Simms Gives Giants Wake-Up Call

A year ago when the Detroit Lions made the New York Giants look bad for a half, Harry Carson woke up the team by throwing a few chairs in the locker room.

When the Lions did the same thing to the Giants on Sunday, Carson, who has retired, wasn’t around to stir things up.

So the job fell on quarterback Phil Simms, who completed 12 of 14 second-half passes to set up three touchdowns and rally New York from an 11-point deficit to a 24-14 victory over the Lions. The Giants (2-0) have won their first two games for the first time since 1984.

“We didn’t make mistakes, like we did in the first half,” said Simms, who finished with 20 of 26 for 218 yards and two touchdowns. “In the first half, the plays were there and we blew it, missed passes and the fumbled at the goal line.”

Simms said there is no comparing this year’s victory to the 30-10 win here a year ago. In that game, New York scored 23 second-half points to rally from a 10-7 deficit.

This time, Simms hit Odessa Turner on a nine-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass with 43 seconds left in the third quarter and found tight end Mark Bavaro on a 24-yard scoring pass with 9:42 to left.

Ottis Anderson rushed for 85 yards in 25 carries, including an 11-yard touchdown run.

Detroit quarterback Bob Gagliano, who completed 21 of 31 passes for 344 yards and three interceptions, gave the Lions a 7-3 halftime lead on a 71-yard scoring pass to Richard Johnson.

The Lions stretched it to 14-3 with 9:55 left in the third quarter when rookie Barry Sanders bounced off two tackles to score on a four-yard run, but the Lions were shut out the rest of the way.