Giants’ Tom Coughlin blamed Eli Manning for telling Rashad Jennings not to score late against the Cowboys.
The New York Giants let a sure-fire win slip away against the Dallas Cowboys in countless ways. There was the throw out of the back of the end zone by quarterback Eli Manning that stopped the clock for the Cowboys, who were out of timeouts, giving them an extra 40 seconds to make their come back.
Then running back Rashad Jennings said he was told not to score in the final two minutes of the game.
Just spoke with Giants RB Rashad Jennings, who confirms that he was told in the huddle before first and second down, "Rashad, don't score."
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) September 14, 2015
During a conference call on Monday, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said that those instructions didn’t come from the side line. Instead, Coughlin suggests that they came from Manning.
Coughlin said Jennings was "not instructed form sidelines" not to score. Thinks Eli was confused about # of timeouts.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) September 14, 2015
So it appears it was Eli who told Jennings not to score, and that no one told him to tell him that.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) September 14, 2015
Coughlin says of Eli, "His mind was in the right place here. He just didn't have his facts right."
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) September 14, 2015
Good news though, it won’t affect Coughlin’s trust of Manning. Being thrown under the bus might
More Coughlin on Eli: "It's never happened before. I completely trust Eli, always have."
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) September 14, 2015
Manning took the blame for the loss, but specifically referenecd the play where he threw the ball out of bounds instead of taking the sack, making no mention of the instructions to Jennings.
“It’s on me right there,” Manning said, via CBS. “That’s clock management. Obviously just take the sack, take the 40 seconds off the clock. Give them less time. That’s 100% on me . . . Can’t afford to throw it away. Got to sit in there and take the sack.”
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