New York Giants Kiwanuka Angry After "Dirty Hit"

By David Geller: SPM NJ Writer (Commentary)
Posted Saturday, September 6, 2008

Shortly after the Giants 16-7 victory against the Redskins, Mathias Kiwanuka took a diplomatic approach in talking about Chris Samuels' hit on the last play of the game. He assumed that the shot from Chris Samuels was an accident and said no hard feelings.

After watching some film, things seem to be a little different for Kiwanuka.

"Honestly, I thought it was a dirty play," Kiwanuka said. "There's no question about it, he was definitely beat. Instead of recovering or giving up or whatever options you have ... I don't think there's any place for that in the NFL."

With seven seconds left to go in the game, Kiwanuka beat Samuels around the edge. Either frustrated or trying to protect his quarterback, Samuels dove into Kiwanuka and twisted his ankle. Kiwanuka clutched the turf in pain for about a minute. He then got up with a slight limp and was visibly upset. Justin Tuck didn't seem too happy about it either.

"I did see it, and he was pulled down," Tuck said after the game. "You never think a guy's out there trying to hurt another guy. But, it happened and we move on from it. Obviously it ruffled some feathers."

The two squads match up in Washington on November 30th, and there appears to be blood boiling between the two teams. There were multiple occasions in which players on both sides got into it, namely Antonio Pierce and Pete Kendall. During one skirmish Kendall ripped Pierce’s helmet off. For Pierce, though, there were no hard feelings.

"Brotherly love," Pierce said. "I hadn't seen him in a while, and I wanted to tell him hello."

While Jim Zorn’s squad looked lifeless for the first two quarters, the Giants took the field invigorated by Michael Strahan’s emotional pregame entrance, and dominated in the first half. The second half was sloppy on both parts, as neither team scored a point.

Both teams have ten days to refresh themselves for the next game, as the Giants head to St. Louis with hopes of continuing on last year’s unprecedented road success, while the Redskins play their first game at home against New Orleans.