Giants (11-5) vs Packers (10-6)
The Packers won their Sunday night game with the Detroit Lions 31-24. Both teams knew going in they would be in the playoffs, but the division title and home field advantage was on the line.
The Giants finished up with an 11-5 record. They fought hard for a win in their last game of the season with the Redskins 19-10, even though the results would have no impact on their playoff standing.
Giants - Redskins Wrap-Up

The Green Bay Packers
The Packers have been in the playoffs every single year since 2009. That's eight straight years now, and in five they earned the NFC North Division title to get there. The other three times they were a wildcard team, and that included last year, where they went on to win the first playoff game at Washington. Green Bay lost their second in Arizona, despite Aaron Rodgers forcing the game into overtime with a 41 yard Hail Mary pass in the final seconds of regulation time. The Cardinals got the ball first and scored a touchdown on just three plays. With overtime rules in effect, Rodgers didn't get another shot for a comeback.

Packers Offense
Aaron Rodgers was determined to get his team the six straight wins they needed to grab the division title away from the Lions. Rodgers threw four touchdown passes, and ran with the ball ten times for 42 yards in Detroit last week. He had some reliable help of course. Missing running backs Eddie Lacy and James Starks, fullback Aaron Ripkowski and wide receiver Ty Montgomery ran for 105 yards, averaging over six yards a carry. With both Lacy and Starks suffering injuries this season, Montgomery became the team leader with 457 rushing yards, and Rodgers is second on the team with 369. Montgomery also has 44 receptions for 348 yards.
Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams each had touchdowns in the first meeting with the Giants, and have combined for 26 of Rodgers' 40 total touchdown passes on the year. Randall Cobb is next with four, and he had 9 catches for 108 yards against the Giants. Cobb has missed the last two games due to an ankle problem, but he may be back on Sunday. Overall Rodgers has been a one man team, averaging over 4 yards a carry, and has a 71 percent completion ratio over his last six games, all wins in which he's thrown 15 touchdowns with no interceptions.

Packers Defense
They are a real tough unit up front, great at stopping the run, and in bringing quarterback pressure. It's a good thing too, because they have an extremely weak secondary. The unit went from being a number six passing defense last year, to 31st. Aside from losing Sam Shields, their best cornerback early on, they have sustained numerous injuries. They know they'll have to control Odell Beckham Jr. who Manning threw to twice as many times as any other player, and who scored the only touchdown on them in that last game. Starting cornerback Quinten Rollins was on Beckham, helping to limit him to just 5 catches on 12 targets, but Rollins will be out this time due to a concussion.
LaDarius Gunter also played well against Beckham in that game, and Damarious Randall is expected to start even though he left the game last week with a knee injury. In all, three cornerbacks were hurt last week, and safeties had to fill in against the Lions. Like we said, the Packers need pressure up front. It certainly helped the team to jell this season when linebacker Clay Matthews returned after missing three games with a hamstring injury.

Giants offense
The Giants have not reached as much as 20 points in the last five games, and even though they won three of them, it's not a formula that will get you very far into the playoffs. It was encouraging that the Giants ran for a season high 161 yards in their game with Washington last week. Still, Manning wasn't able to play off that with his top receivers and put points up on the board. Running backs Paul Perkins and Rashad Jennings were able to bring it to the Redskins, and Green Bay is a better defense in that area. Even though the Giants scored one rushing touchdown for the first time in long while, that's probably not how it's going to go this week.
We hope that the Giants remember that even though they were stuffed for 43 rushing yards on 15 carries last time, running back Bobby Rainey caught all six of Manning's passes for 52 yards. The return of left guard Justin Pugh, coming back from a knee injury after five weeks, has certainly helped the running game, and possibly given Eli Manning more confidence to hang in a bit longer before throwing the ball. Same as for the Packers, this game is on the quarterback. For the Giants it will be on Manning, who certainly is willing to put himself at risk for the team to move on in these playoff games as he has done many times before.

Giants defense
When the Giants faced Green Bay earlier in the season, Aaron Rodgers came into that game not having thrown for 300 yards in 12 straight games, including two playoffs. The Giants defense held him to 259, got Rodgers for two interceptions, and as it turned out, he had his worst completion percentage of the season playing in that game with the Giants (51.1). The Giants still took a 23-16 loss, as Eli Manning managed to score with a touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. on their last possession of the game.
The Giants defense has improved since that night in Green Bay, but the trouble is, so has Rodgers, with his ability to do it all with his passing arm or running ability. He keeps the chains moving, and can rely on tight end Jared Cook on third downs. Eli Apple and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie were hurt the last time these teams played, and Rodgers still threw two interceptions. The Giants should expect to see a lot of short passes coming their way in this game.

Overall
The Packers are a hot team, scoring at least 30 points in each of the last four games. The Giants haven't hit the 30 point mark all season long. They've been living off their defense, so it comes down to this. Can the second best defense in the league hold back a fourth ranked offense, playing even better than that over their last four games? Remember, the Giants are fielding a healthier team, and there's another thing to consider, the Ben McAdoo factor.
McAdoo knows all about Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense as well as he knows his own. With nothing on the line last week, McAdoo had the Giants playing on the road going all out against a Washington team that needed to win or else. McAdoo got them up to playoff intensity, and has possibly established enough of a running game to make the passing one more effective. Look for Eli Manning to work off that, picking his spots against a vulnerable Packers secondary and take the win.

NFC Wildcard Game
Sunday at 4:25pm Giants (11-5) at Green Bay (10-6).
The Packers are favored to win this game.

Notes - Giants.

Paul Perkins leads the Giants in rushing yards since Week 12.

Giants have allowed the second fewest yards per rush attempt in the NFL - 3.6.

Giants have allowed only two running backs to break the 100-yard mark this year.

Notes - Green Bay.

Aaron Rodgers has four, and Ty Montgomery has three of the total 11 rushing touchdowns on the season.

Packers have won the NFC North Division title for the fifth time in six years.

TeamGiants on Twitter.
Next Game with a win over Green Bay
Jan 14 or 15 - Giants at Atlanta or Dallas.
Giants Tickets  -  Buy or Sell

	Go Giants! #1 Fan Charm Bracelet 13 magnificently crafted charms, plated with 24K gold and sterling silver. Genuine SwarovskiŽ crystals Officially licensed by the NFL. Gift box. Go Giants! #1 Fan Charm Bracelet

Stop in and visit "Mike's Keys to the Internet" at  www.mikeskeys.com

Website by Mike