticed when he lined up there in the third quarter.
"I think they knew something was up when I went in the game," Jennings said.
The Packers tried to run the fake punt anyway, snapping it to Jennings and having him run to the right. Needing seven yards for the first down, Jennings got six, with the measurement showing he was just shy.
Had the Packers converted, it would have been a huge play. They were trailing 13-6 at the time, and the first-down marker was at the Giants' 36-yard line. It had been fourth-and-12, but when the Giants ran into the punter and moved the ball five yards closer, the Packers rolled the dice.
Jennings said he thought he had the first down, but replays showed he probably wasn't close enough to challenge the spot.
"We were planning on being aggressive on special teams in this game," punter Tim Masthay said. "We felt like we were in a point in the game where it would be a huge play. It was an opportunity. It was highly unlikely we were going to run it before the penalty, but fourth-and-7 put it in a manageable spot."
No running room: Running back Eddie Lacy hasn't had the going this tough in his rookie season.
Lacy rushed for just 27 yards on 14 carries, a paltry 1.9 average. Struggling to find room all day, Lacy's longest gain was just five yards. He did have a four-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
Other than those two modest runs, however, he got just 18 yards on his other 12 attempts. Six of his carries, or nearly half of them, went for one, zero or minus-one yard.
"It was tough out there," Lacy said. "They had the box stacked and they pursued pretty good."
Injury update: The injuries the Packers reported after the game were to DE Johnny Jolly (groin) and CB James Nixon (knee). Both players left the game and did not return.
Additional CoverageInstant Replay: Giants 27, Packers 13