GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -Lawrence Tynes kicked a 29-yard field goal and the New York Giants controlled the clock to take a 3-0 lead over the Green Bay Packers in a frigid NFC championship game Sunday night.
With the gametime temperature at 1 below zero with a wind chill of 23-below, the Giants went 14 plays and 71 yards on their first possession, taking over half the first quarter. But they only managed a 29-yard field goal by Tynes after stalling in the red zone.
The Giants started the drive with Brandon Jacobs running over Packers cornerback Charles Woodson. A few plays later, Eli Manning, who went 6-of-10 for 62 yards in the quarter, converted a third-and-10 on a slant route by Plaxico Burress for 19 yards.
Defensive tackle Corey Williams hurt the Packers by giving the Giants another first down when he jumped across the line on third-and-1 from the Green Bay 43.
Manning found Burress again on a short route for 11 yards, and then dumped off a short pass over the middle to tight end Kevin Boss, who gained 12 yards and has been an important contributor since Jeremy Shockey broke his leg Dec. 16.
The drive stalled after Jacobs was stopped for no gain and Manning threw two straight incompletions out of the shotgun, the second when defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins let the pass bounce off his hands.
On their first drive, Brett Favre and the Packers came out throwing, with two short passes that resulted in first downs before Green Bay had to punt after reaching midfield. By their next drive, the Packers were downright stiff despite twice showing their vaunted five-wide set.
Favre went 3-for-3 on the drive, but lost yardage on the series after defensive end Justin Tuck sniffed out a shovel pass by Favre to Ryan Grant for a 3-yard loss. Favre was 5-of-7 for 20 yards in the quarter.
With the cold, heaters were used under the Lambeau Field tarp up until two hours before kickoff. The harsh conditions seemed to affect both teams.
Giants receiver Amani Toomer had a pass bounce off his numbers on one play, while punter Jeff Feagles, who had waited 20 years to play in a conference title game, managed a 21-yard punt on his first effort.
The winner goes to the Super Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. on Feb. 3, against the New England Patriots, who beat San Diego 21-12 earlier Sunday.
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