Giants-Packers Rematch of '07
Happy New Year Everyone!
The New York Football Giants faced the Washington Redskins on New Year's Day in an NFC East Matchup. The Giants are already in the Playoffs as the 5th seed while Washington needed a Win to be the 6th seed.
The Giants lead 10-0 at halftime as the Defense kept Kirk Cousins and the Redskins scoreless. After the Redskins tied the game 10-10 with 8:13 left to go in the game, the Giants Defense continued to play dominant. Domininique Rodgers-Cromartie picked up his second interception off Cousins with 1:00 to go. The Redskins had one last chance to make a comeback with the Giants only leading 13-10 with :06 left, but this time, Giants CornerBack Trevin Wade picked up Jordan Reed's attempt at a backward toss and ran for a 11- yard fumble return touchdown to end the game. The Giants knocked the Redskins out of the Playoffs with a 19-10 Win.
The Sunday Night Football Game between the Lions and Packers determined who the Giants would face in the Wild Card Game. The Lions lead 14-10 at the half, but in the second half, it was all Packers. Aaron Rodgers threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half, two to Davante Adams, and lead 31-17 with 2:50 left in the game. After the Lions scored a Touchdown with :13 left, they tried to make a comeback with an on-side kick, but the Packers recovered and won 31-24.
The Giants and Packers will face each other in the NFC Wild Card Round on Sunday. The Packers defeated the Giants at Lambeau in the regular season 23-16, but in the playoffs, anything can happen. The Giants and Packers have played each other in the playoffs before, going back to the 2007 NFC Championship Game, where the Giants won 23-20 in Overtime as Lawrence Tynes kicked a game-winning 47-yard Field Goal to lead the Giants to the Super Bowl. At that time, Eli Manning was the starting Quarterback for the Giants while Aaron Rodgers was the back-up Quarterback to Brett Favre.
Yes, there is history between these two teams, but we have to look at this matchup from a current perspective. Eli Manning is still the Quarterback for the Giants and has experience against the Packers, but looking at the past few games, the Giants Defense have been the big factor in getting the late 4th quarter wins for the Giants. For the Packers, Aaron Rodgers has lead his team this season as a dominant passing Quarterback to win the NFC North.
As the Packers have a strong offense and the Giants have a strong defense, there is no doubt that Sunday's NFC Wild Card Game will be a close game. I believe that this game will come down to late in the 4th Quarter and it will be a matter of whose defense is stronger to win the game. With this being said, my prediction is that the Giants defense will have another great game and the Giants will win 24-21. But anything can happen on Sunday.
