First
a recap of the previous season…
Last
season, the Giants were 6-6 going into their Week 14 matchup at Dallas. It was
an opportunity for the Cowboys to seize control of the NFC East. New York was
in the middle of a x-game losing streak. Dallas had a 12 point lead with 5
minutes remaining. The Giants scored to cut the lead down to 5. And then this
happened…
The
Giants scored again to take a 37-34 lead, but Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo
drove his team in position for a game tying field goal. It appeared that the
game was heading towards overtime…
Following
the win at Dallas the Giants followed it up with a loss to the Redskins. It
appeared that the Giants were heading towards the off-season and a possible
coaching change. Their playoff run would have to start next week on the road…
at the Jets.
Even
though quarterback Eli Manning had a lackluster game, wide receiver Victor Cruz
was the difference catching x-passes for y-yards and z-touchdowns.
The
highlight of that game was this play:
From that
point on, the Giants never trailed and “Cruzed” to a 25-14 win over their cross
town rivals.
Under the
NFL’s television rules, the Sunday night contest for Week 17 is left vacant so
that a matchup with the most playoff implications is scheduled. This is also
the 256th and final game of the regular season. The matchup chosen
was the Giants-Cowboys game at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants
jumped out to a 21-0 lead before the Cowboys scored two touchdowns in the
second half. New York scored 10 more points to close out the game, win 31-14,
and claim their second NFC East title in five seasons.
The Giants
continued their winning streak with a 24-2 win over the Falcons at home,
followed by a 37-20 win at Green Bay in the divisional round, and Lawrence
Tynes kicking the Giants into the Super Bowl with a 20-17 overtime win at San
Francisco.
Super Bowl
XLVI was against the New England Patriots who won 10 straight games en route to
their second Super Bowl appearance in four years. Their last loss was in Week 9
when Eli Manning drove the length of the field for a game winning touchdown at
New England to give the Giants a 24-20 win.
Also, who
could forget Super Bowl XLII:
With the
Patriots clinging to a two-point lead with four minutes remaining, it appeared
that New England was on their way to their first Super Bowl championship since
the 2004 season and exercising the demons from their last championship
appearance.
Until…
Just like in
Dallas in December, the Giants seized their opportunity. With 3:46 remaining
and the ball on the Giants 12, Eli Manning launches a pass down the near
sideline to a streaking Mario Manningham.
8 plays
later, Ahmad Bradshaw capped the drive with a rushing touchdown with 57 seconds
remaining to give the Giants a 21-17 lead.
The Patriots
had one last chance as they drove to midfield. With five seconds left,
quarterback Tom Brady launched a Hail Mary Pass to the end zone…
And for the
second time in four years, the Giants defeated the Patriots in a Super Bowl and
Eli Manning was named the game’s MVP.
The top
stories in the NFL’s off-season was quarterback Peyton Manning’s release from
the Colts and signing with the Denver Broncos, the Saints “Bounty-gate” that
resulted in the season long suspension of head coach Sean Payton and linebacker
Jonathan Vilma and indefinite suspension of defensive coordinator Greg
Williams, the quiet return of Jeff Fisher to sidelines in St. Louis, Mario
Williams signing with the Buffalo Bills, and the Broncos trading Tim Tebow to
the New York Jets.
And it
starts again tonight with a re-match of the final regular season game between
the Super Bowl Champion New York Football Giants against the Dallas Cowboys.
Here are my
predictions for division winners and wild card teams:
|
|
AFC
|
NFC
|
|
EAST
|
New England
|
Philadelphia
|
|
NORTH
|
Baltimore
|
Green Bay
|
|
SOUTH
|
Houston
|
New Orleans
|
|
WEST
|
Denver
|
San Francisco
|
|
WILD CARDS
|
Kansas City, Pittsburgh
|
Carolina, Chicago
|
NFC
Championship: Green Bay over Philadelphia
AFC
Championship: Houston over Baltimore
Over the
past three seasons I have gone with Green Bay as the NFC favorite and there is
no reason to not see any change. Green Bay was 15-1 last season and had a
rather embarrassing exit from the playoffs by eventual Super Bowl champion New
York. This is still the same team that won Super Bowl XLV a couple of seasons
ago. The 49ers are a good team, but it’s going to be tough to repeat the
defensive performance they put on. The Saints have too much drama and it going
to be tough for the Giants to repeat. Again, the Packers are my NFC favorite.
In the AFC,
I think the Texans are good enough to make a Super Bowl run. All the top teams
in the AFC have some serious flaw that I am not comfortable with. New England:
being a previous Super Bowl loser and their defense. Baltimore is getting older
on defense. Pittsburgh’s running game is a concern. Even though the Broncos
have a new quarterback in Peyton Manning, it’s still the same team it was last
year. And the Jets are all hype.
Super Bowl
predicition
The game is
in New Orleans this season, so I am going with Green Bay over Houston.
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