Reviewing The Road Ahead: The Remaining 5 Opponents
By Joe Tufaro
The New York Giants now have 6 games remaining with 5 different opponents, since the play the Cowboys twice down the stretch. Here is a weekly look at where those teams stand in their division, in their conference and how they are currently faring.
The Saints: The Giants(6-4) play the New Orleans Saints(7-3) next Monday night in the Superdome. The Saints lead the NFC South by one game over Atlanta, but have a 3-1 division record compared to The Falcons 1-2. Coming off a bye this week, the Saints play the opposite Prime Time schedule from what the Giants will be experiencing. They play Monday against New York and the following Sunday night versus Detroit in New Orleans as that game has been flexed by NBC. The Saints have the same high flying offense they have always had with Drew Brees at the controls. They rank First in Yards, 2nd in passing yards and First in points. It will be interesting to see how healthy the Saints return from their bye week. Their defense has been inconsistent this year and they will for sure be without LB Jonathan Vilma after he had surgery on his knee last week. The Saints are always a tough opponent, especially at home.
Green Bay: The Giants will host the Green Bay Packers on December 4th. Aaron Rodgers and the seemingly unstoppable Packer offense will be a major challenge for the Giants. The Packers currently at 10-0 are obviously leading both their division and the NFC. They play this Thursday versus Detroit and then get all that extra time off before they meet the Giants. The good news here is that the Packers are 21st in rushing and their defense has given up plenty of yards (31st in passing) and points. They take many chances knowing that Rodgers and the offense can make up for many mistakes if necessary.
Dallas: The Giants will play the division rival Cowboys twice down the stretch, first on December 11th, another Sunday Night Football affair in Arlington, and then on New Years Day in New Giants Stadium to finish out the regular season. The Cowboys had basically the opposite schedule form the Giants, with tough opponents early, and the supposed softer schedule late. The Cowboys also have made themselves better by finding a running game. DeMarco Murray has proven to be the missing piece to the offense and Jason Garrett’s Cowboys. Tony Romo still runs this team, and it will ultimately either succeed or fail because of him, but it gives him another weapon he did not have earlier in the year. These two divisional battles will no doubt decide the NFC EAST tittle.
Washington: The Redskins are a tough defensive team. Their offense however has fallen on hard times. They have lost starting running backs, tight ends, and receivers. And as the old saying goes, if you have two quarterbacks, then really you have none. Another important division contest here that needs to be won not only for overall record, but for tie-breaking purposes.
The Jets: The Giants get to visit the Jets in their own building. On Christmas Eve the scrooge inspired Jets will try and save their season, and ruin the Giants all in one night. The Giants usually handle the Jets by doing what the Steelers did to them last year in the playoffs….run the ball. However, this years Giants team has had trouble getting any sort of running attack started, and if the offensive line continues to struggle, the Jets defense will make them look silly. This should be a low scoring affair, with all the struggles the Jet offense is currently experiencing. But this game is a long way off, and the implications of the contest are yet to be decided. We will keep our eye on this one as the weeks progress.
So….There you have it…..The Giants play two of the top teams in the NFC, both coming off extra rest in the next two weeks…one of those games needs to be won, or we leave our fate in the hands of others once again.