Giants vs Baltimore.
Donovan McNabb's Redskins scored 3 points in the opening drive against the Ravens last week and that was it. The final score was 23-3 as Baltimore's defense ruled the game. Hurt in that game, McNabb missed his chance to do better against the Jets this week, a team run by former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan.
The Giants hosted a game for the first time in the New Meadowlands Stadium, but Eli Manning wasn't available to welcome guests on the field since he was hurt in the previous game. Third string quarterback Rhett Bomar was in charge of all the festivities and he gave it his all, but the Giants lost this one to the Steelers, 24-17.

Baltimore Ravens.
After going 5-11 and dismissing Brian Billick, the Ravens found themselves in the playoffs for the second year running under second year head coach John Harbaugh. He has done exceptionally well considering he was never a coordinator before getting this head coaching job, just a long time assistant with the Eagles. The Ravens hadn't won a playoff game since the 2001 season and he's done that each year too. The team's defense is still tough even without Rex Ryan and they strengthened the offense with offseason moves.

Baltimore - Offense.
Quarterback Joe Flacco went 9 for 16 passes for 72 yards last week and it will be interesting to see him play longer with his new toys picked up in the offseason, wide receiver Anquan Boldin and Donte' Stallworth. They compliment his go-to guy, 36 year old super productive Derrick Mason who's looking for a Super Bowl ring this year. The offense ranked 18th in passing, but 5th in rushing thanks to running back Ray Rice last year so you have to say they addressed their weakness. One thing though, the Ravens had just 19 fumbles during the whole regular season last year, but now they have fumbled eight times and lost four in the last two games - a developing problem? Good thing for them it's preseason.

Baltimore - Defense.
Remember one time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Ray Lewis? Well guess what - he's still playing for the Baltimore Ravens with 15 years under his belt and going strong. The Ravens didn't just help out the offense in the offseason, they drafted a defensive tackle named Terrence Cody who can help crush a running game. Last week they allowed only 25 yards on 14 carries to the Redskins. However, in the two games with their banged-up secondary, the Ravens have given up a lot of passing yards to the first string quarterbacks, but they still have yet to allow an offensive touchdown. The Giants offense will get a real test in this game going against a defense ranked at number 3 last year.

Giants - Offense.
The good news is that Eli Manning will be playing after missing a game last week for the first time in years. The bad news is this is the preseason game where you hope to see the starting units jell and the Giants have had injuries in all areas. Don't expect to see Ramses Barden, Sinorice Moss, Shaun O'Hara, Kevin Boothe, D.J. Ware, Travis Beckum, and Jim Sorgi in this game. Overall I get the feeling that the passing game will work itself out just like last year and that the big question mark is where the running game stands. So far this preseason Brandon Jacobs has had only 4 carries for 2 yards while Ahmad Bradshaw has started at running back and rushed / received the ball 11 times for 85 yards (Tiki Barber the II?). Should we read something into that? Interesting fact is that in 2008, the Giants rushed for 207 yards as a team against Baltimore with Brandon Jacobs accounting for 73 of those yards. Let's see where we're at.

Giants - Defense.
Like the offense, the defense needs to jell. The starters pulled a similar trick to what the Ravens did in that they limited Ben Roethlisberger to just three points in his time in the game. Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora made some key plays, and Corey Webster intercepted a pass. They certainly keep offenses (and maybe themselves) guessing who will be out on the field at any given time either due to strategy or injury. In this game they should be missing Michael Johnson, Aaron Ross, Terrell Thomas, Chris Canty, Chase Blackburn, and maybe Jason Pierre-Paul.

First Regular Season Game
Sep 12 - Carolina at Giants
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