Season Opener is here: Cowboys vs. Giants Preview

The day we've all been waiting for has finally arrived, the 2012 NFL season opener. The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants will host its fierce NFC East rivals in the Dallas Cowboys. Perfect matchup to kick the season off with.

Yes, I know I know. I have yet to post my final season preview (decked out with division outlooks, playoff/SB predictions and regular season awards, etc.), but I can assure you those will be on the way tomorrow. Unfortunately I've been a bit caught up with the second week of classes, but thanks to just one morning class tomorrow I will have all Thursday afternoon to touch up my final predictions and post them.

But for now, I'll give you a full preview of tonight's matchup, which is set to kick-off at 8:30 pm ET on NBC. Pre-game coverage includes Football Night in America and musical performances by Mariah Carey and No Doubt.

Eli vs. Romo

New York's Manning backed up his 2011 offseason "elite" talk by capturing his second Super Bowl championship in the last four seasons, both against the New England Patriots. His postseason success, in my opinion, has allowed him to surpass his older brother Peyton in that category. For now, anyways.

Romo, on the other hand, is looking at what I would think as a "do or die" season. Romo has had great regular season success and is, in fact, currently second on the all-time passer rating list (96.9) just behind none other than the reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers.

There's no doubt (ha, get it?!) that Romo's regular season success has been there–47-30 record as starter–but in the postseason Romo is a different quarterback. And not in a good way. He's taken Dallas to the playoffs on three separate occasions, but has posted a 1-3 record and, due to not coming up in the clutch, Romo has been labeled by some as an overrated quarterback.

I think Romo is a great quarterback, and I can back that up, but he will need to prove it by taking the 'Boys back to the postseason and stepping his game up a couple of levels this season.

Recently Manning has owned Romo and his Cowboys, winning both division match-ups late last season and he has the targets to continue that streak again tonight.

Defense

Both sides have playmakers (Ware in Dallas; Tuck, JPP and Umenyiora in New York), but New York's front seven, which appears to be fully healthy, will be putting the pressure on Tony tonight. If they can shut down DeMarco Murray early it will force Romo to make some big plays and turn the 'Boys one-dimensional, which they appeared to be for most of last season anyways.

Coaching

Tom Coughlin has demonstrated his ability to keep a squad together in two of the last four seasons, keeping a struggling Giants franchise together for a full 17 weeks, plus postseason. I'd take the proven, experienced Coughlin over the inexperienced Jason Garrett (13-11 coaching record in two seasons at the helm for Dallas) any day of the week.

Fantasy Update

Who to start:

Eli Manning--if he's your primary quarterback, of course. If he's your backup, clearly you should keep him on your bench if you have a top five guy such as Brady, Rodgers or Brees. Duh.

Tony Romo--whether Dallas wins or loses (I'm expecting a NYG victory), Romo will rack up some points. New York's front seven will undoubtably knock him on his backside five to six times (at least), but the yards and a couple of touchdowns will still be there.

Victor Cruz--Cruz will be just fine. For those wondering if he'll have an off year just because he's coming off his break-out season, you're only going to end up looking silly. Of all the Giants players, I feel as though Cruz is most excited for 2012.

Dez Bryant/Miles Austin--Romo's numbers will be there, meaning his two top targets in Austin and Bryant will have big nights. I'm not completely sold on Bryant this season yet, and they are both listed as probable for tonight. But I don't expect them to be effected by their respective injuries, and we could see both as 100-yard receivers tonight with a TD catch each.

Who to sit:

Ahmad Bradshaw--he's listed as probable (hand) and will likely start for New York tonight at RB, but I'm not expecting him to have a huge game. If he's your third back, I'd probably take a chance on him, but I'm just waiting for Manning to come out gunning and Bradshaw to see limited carries with a low effect on Dallas' run defense.

Jason Witten--clearly this is an injury issue. Though he's a game-time decision (spleen), he's last been listed as doubtful and I expect him not to play just in case he isn't fully recovered quite yet. Witten is a no-no at TE this week.

Final take

This will be a close game down to the wire, but New York will prevail in the first official game of the season. Cruz will get to do his salsa dance on two separate occasions as New York captures a thriller at home, 28-17.

Just an fyi: I will be posting my complete Week 1 game picks in the next couple of days (probably Friday or Saturday, after my season preview of course). They will also be available for viewing in the "Game Picks" tab at the top of the page as the season progresses

Note: I do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

Patriot Killer?: Eli Does it Again

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has done it again, beating the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI to capture his second Vince Lombardi trophy for his head coach Tom Coughlin. His performance (30/40, 296 yards, 1 TD; 88-yard GW scoring drive with a minute to play) earned him his second SB MVP award, which is one more than his older brother Peyton.

Even more impressive may be that he did so in his older brother's home stadium–Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN.

The result brings up a couple of questions surrounding both Eli and his G-Men, and quarterback Tom Brady and his Pats squad. Is Eli elite? Yes. He is now 8-3 in the postseason (4-0 this postseason) as he threw 9 TDs and just one interceptions over a five week span in January/February. He also defeated future Hall of Famer Brady in two separate Super Bowls. So, yes, I do believe Eli should be considered among the elite and his performance clearly demonstrates that. He out Brady-ed Brady in the fourth quarter, and did that on a consistent basis all season long.

Eli should, and will, be considered a more successful postseason quarterback than his brother, and he joins an elite class of signal callers with multiple championships and multiple MVP awards.

As for Brady? He is now 3/5 in his record-tying five Super Bowl appearances, with both losses coming to the Coughlin/Manning tandem. He did, however, set a Super Bowl record with 16 consecutive completions during the second and third quarters tonight and looked exceptional for the majority of the game. Two Justin Tuck sacks and multiple hits on NY's part may have rattled Brady a bit, throwing off his rhythm. But in all, both quarterbacks played exceptionally well tonight, as expected.

Despite Eli's great overall performance, especially in the fourth quarter, it was New York's running back tandem of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw that essentially won the Giants the game. New York's front 7 put some pressure on Brady, and Eli's targets played well, but it was the 28 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown that allowed New York to control the clock.

They ran for seven first downs and kept Brady off the field for well over half the game, in fact they held the ball for nearly 40 minutes (37:05) and kept the Giants' defense well-rested. Pulling out ahead early allowed New York to focus a little more on the running attack, setting up Eli for some successful play action plays.

Head coach Bill Belichick's decision to allow Ahmad Bradshaw to run the ball in from six yards out with :57 to play will be questioned by fans and analysts for the next several months, I'm sure. But there's no doubt I would have done the exact same thing in that situation. If Bradshaw kneels the ball at the one, Eli could have run the clock all the way down to under :20 and sent Tynes in to kick the go-ahead chip-shot field goal.

Giving Brady the shot to drive New England down the field with a minute to play gave New England their best shot, and dropped passes by Deion Branch and Aaron Hernandez didn't help the cause too much. Although I loved the clutch 4th and 16 reception by Branch. Gronkowski came close to bringing in the hail mary on the final play, but New York was able to knock the ball down before he could get to it.

In all, I was thoroughly impressed by both quarterbacks, and if both have shown signs that they are not done. They both may find themselves in yet another Super Bowl in the coming years. If I was New England, I'd work on improving that defense though.

My pre-season prediction of New England winning the Super Bowl and Wes Welker being named the game's MVP didn't prove to be true, and I have fallen to 7-4 for the postseason (2-2 in WC, 4-0 in Divisional, 1-1 in conference and 0-1 in SB). But, I can't complain with the outcome of this season.

Great game, great season. One more note before I sign off for the evening: Mario Manningham's sideline catch in NY's game-winning drive will be replayed for years to come. Not quite as miraculous as David Tyree's "helmet catch" in Super Bowl XLII, but it was eye-popping nevertheless.

Another fun-filled season is in the books, now the countdown to the 2012 draft in April officially begins!

Photo credit
Mario Manningham: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Tackling the Peyton Manning Issue Once and for All

I was planning on spending my wonderful afternoon taking on The Great Debate between legendary Joe Montana and future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. But, it looks like that will have to wait at least another day. Instead I decided to spend my time taking down the huge question surrounding another future Hall of Fame quarterback: Peyton Manning.

In the next couple of weeks we will be hearing plenty of quarterback talk, but today it was a different quarterback. Not Brady, not New York's Eli Manning. No, Eli's older brother Peyton. Of course everyone is well aware by now that Manning missed the entire 2011 regular season and his Indianapolis Colts suffered dearly, finishing 2-14 after making the playoffs 11 times in the past 12 seasons.

Indianapolis' embarrassing season ended in clinching the first overall pick in the draft this April. There have been rumors spreading like wildfire in the social media world about a possibility of Indianapolis taking the coveted No. 1 ranked quarterback in this year's draft class–Andrew Luck out of Stanford.

There's that, a huge distraction in the back of Manning's mind as he continues his rehab over the offseason, and there's also the fact that team owner Jim Irsay cleaned out the house in the past couple weeks or so.

Irsay let go of head coach Jim Caldwell, Tony Dungy's successor, last Wednesday. The very next day he relieved eight more coaches of their duties, including Coaching Assistant Devin Fitzsimmons, Offensive Line Coach Pete Metzelaars, Special Assistant to the Defense Rod Perry, WR Coach Frank Reich, Defensive Assistant Bill Teerlinck, Strength and Conditioning Coach Jon Torine and QB coach Ron Turner.

President Bill Polian had already been fired before all of this went down, might I add in. And Defensive Coordinator Mike Murphy announced his retirement as well.

The magnitude of the changes in the staff were brought to the attention of the general public earlier today when Peyton revealed his feelings on the issue in a lengthy interview with Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star. I will not discuss every little thing that was talked about, but here's a shortened quote of his on the atmosphere of the Indianapolis facilities:

"I'm not in a very good place for healing, let's say that. It's not a real good environment down there right now, to say the least. Everybody's walking around on eggshells. I don't recognize our building right now. There's such complete and total change."

 He wasn't angry, according to Kravitz in his article, but Bob did say Peyton was sad and disappointed that Caldwell and numerous other coaches had been released of their jobs. But Peyton didn't stop there, he also said "it was tough" and "very emotional" seeing the guys he had been working with cleaning out their offices.

"I just want to pay tribute to all those guys. It's unfortunate because so many of them have been such a big part of so many big wins here, and this is so...sudden. Their keys didn't work the next day. There's no other way to do it? I don't know. That's hard to see, all these people leaving.

And I may be behind them. Who knows?"

He added in that he would like to play in the same place his whole career, he loves the fans and the city, as well as the stadium. But at the same time, it's obvious that owner Jim Irsay is fully entering a rebuilding mode at this franchise's current position, and does the 35-year old Peyton really want to be in Indy for all that?

He's not ready to retire yet either, despite what actor Rob Lowe may have attempted to say on his Twitter page (supposedly he announced Manning was planning to retire).

So, what exactly does that mean for Manning? Well, I would just like to say that I would love to make this my final Peyton Manning article this offseason. I do not want to spend the entire offseason talking about whether Peyton will stay or go, so I'm going to do you all a favor and end this talk immediately:

Peyton will not be in Indy in 2012.

Come March, Peyton will hit the old age of 36, and if Indianapolis is starting over new why would they want a 36-year old leading a team of 24-year olds? It just wont work. And I understand Peyton loves it in Indy and would like to stay loyal to the team that took a chance on him in 1998. But he also understands the NFL is a business, and if Indianapolis is ready to move on without him and draft the young Luck in April, then that is their choice and I'm sure Peyton will accept that.

Someone will take a chance on the recovering Peyton in 2012, and it will not be Indianapolis. Mark my words.

Thank goodness, we can get over this whole Manning situation and stop watching his every move now that I have gotten my point across. Sorry, Colts fans, but I think it's time to move on for the better of both participating parties.

Photo credit
Peyton: Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Andrew Luck: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Giants/Patriots: Super Bowl XLII Rematch

The National Football League's championship game has been set, and it will feature a heavyweight rematch between Bill Belichick/Tom Brady and Tom Coughlin/Eli Manning for the second time in the last five Super Bowls.

The two will face off in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on February 5, just four years after Manning led his underdog Giants to a 17-14 victory over the then-undefeated Brady-led New England Patriots.

Brady is looking to join legends Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks to win four Super Bowls throughout their respective careers. Brady already tied Montana by winning his 16th career postseason game, and he now has a better postseason record than Montana did (16-5).

Eli, on the other hand, is vying for his second Super Bowl title, which would allow him to surpass his older brother Peyton when it comes to rings. I would already crown Eli with the title of better postseason quarterback, to be honest. Throughout Peyton's playoff career he has put up a 9-10 overall record, winning one Super Bowl and going one-and-done on seven different occasions.

Eli's G-men have been road warriors, going 2-0 on the road in the postseason this year (1-0 at home) and going 5-1 on the road under the Coughlin/Manning duo–overall postseason record for Manning is 7-3. He looks to have finally gotten over his inconsistencies on his way to a grand postseason performance this season–76/123, 62%, 307.6 passing yards/game, 8 TDs, 1 INT.

I ran across some interesting facts on Trey Wingo's twitter page about the postseason history that was made in yesterday's pair of championship games:

*The Giants are 5-0 in NFC Championship games.

*First time since NFL/AFL merger that both games were decided by three points or less.

*In the Brady era NE only has three game losing streaks to two teams, the Colts and Broncos. But the Giants, if they win in two weeks, would have won three straight against New England as well.

*Yesterday was only the third time in the last 17 years that two teams with at least 12 wins both lost in the Championship.

(Special thanks to the NFL Live host for providing me with some interesting content for today's article/recap).

AFC Championship: Patriots 23, Ravens 20

Baltimore's quarterback Joe Flacco (5-4 in postseason in four pro seasons), after being called out by teammate and free safety Ed Reed for inconsistent play against the Texans last weekend, stepped up his game and out-passed future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. Miraculously, enough.

And though Baltimore's highly-touted defense got little to no pressure on Tom Brady, sacking him just once, they were still able to force two Brady INT's. But miscues in a couple of different dimensions led to Baltimore's eventual downfall. They were given a couple of chances to stay in the game with a couple of forced turnovers on defense and a late three-and-out from NE's offense.

The final drive, however, featured a dropped pass in the end zone by veteran Lee Evans, which would have given Baltimore the lead with under a minute to play, and then a missed 32-yard field goal by the league's highest-paid kicker Billy Cundiff. The kick would have tied the game and likely sent it in to overtime, but instead he shanked it to the left and gave the ball back to Brady & Co.

Cundiff, one of the two scapegoats in the AFC Championship game, wasn't the only player who had a bad day (there's a guy in San Francisco who feels similarly). I, personally, feel really badly for him and Evans both. Both are solid players who happened to make mistakes on one of the biggest stages in football. The only thing that would have been worse is to have that happen in the Super Bowl.

The 23-20 New England victory was the second consecutive 23-20 victory over Baltimore, as they defeated them by that score (in overtime) in their Week 6 matchup last season on Sunday October 17, 2010. Belichick and Brady will be going to their fifth Super Bowl together as a team and hope to join Montana and Bradshaw atop the Super Bowl victory category by the end of the night.

NFC Championship: Giants 20, 49ers 17 (OT)

I got this pick wrong, dropping me to 1-1 on the round and 7-3 in the postseason. I thought to myself that I'd love to see Manning win yet another game on the road, but didn't think the Giants could stay hot for another game. I was wrong.

Both teams struggled early in the game on the offensive side of the ball, having trouble moving down the field. But New York was able to control the clock for nearly 40 minutes despite just 85 rushing yards on 26 carries (3.3 YPC avg.). Manning attempted a career-high 58 passes, completed over half of those attempts for 316 yards and two touchdowns. He had a couple of errant, inaccurate passes but played one of the best games of his postseason career in the wet conditions of Candlestick Park.

Those rainy conditions, of course, were supposed to dampen the passing games of both teams, but that did not stop head coach Tom Coughlin from putting the ball in Manning's hands and letting him do what he's done all season, on his way to his second career Pro Bowl selection. He wont play in the game, of course, because he'll be too busy preparing himself for the Patriots. But it's still nice to see him get the recognition he deserves.

The young Victor Cruz, who I saw play two preseasons ago and knew he would eventually break out in to a receiver to be reckoned with, had the game of his life despite his zero touchdown catches. He caught 10 passes for 142 yards and was Eli's go-to guy on third downs, coming up with big catch after big catch to keep New York alive.

Though it was San Francisco's second-year wideout Kyle Williams who was the cause of two San Francisco miscues–allowing a punt to hit him on the knee and bounce in to NY's hands, and then fumbling a punt deep inside SF territory to give New York the ball back in overtime–the Niners didn't have a game they would like to remember.

Quarterback Alex Smith threw for nearly 200 yards, two TDs and ran for 42 yards while Gore added 74 on the ground, but the offense went just 1 for 13 on third downs. That's not acceptable for a team that expects to contend for the Super Bowl.

Unfortunately the young Williams received a couple of death threats via twitter, but there's no way he should shoulder the blame for the San Francisco loss. If people, or "fans," are sending death threats to, not only players, but the players' families then they should not consider themselves fans. It's ridiculous what some fans do when their team loses a game, and it's making everyone else look terrible.

I sympathize with Williams, Cundiff and Evans and wish them the best in the rest of their professional careers.

But for now, it's on to the Super Bowl! In my preseason predictions I had the New England Patriots winning the Super Bowl (against the Eagles, so I only got part of my prediction correct so far). I feel pretty knowledgable in calling that, but with Manning going up against Brady again, anything can happen. Manning, by the way, is 2-1 in his career against the Patriots. He beat them earlier this season, in SBXLII, and the one loss came on December 29, 2007 (38-35) during the Patriots' 16-0 regular season.

Photo credit

Brady/Manning: Associated Press

Cundiff vs. Pats: Elsa/Getty Images

Kyle Williams: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Eli Manning Among the Elite Now?

For years Peyton Manning's little brother Eli has been battling doubters and critics alike. Is he an elite quarterback? Can he lead his team to a Super Bowl victory? Does he have the intangibles to consistently put up Peyton-like numbers year-in and year-out?

Those were the questions being asked, even after he won three consecutive road playoff games and upset the undefeated New England Patriots for a Super Bowl title in the 2007-08 season.

Instead of holding him to his own standard, NFL fans, followers and experts have held Eli to his older brother's standards. If he does not throw 4,000 yards, 40 TDs and lead the Giants to a 13-3 regular season we call him a failure and keep him out of the "elite" status.

Before this season started he was asked whether or not he should be seen as among the elite quarterbacks such as his brother, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. He initially declined and said he does not belong on that list.

But he later told ESPN 1050's Michael Kay "..I consider myself in that class and Tom Brady is a great quarterback, he's a great player and what you've seen with him is he's gotten better every year and he started off winning championships and I think he's a better player than what he was, in all honesty, when he was winning those championships.


"It's funny, you say well he won championships, but the team won them. But I think now he's grown up and gotten better every year and that's what I'm trying to do. I kind of hope these next seven years of my quarterback days are my best."

Fast forward to this past weekend I think it's safe to say Eli is well on his way to joining those quarterbacks after de-throning the defending Super Bowl champions, who were 15-1 in the regular season, and doing so on the road at the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.

This was, of course, not the only time he has sent the Pack home packing in the NFC playoffs at Lambeau. The same event occurred in the 2007 playoffs when he battled below-0 wind chill and knocked off the Brett Favre-led Packers in the NFC Championship game. In the previous matchup Eli got additional help from New York's defense and the right leg of kicker Lawrence Tynes in overtime.

This time around? Eli seemingly put the team on his back and carried the G-Men to a 37-point romp of the MVP favorite Rodgers.

Linebacker Michael Boley and defensive end Osi Umenyiora did provide some insurance with a total of four sacks of Green Bay's Rodgers, but in the end it was Eli who took over the show by out-passing fellow Super Bowl MVP by 66 yards. Manning threw for three touchdowns and sacked just once.

With the run game averaging just 3.5 yards/carry on 27 attempts, Manning was forced to take the game over with his arm and he did not disappoint head coach Tom Coughlin, who is now 10-7 in the postseason as head coach.

Eli put up one of his best regular seasons, in terms of numbers, this past season on his way to his second career Pro Bowl selection. Although he has led the league in interceptions twice in his eight-year career, there's no doubt his play has elevated once he hits the postseason. In fact, he has thrown just eight INTs with 14 TDs in nine career postseason starts, and three of those interceptions came in his playoff debut as a second-year pro in 2004 (NYG lost 23-0 to Carolina).

On the road in the playoffs, Eli has put up a 5-1 record with his lone loss coming against Philadelphia in 2006 with a 23-20 defeat at the hands of Jeff Garcia and Brian Westbrook. This postseason Eli has been near-perfect, throwing for 607 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT (44 for 65) and outscoring opponents 61-22.

Depending on how the rest of this postseason plays out, Eli could further distance himself with the average NFL quarterbacks and elevate into successful playoff quarterback status, and possibly even get himself a second Super Bowl MVP award at the young age of 31.

Photo credit

Manning: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Quote credit
Published on profootballtalk.com

NYG/GB: Why We Could see Similar Results to '07 NFC Championship game on Sunday

Quarterback Eli Manning, on his way to a Super Bowl championship in 2007-08 postseason, knocked off legendary Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in overtime with a little help from Lawrence Tynes' game-winner from 47 yards out.

The game that day, Sunday January 20, 2008, was played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin at -7 degree weather with high winds and a wind chill factor of -27.

Manning managed to play through that weather and defeat Green Bay on the road thanks to a stout running attack led by Brandon Jacobs (67 yards, 1 TD) and Ahmad Bradshaw (63 yards, 1 TD) and with the high/low of this Sunday being 30/22, we could see Manning making a greater impact in the passing game.

These two squads met earlier in the year as well, with the then-undefeated Packers coming away with a slim 38-35 victory to improve to 12-0. New York played well overall, with Manning (347 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) playing one of his better games of the season and running for 100 yards and a TD as a team. But what they failed to do is put pressure on Aaron Rodgers, who did make one mistake with an INT but still managed 369 yards and 4 TDs.

After watching the KC Chiefs hand Green Bay its only loss of the season, I think I have discovered what it takes to defeat this Pack team: run, run, run.

Green Bay has allowed 100 or more yards on the ground on 10 different occasions this season, but it was Kansas City that pounded the ball the most against the Pack (39 times for 139 yards, 1 TD), which gradually wore down the front 7. Not only that, but it also keeps Rodgers and the offense off the field. A combination of Thomas Jones (15 carries), Jackie Battle (10 carries), Dexter McCluster (5 carries) and Le'Ron McClain (4 carries) was enough to possess the ball for 36 out of the 60 minutes of play.

How to beat Rodgers? Keep him off the field. As simple as that.

Throughout the regular season, New York accumulated just 1,427 rushing yards (last in league) with 17 TDs (sixth in league), and have run the ball for 100 or more yards eight times–never for more than 119 yards. But, during its three-game win streak (including Sunday's Wild Card victory), they have cracked 100 all three games and controlled the time of possession over the last two weeks 68-52.

Lets face it, the Giants are red-hot and have managed to control recent games because of its normally weak rushing attack. If there's one thing I know, it's that Green Bay's running game (1,558 yards, 12 TDs, 3.9 Y/C, 27th in league) isn't much better than that of New York, and a reliable running game is vital when it comes to the NFL postseason.

The saying "offense sells tickets, defense wins championships" will factor in to this matchup as well, with a relentless front 7 in New York. Green Bay's defense, while ranked at the very bottom in pass defense and 14th in run defense, forced a lot of turnovers (38, t-1st in league) and has thrived off that all season.

As for New York, they do that well too (31, t-4th), but they also happen to be one of the best pass-rushing teams in the league (48 sacks, t-3rd) and have numerous playmaking and difference-makers in the front 7: Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Mathias Kiwanuka. All of which are relentless in their attack, not to mention hungry.

Overall, the passing game and receivers' edge are given to the Packers, as well as the offensive line, in this one. But as far as running attack and defense, the edge certainly belongs to the New York Giants.

Other key stats:

*Though the Packers lead the head-to-head postseason matchup 4-2, the Giants were also considered huge underdogs to the 13-3 NFC East champion Packers back in '07, going up against Favre at home in the frigid weather. Yet, somehow, Manning found himself winner in the end.

*While GB was 8-0 at home this season, the Giants put up a respectable 5-3 road record on its way to a 9-7 season.

*Green Bay has been off for two weeks. That can sometimes work to an advantage–more time to prepare–but it can also sometimes work against a team in terms of restlessness and could make for a slow start in the game.

Just some things to think about while watching the game that I believe could very well end in an upset. After watching the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks upset Drew Brees' Saints in last year's Wild Card round, I believe anything is possible once playoff time rolls around.

My Prediction: Eli, NYG's rushing attack upsets Rodgers and moves on to the NFC Championship game.

Photo credit

Eli Manning: greenbaypostgazette.com

Jordy Nelson: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Osi Umenyiora: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Eli Manning's Inconsistent Season Puts New York's Playoff Hopes on Life Support

After Green Bay's 45-17 shellacking of Eli Manning's G-Men yesterday at the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, Tom Coughlin's crew may need a little help to make the postseason this year.

The loss allowed the Eagles, before even playing their week 16 game against the Minnesota Vikings (postponed yesterday and rescheduled for tomorrow night in Philly), to clinch the NFC East title. The loss also puts New York behind New Orleans (10-4) and Green Bay (9-6) in the race for the two Wild Card spots.

Not only will the Giants have to beat their NFC East counterpart Washington Redskins this coming Sunday to have a shot, but they will also need help from numerous teams.

Eli's four interceptions in yesterday's matchup has been the story of their season thus far. At 29 years old, Eli has set a couple of career highs--touchdown passes: 30, completion %: 63.1, and is 263 shy of setting a career-high in passing yards--but the most important stat this season has been interceptions. Yes, that's right, Eli Manning has thrown a career-high, and league-leading, 24 interceptions through 15 games.

There's no question that Eli has had plenty of time to get rid of the football, either, considering he has been sacked by the opposition just 16 times this season. And as a team, New York is averaging 141.2 rushing yards per game, good enough for fifth in the league.

Eli had a tough time adjusting and bouncing back after New York's defense allowed 28 fourth quarter points and watched Philadelphia steal one from them in their own house. That loss snapped New York's three-game win streak and shifted the momentum in Philly's direction.

Over that three-game stretch, New York's defense allowed a total of 30 points (average of 10.0/game), but allowed 38+ in each of the next two games for a total of 83 points.

New York has proven that they can put up points (have had six games with 30-plus points, and two games with 40-plus points this season), but the defense has also been inconsistent, allowing 30 or more points on four separate occasions this season.

One thing is for certain, if New York manages to squeeze in to the NFC playoffs, they will definitely have to step it up on the defensive side of the ball and will need to be dependent on the run game so they can limit Manning's interceptions. What do I think about all this? New York will beat the Skins in the finale, but miss the playoffs with a 10-6 record. Sorry Giants fans.

Photo Credit

Eli Manning: AP Photo/Morry Gash