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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, October 24, 2005

Giants tip Broncos with late TD toss

By DAVID PORTER
Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — With less than a full season as a starter under his belt, Eli Manning is already developing a flair for the dramatic finish.

For the second week in a row — and the third time in 13 starts dating to the middle of last season — the second-year quarterback brought the New York Giants back from a fourth-quarter deficit on their final drive.

Yesterday, he threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer with 5 seconds remaining to defeat the Denver Broncos, 24-23. The win snapped Denver's five-game winning streak, the Broncos' longest since the 2000 season.

"A two-minute drive against a good team that's playing well, and to score a game-winning touchdown — that's definitely the biggest play of my career," Manning said.

A week earlier, Manning threw a touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey with 19 seconds left in regulation against Dallas in a game the Giants lost, 16-13, in overtime.

The Giants (4-2) trailed 23-10 with 13:18 left in the game after University of Hawai'i alum Jason Elam's third field goal for Denver (5-2). But after Tiki Barber scored on a 4-yard run to cut the lead to 23-17 with 9:07 remaining, Elam missed a 49-yard attempt with 5:18 left that would have pushed the deficit to 9.

Manning was intercepted by Champ Bailey on the next possession, but the Giants held Denver and got the ball back on their own 17 with 3:29 left.

On third-and-goal at the 2, Manning found Toomer cutting across the front of the end zone.