Last-Minute Victory Keeps Playoff Hopes Alive

The New York Giants kept their faint playoff hopes alive Saturday with a drive reminiscent of last season’s run to the Super Bowl.

Kerry Collins threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer with 25 seconds to play and the Giants ended a three-game losing streak with a 17-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

The comeback was out of character for the Giants (6-7), who have blown four fourth-quarter leads this season.

The Cardinals (5-8) came close to making it five after taking a 13-10 lead on Tywan Mitchell’s leaping 24-yard touchdown catch on a fourth-down pass from Jake Plummer with 4:04 to play.

“I felt there has been a lot of games over the last couple of weeks where we had opportunities, our offense had opportunities, and I think we just got fed up,” Toomer said. “It was our turn to make plays to win the game.”

Toomer, Collins, Ike Hilliard and Tiki Barber all contributed on the 11-play, 70-yard drive that left the Giants on the outside of the playoff picture. They need to win their final three games and get help.

“When they scored, if ever there was a chance for a team to say it can’t happen, that was it,” Giant Coach Jim Fassel said. “For us to hang in there and win the game says a lot.”

Collins also threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Ron Dixon, and Morten Andersen kicked a 39-yard field goal but the game featured a lot of inept play.

“When they got the [go-ahead] touchdown, it was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,”’ said Collins, who was six of nine for 56 yards on the final drive and finished 14 of 32 for 147 yards. “We all hung in there and stayed positive and did what we had to do.”

The most unusual play of the game came from Cardinal kicker Bill Gramatica, who hyperextended his right knee jumping to celebrate a 42-yard field goal in the first quarter. He added a 23-yarder in the second quarter but wasn’t able to handle the kickoffs.

Safety Pat Tillman had to kick off and that allowed the Giants to take over at their 30-yard line after Mitchell’s spectacular catch had given Arizona the lead.

Neither Gramatica nor Coach Dave McGinnis could comment on the severity of the injury.

“It’s a hyperextension and that’s all I want to say until further notice,” said Gramatica, who made reporters wait almost 30 minutes for his one sentence. He then limped out of the locker room.

“I’m sickened, I’m extremely sick for those players in there,” McGinnis said of his Cardinal players.