Hero, Nero, Zero for Giants-49ers Game

Well, you can put a bow on the Giants’ 2014 season, because Big Blue’s 16-10 loss to San Francisco all but guaranteed that the team will miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.

You have to hand it to the Giants; when they stink, they don’t hold anything back. They’re like the Jets in that regard, except the Giants like to occasionally sprinkle in a Super Bowl win or two, unlike their stadium-sharers.

As usual, there were many candidates for Hero, Nero, Zero, but a blue ribbon panel of experts all agreed on the following honors.

Hero: Eli Manning.

When your quarterback throws for less than 200 yards, your starting running back runs for less than 100 yards, and your team gets caught with its pants down on a surprise onside kick  -- and yet you still win 16-10 on the road -- then you know someone had to step up big for your team.

For the 49ers, that player was Eli Manning, who threw five interceptions, or one fewer than he’d thrown to that point all season.

Sure, you could say that the 49ers’ defense was the game’s real hero, but you’d be wrong. The Giants’ offense moved the ball rather successfully through the air, with Manning tossing for 280 yards by spreading the ball around to Rueben Randle (seven catches, 112 yards), Odell Beckham Jr. (six catches for 93 yards) and 49ers linebacker Chris Borland (two interceptions).

From start to finish, Manning was the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Nero: Unknown media member.

I don’t envy beat reporters who have to attend press conferences and ask questions. Players and coaches rarely, if ever, say anything enlightening, and they are always on the lookout to make a media member look stupid.

The easiest way for them to make a media member look stupid is if a media member just happens to be stupid, as was the case with the chap during Sunday's postgame interview with Colin Kaepernick, who asked the 49ers quarterback (1:58 mark of this video) if he feels any empathy when he sees an opposing quarterback throw as many picks as Eli Manning did.

Kaepernick, as you’d expect, said, “Oh, yes, I sent him a bouquet of flowers and a note that read ‘Chin up, Eli.’ ”

Either that or Kaepernick answered the question with a humorless “no” and just glared at the reporter as if he were observing the dumbest mammal in the wild.

Zero: Red zone success for the 49ers.

Thanks to the heroics of Manning, the Giants’ effort on defense will be somewhat overlooked in Sunday's loss. But Big Blue’s defense was largely stout, especially deep in their own territory, holding San Francisco to 0 for 4 in the red zone.

Unfortunately the defense got gashed by a 48-yard touchdown reception by Michael Crabtree, who caught the ball on a slant and turned the Giants’ secondary into orange road cones. 

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