Giants Do Snow Job on Broncos, 14-7 : Denver: New York battles through elements to make 14-0 halftime lead stand against Elway.

The last time the New York Giants and Denver Broncos got together the sun was shining, the temperature was 80 degrees and the NFL championship was on the line.

Everything was different about their meeting Sunday except the result--a New York victory in a steady mountain snowstorm that all but guaranteed they’ll be back in the playoffs for the first time since that Super Bowl season of 1986.

“One of the greatest wins we’ve had,” Coach Bill Parcells said.

The score this time was 14-7 as the Giants took a 14-0 halftime lead on a three-yard touchdown run by Ottis Anderson and a 57-yard tiptoe scoring run through the snow on third and 31 by David Meggett after he caught a screen pass.

Then a defense led by Leonard Marshall and Gary Reasons--with a lot of help from the elements--held John Elway to just one touchdown, a 32-yard connection to former Ram Michael Young early in the fourth quarter.

Myron Guyton knocked down a fourth-down pass from the 15 to stop one threat with 1:45 left and fended off two desperation passes in the final 15 seconds by Elway, who completed 23 of 47 for 292 yards.

“This shows we’ve got our game together as a team,” Reasons said of the Giants, who broke a two-game losing streak and are now 10-4, tied with Philadelphia for first in the NFC East although the Eagles hold the tiebreaker edge because they’ve beaten New York twice.

“A lot of guys pulled it up this week and worked hard. They showed up ready to play. We were never quitters. We’ve got plenty of heart,” added Reasons, who had 11 tackles and three assists and stopped Bobby Humphrey for a one-yard loss on fourth-and-goal at the 1 in the third quarter.

The Broncos are also are 10-4 and need a victory or a loss by Houston to have homefield advantage for the playoffs.

The Broncos were penalized eight times for 62 yards, including a holding call against Gerald Perry that negated a 50-yard run by Bobby Humphrey in the second quarter.

The loss was Denver’s second since clinching the division two weeks ago.

Young, a former UCLA player, said: “They played well but we lost the game because we had some unfortunate things happen. I think these kinds of things may help in the long run. It will get us to concentrate well going into the playoffs.”

The Giants ground their way to a 7-0 lead, consuming almost nine minutes in going 85 yards in 15 plays on their first possession with Anderson taking the ball in from the three.

Fullback Maurice Carthon, normally a blocker, carried the ball four times for 34 yards on the drive and caught a pass for eight more.

The second touchdown was almost all the work of Meggett, a rookie chosen in the fifth round last spring.

First he returned a Mike Horan punt 26 yards to the Denver 36. Then, after a penalty and sack had set New York back to a third and 31 on its own 43, Simms hit Meggett behind the line of scrimmage near the left sideline. He juggled the ball, then cut back across the field and outraced the defense for the score that made it 14-0.