The level of competition.
While the Giants were busy working at cementing their role in the playoff picture with their win over the Eagles, some other teams were pretty active as well. The Monday morning headlines read like this. 'Cowboys, Packers seal divisions', and 'Vikings topple 49ers - win 4th straight'. It's interesting to note that those are the only teams the Giants have lost to this season. Still thanks to scheduling, the Giants have yet to defeat a team with a winning record when they faced them.

Quarterback Todd Collins.
This guy's already breaking records. Just by taking a snap on the field on Sunday, he'll be making his first start in 10 years and two days for an NFL-record. Collins last start was on Dec. 14, 1997 for the Bills, in a 20-14 loss to a Jacksonville team coached by Tom Coughlin no less. He's been a backup for a long time and has played in 13 regular season games, including 12 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He hadn't thrown more than seven passes in any of those games until last week, and four times, he threw no passes. The Chiefs won all 12 of those games, and the Redskins won theirs with him so Collins is undefeated in regular season appearances since his last start. Last week's numbers weren't bad for such a long stretch of time on the sidelines. He completed 15 of his 20 passes for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns for a 144.6 passer rating.

Redskins - Offense.
Quarterback Todd Collins made some big plays in relief and he will lead this offense against the Giants. Last week Jason Campbell and Collins got the ball in the hands of 8 different receivers 25 times for 324 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tight end Chris Cooley has been a hot target of late, and he caught 5 of them for for 93 yards. In the last four games, he's had 26 catches for 367 yards and 2 touchdowns. Santana Moss - Giants Sinorice Moss's older brother - has 46 catches on the year.
Running back Clinton Portis, needs only 44 yards to reach 1,000 for the fifth time in his six-year career, but last week the running game really suffered against Chicago where Portis had 17 carries for only 36 yards. In fact, in the last four games, (3 losses, 1 win) Portis has averaged just 47.5 yards, but remember he also had 6 catches for 86 yards for a career high against Chicago.

Giants Defense.
Last week Brian Westbrook dinged the Giants defense 20 times for 116 rushing yards. His yards per-carry (5.8) was pretty high for what this group usually gives up (3.5). Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce played his best, but had only 3 tackles last week. He will be healthier for this game. The Redskins version of Westbrook is Clinton Portis. He's good - ranked 8th in the NFL - but he doesn't have the Eagles front line helping him out. Michael Strahan will be lined up against rookie free agent Stephon Heyer.
The Giants can't get too confident and go all out for a quarterback who doesn't usually play. If they do, Todd Collins will try to burn them with quick passes to Chris Cooley, Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El. By the way, Randle El, a former college quarterback, has to be watched carefully. Having played on a Thursday, the Redskins have had an extended week to prepare Collins and the team for the Giants.

Giants - Offense.
With poor weather conditions predicted for this Sunday night, the running game becomes more important. Brandon Jacobs, coming off a hamstring injury, played tentatively at the start of the game last week. He's missed five games this season with an injury to his knee and with that strained hamstring. There's no longer a Derrick Ward to fall back on, and Reuben Droughns hasn't been quite as productive as his two counterparts. Droughns did get loose last week against the Eagles from their 36-yard line to their one.
Plaxico Burress got hot last week with seven catches for 136 yards and one touchdown. Eli Manning hit Burress for some big pass plays (41, 31, 20 yards), but the weather conditions will probably favor a shorter passing game. Jeremy Shockey caught only one pass for 4 yards last game, but for this game it might be time to turn him loose. Meanwhile the football gods still laugh at Tom Coughlin's proclamation renaming their 'red zone' to his 'green zone'. The offense got to the Eagles 5-yard line three times and came away with field goals.

Redskins - Defense.
They were the NFL's 31st-ranked defense in 2006. Now they're ranked 11th, much better against the run than the pass. The recent unfortunate loss of safety Sean Taylor certainly doesn't help the team for more than just the obvious reasons. This unit has had a lot to overcome both on and off the field. Without Taylor, who had led the team with five interceptions, opponents have been able to pass deep on the Redskins.
One of Joe Gibbs mistakes was letting middle linebacker Antonio Pierce slip away to the Giants, but this year they picked up free agent London Fletcher, who leads the team with 138 tackles (86 solo) and he has 3 interceptions. Antonio Pierce played for the Redskins from 2001-04.

Notes.

Giants lead the NFL with 47 sacks.

Giants Plaxico Burress leads the team with 62 receptions for 900 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Giants have won six straight games on the road, for their longest road run since 1962.

Giants are 9-0 this season against teams that currently have losing records.

Redskins Chris Cooley leads the team with 58 receptions and 7 touchdowns.

Redskins Clinton Portis has averaged only 51 yards in three career road games versus the Giants.

Redskins Todd Collins was named the NFC's Player of the Week last week.

Giants Jeremy Shockey and Sinorice Moss played with the late Sean Taylor at the University of Miami.

Giants will again wear No. 21 decals on their helmets in memory of Sean Taylor, the Redskins safety who was shot and killed in his home back on Nov. 27.

The Washington Redskins have established a trust fund to benefit Jackie, the 18-month-old daughter of slain safety Sean Taylor.
The team and owner Daniel M. Snyder have dedicated a minimum of $500,000 to the fund.

The Giants and the United States Marines will host their annual Toys for Tots drive on Sunday.

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