Giant Problems
Not too long ago the New York Giants sat firmly on top of the NFC East. They were playing great football and it appeared that nobody, not even Tom Brady and the mighty Pats, could get in the way of the rolling Giants.
Three games later, the Giants are in second place looking up at the Dallas Cowboys. The Giants forfeited first place after being routed 49-24 by the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. The worst beating the Giants have suffered all season.
One could blame their struggles on the lack of ground offense, their poor defense or wide receivers not handling critical passes, but all in all the Giants have been able to remain close at the end and Have had chances of coming back.
Sunday, they face the most electrifying team in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers. Facing an offense commanded by Aaron Rodgers' combined with a stingy defense, the Giants have a lot on their plate. Luckily for the Giants, they seem to rise to the occasion when facing great teams.
To their defense, the Giants have the toughest second-half schedule in the NFL. They escaped Gillette Stadium with a win against Brady, but failed to win in San Francisco, who is currently 9-2, and lost to Vince Young and the Eagles last week. The Eagles are not the best team, but divisional rivals always love to play spoilers.
Last night, the Giants dropped their third straight game. With five games left they could go 3-2.They will most likely lose to the Packers and lose one of the two games against the Cowboys. They should beat out the New York Jets on Christmas Eve and split the season series with the Washington Redskins.
This would mean the Giants finish 9-7, which as not enough to win the NFC Wild Card for a spot in the playoffs. Their best chance would be to sweep the series again the Cowboys and hope one of the three opponents Dallas faces, which are all currently 4-7 (Cardinals, Eagles and Buccaneers), could defeat Dallas. Combined with a Giants sweep of the 'Boys, both teams would finish with similar records and the Giants would walk away with the NFC East division.
Clearly, the odds are against Big Blue, but, with the season wrapping up, it will be an interesting race to follow. Do not forget, Romo has a repertoire of choking in big games and folding under pressure situations.
Follow Technorati