Eli's strong play, combined with the Giants rediscovered pass rush should give the Giants the edge on Sunday. |
Even though this game is the NFC East Championship Game, both teams come into the game boasting mediocre pedigrees and 8-7 records. For the first time in the history of the NFC East, one of the NFL's consistently strong divisions, the division winner will not have at least ten wins. The Eagles were slated to win this division by a landslide but instead turned in a dud of a season leaving the door for these two mediocre teams to grab the playoff berth and first round home field advantage.
The Cowboys are backing into this matchup losing 3 out of their last 4, including a 20-7 beatdown by the underachieving Eagles last week. Dallas is mediocre on both sides of the ball, though per usual, they are carried by their offense. Tony Romo is having one of his best seasons statistically, throwing for 29 TDs and only 9 INTs, but it hasn't exactly made an impact on the Cowboys season. He's passed well in their losses and had bad games in their wins. But, Romo's full health is uncertain after he injured his hand against the Eagles. ESPN is reporting that he will play, and I'm not doubting that, but I'm doubting his effectiveness. If he's not fully health it will give the Giants a solid edge over their rival. Rob Ryan, Dallas's defensive coordinator, has had limited success in making this defense dominate like he boasted earlier this season. His stud pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware is having another All-Pro caliber season but he's been a one man show and doesn't truly strike fear in the hearts of his opponents like he has in the past.
Coming off a vitally important win against their New York-rival, the Giants are sky high with confidence. Their lackadaisical pass rush finally came to life, and they made all the plays they needed to win the game. However, they never stepped on the Jets jugular. They let them hang around, and though they eventually won the game, they developed some poor habits. First off, their offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride aka Kevin Killdrive made all the right calls up until the Giants had the Jets on their knees. With Gang Green fumbling into the end zone and seemingly shooting themselves in the foot, the Giants chose to throw instead of run the clock, and that came back to haunt them as Eli threw a pick. It didn't end up costing the G-Men, but a play calling decision like that in a game of this magnitude may prove to be even more costly. Simply put, the Giants are heading into this game with a lot more confidence than the Cowboys, but it may just be an empty cockiness that could led them down a dangerous path.
If Tony Romo's hand is 100% than I like the Cowboys in this matchup. But, both teams come into this game with shaky seasons and have their fans equally uneasy. This game is going to be a high-scoring, exciting affair, but I have no idea how healthy Romo is. Expect Eli and Romo alike to have good games, but I'm not one hundred percent sure that the Cowboys QB is fully healthy.
Prediction: Giants 34, Cowboys 31
If Eli is on the same track on sunday as he's been all season, then I see him once again gunslinging the Giants to the playoffs.
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