Rams squeak past G-men in OT

The 7-7 Giants headed to the Gateway to the West as a prohibitive underdog that no one gave any chance to. The St. Louis Rams, aka.."The Greatest Show" on turf was poised to crush New York's representatives and send them on their merry way. 3 hours later (and this game really did take close to 3 hours to play) the Giants walked out of the Dome with their head held high and the complete respect of the favorite Rams. By the end of the 3rd quarter the Rams looked to be in complete control as expected. With a 24-7 lead the G-men were all but left for dead. A 20 point Giant outburst in the 4th quarter capped off by a Brad Daluiso 47 yard FG forced OT. When NY won the coin toss for the extra period it looked like the glass slipper might fit Cinderella. Unfortunately for the comeback kids it was not meant to be. The G-men were forced to punt after going 3 and out.

The Rams talent took over and 5 plays later Marshall Faulk ran it in from 22 yards out to give his team a victory that they had to earn and the right to host the Bears in the NFC championship. Statistically Kerry Collins (27-45-302-3td) outplayed Kurt Warner (32-44-298-2td-int). Marshall Faulk was the difference in this contest. His unique talent was unstoppable. Both of his TD runs (34 yards and 22 yards) were against defenses that had 8 men in the box solely focusing on him. What an outstanding individual effort. When interviewed after the game Giant DE Michael Strahan said, "We knew he was coming on those plays, but the man is almost unstoppable. He can beat you with a hand off or a dump pass". Strahan and his cohorts have nothing to be ashamed of. Torry Holt led all receivers with 92 yards on 8 receptions. Ike Bruce had 2 TD catches against double coverage proving that he too is truly an upper echelon wide out.