Packers vs. Giants: Final score 38-10 in favor of New York, as Green Bay struggles

A game like the one the Green Bay Packers played on Sunday night does not deserve much of a recap. They had one excellent highlight play in the first five minutes of the game, then ceased to do anything remotely competent for the following 55 minutes. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, as the New York Giants played a spectacular game in a 38-10 win over Green Bay.

New York struck first on an Andre Brown run from in close, set up by a 59-yard gain by Ahmad Bradshaw off an impressive screen play. The Packers answered instantly, on a 61-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson, who beat Corey Webster badly down the sideline.

The Packers defense managed to generate a three-and-out on the next Giants possession, then get into field goal range, but Mason Crosby missed from 55 yards. Eli Manning and the Giants took advantage of the great field position that they were gifted, with Manning hitting Ruben Randle for a 16-yard strike, putting New York up 14-7.

On the next play from scrimmage, Aaron Rodgers was picked off by Webster, who undercut Randall Cobb. This was the beginning of the trainwreck portion of Green Bay's night, though they managed to hold the Giants to a field goal. The Packers went three-and-out on their next drive, which was followed up by an 8-play, 61-yard touchdown drive for the Giants. At 24-7, the game already felt like a disastrous one for Green Bay, and it was far from over.

Crosby brought the Packers back within two scores on their next drive, though Mike McCarthy will feel some scrutiny from fans and media alike throughout the week for deciding to kick a field goal on 4th and 1. The Packers got the ball back before halftime and had a chance to cut New York's lead further, but their chances of getting back into the game evaporated quickly.

With just over a minute remaining, Rodgers was sacked by Osi Umenyiora and fumbled, with Jason Pierre-Paul making the recovery. Bradshaw scored two plays later, expanding the Giants lead to 31-10. In a span of three plays, a potential Packers comeback bid was turned around into a virtual game-ending score for the Giants.

After that event, the second half was inconsequential, though the Packers' play-calling didn't help manners. Improbably, in a game where the Packers trailed by multiple scores from the first quarter onwards, Rodgers attempted just 24 passes on the night. He was poorly protected by the offensive line throughout the night as well, and was sacked five times.

The Giants added one more touchdown, via Hakeem Nicks in the 3rd quarter. The fourth quarter looked like something out of a preseason game, as both teams looked content to simply leave this game behind and move on to competitive future games.