When the New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9, they were a 7-2 team that looked like they were going to coast into the playoffs as the winners of the NFC East. However, they have gone just 2-4 since that point, and they are now on the wrong side of the postseason picture without control of their own destiny. They have to beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium if they want to still have a realistic chance to make it to the postseason.

What we have seen from the Giants though, is that they are at their best when all of the chips are in the center of the table and the most is on the line.

QB Eli Manning has been up and down all year long, but of late, he has been terrible. Arguably his worst game of the season came last week when he threw no touchdowns and two picks with just 161 yards against the Atlanta Falcons. It was the lowest of the lows for New York, which was shut out for the first time since 1996.

It also didn’t help last week that the team couldn’t figure out how to ever consistently get anything going on the ground. Take out a 20+ yard run by both RB Kregg Lumpkin and RB David Wilson, and as a team, New York averaged just 2.63 yards per carry. The good news is that RB Ahmad Bradshaw is expected to be back in the fold for this one after sitting out last week.

New York hasn’t had a fantastic history against the Ravens in the past, going just 3-4 SU and 2-5 ATS in the seven games against this franchise since 1985.

If you want to make your NFL picks on the Giants, you have to lay 2 ½-points on the road against Baltimore.

The one thing you can expect from the New York Giants throughout the regular season is the unexpected.  They can come out and lose a seemingly easy game against a terrible Philadelphia Eagles team then blow out a recovering Saints ball club.  All in all, the Giants are always struggling to make the playoffs and will have yet another road block in their way this coming Sunday when they take on the Atlanta Falcons.  While the NFL odds have the Giants at a two point handicap, they certainly have the tools to win the game this week.  They just need to dig deep and make the right moves.

One of the reasons the team has struggled throughout the season is their unreliable offense.  Quarterback Eli Manning constantly goes from huge wins that see him throwing for upwards of 300 yards and multiple touchdowns to games where he barely gets a hundred yards passing.   He will find ways to constantly get receiver Victor Cruz the ball then not hook up with him for an entire game.  The team needs to evaluate their offensive set up and find a way to get a more stable base that will yield more wins.  While they have proved that they can win big in the playoffs, them getting more wins in the regular season would surely help the team get more favorable match ups come January. 

As it stands now, the Giants will have to find ways to turn over the ball as well as get big plays on offense if they want to keep up with the Falcons this week.  Atlanta has struggled in the last few weeks though which has lead many to believe this game is the Giants for the taking.  If the team can get the ball moving in the air then things will certainly be looking up for them in week 15.

The New Orleans Saints scored just 10 points last week, and QB Drew Brees was held without a single touchdown pass for the first time in 54 games. Brees was picked off five times, bringing his tally for the last two weeks to seven INTs. However, in spite of this form, Brees has to be smiling, knowing that he is taking on a weak New York Giants secondary on Sunday afternoon in one of the biggest games of the year.

The G-Men have had their share of problems stopping the pass this year. They rank 22^nd in the NFL in pass defense at 245.2 yards per game allowed, and quarterbacks are actually throwing for 262.9 yards per game. Where almost all of the damage is being done though, is on the outside to receivers. The Giants have had four games this year where opposing receivers have tallied at least 200 receiving yards, and they have had six games allowing at least two touchdowns to wide receivers.

Enter: WR Marques Colston and WR Lance Moore. These two have 113 receptions, 1,650 yards, and 12 trips to the end zone between them on the campaign, and we figure that they are going to have huge days with Brees throwing the football to them once again.

History isn’t exactly on New York’s side either. The last three times these two teams have met, the Saints have scored an average of 42.3 points per game. Brees has accounted for 372 and 369 passing yards in the last two as well.

To make matters worse for the Giants, they have three DBs, Kenny Phillips, Jayron Hosley, and Tyler Sash, that are all listed as questionable with various ailments. The team though, has picked off 18 passes this year, which suggests that perhaps there could be some big plays both for and against this defense on Sunday.

There is a reason that the 53 on the board is the highest total on the NFL odds this weekend. The Giants are favored by five points.

Perhaps a bye week was just what QB Eli Manning was looking for to get his act back together again. He and his New York Giants had their bye in Week 11, and they came out firing in Week 12, putting up their most impressive victory of the season in a 38-10 romp over one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers. This week, Eli and the G-Men are on the road at the hot Washington Redskins, but there is every reason to believe that they will have a great chance of covering the 2 ½-point NFL odds put on the board for this week’s showdown.

Manning has thrown for 2,890 yards and 15 TDs this year in spite of the fact that he really hasn’t had a remarkable passing game in quite some time. Manning did throw for three TDs last week against the Pack, and he had a 114.4 quarterback rating in the game, his higher mark of the season. However, you have to go back to Week 7 against none other than these Redskins to find the last time that he threw for at least 300 yards.

This Washington defense had played better ball over the course of the last few weeks, but last week, it showed its true colors when it allowed 441 yards and three TDs through the air to QB Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. That now marks eight times this year in 11 games that the Redskins have allowed at least 299 passing yards, and it was the fifth time that they had allowed three passing touchdowns. There has been just one game all year without a passing TD conceded by this Washington defense.

Should New York win this game, it will mark the fourth time in the last five seasons that it swept Washington. However, the Redskins are working on a four-game cover streak in this series dating back to the end of the 2010 regular season.

A long weekend of turkey and football will be capped off Sunday night with a juicy matchup between the past two Super Bowl champions. The Green Bay Packers (7-3) invade the New York Giants (6-4) at MetLife Stadium for what is also a rematch of a divisional playoff game won by the Giants in January.

New York received a much-needed bye last week following two straight losses, including a 31-13 setback at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals 31-13 as a 3.5-point road favorite. The losses, coupled with the recent surge of the Washington Redskins, have left the defending Super Bowl champions with just a 1 1/2-game lead in the NFC East. A loss to the Packers and things could get interesting down the stretch in this division.

According to the Week 12 NFL odds, the Giants are 3-point home favorites against the Packers with the over/under listed between 49.5 and 51 points, depending on where you look.

First and foremost for the Giants will be getting quarterback Eli Manning back on track for the season’s home stretch. The two-time Super Bowl MVP has played poorly in three straight games, which includes throwing four interceptions versus zero touchdown passes. That is the longest streak without a TD pass in Manning’s career.

The hope out of Gotham is a  week of rest is just what the doctor ordered for Manning. Rumors have been that Manning has suffered from a tired arm and it’s hoped the bye will allow him to return to the elite level he showed earlier this season.

The Packers have reeled off five consecutive wins, despite dealing with a rash of injuries, especially on the defensive side. At least three starters will be out against the Giants—All-Pro linebacker Clay Matthews, former NFL defensive player of the year Charles Woodson and cornerback Sam Shields.

New York has seen its lead in the division slip and is getting ever-more desperate for a win. However, Green Bay is playing perhaps its best football of the season right now. This one figures to be close, but the Giants may be due the slight edge given the home-field and injury concerns of the Packers.

No matter what happens with Eli Manning in New York, many football fans will give the star quarterback a pass. Why? In the last few seasons, he graduated from Peyton’s younger brother to the man that brought two Super Bowl championships to the Big Apple. The first one was especially sweet because Manning’s Giants took down the then-undefeated New England Patriots.

Even though Manning is regarded as an elite quarterback, it doesn’t stop fans from asking one big question. What the heck is wrong with him this season, and by extension why are the Giants struggling?

Keep in mind one thing when this is debated. It is not the end of the world. The Giants are 6-4 overall, and it is still worth a trip to New Jersey to see one of the remaining home games. With six teams in the NFC sporting records equal to or better than the Giants, people worry that even with a division championship a lower playoff seed might come, and with it a game against someone like the Chicago Bears or Atlanta Falcons. We all know getting to games can be a hassle so the recommended route is to park your car at a Manhattan Monthly Parking lot and find a party van or bus out to Met Life.

The Giants have a bye this week before they come back into the fire with a game against the Green Bay Packers. Three of the final six games, including the Green Bay contest, are at MetLife Stadium. New York is currently 4-1 at home, its lone loss coming to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even then, that loss was by four points, 24-20, and it was close.

New York closes the schedule with a trip to Washington to see the Redskins, followed by a home game against New Orleans, trips to Atlanta and Baltimore, and the regular-season finale at home against Philadelphia. Worried fans might have pause to concern here. The Giants barely beat Washington, 27-23, in the earlier meeting this year, and Philadelphia tripped up the Giants 19-17. On a side note, there is a strong chance Michael Vick will not be under center when the Eagles play New York again, either due to an injury (concussion) or ineffectiveness. Rookie quarterback Nick Foles might take over.

Still, the New Orleans-Atlanta-Baltimore trio may give nervous Giants fans undue stress. The resurgent Saints have found their footing following rocky early ground, Atlanta is the best team in the NFL, and Baltimore has one of the best defenses in the league. The games against Washington and Philadelphia are important. New York has faced the 4-5 Dallas Cowboys twice and split its meetings.

How the Giants ultimately fare depends on Manning. He has averaged 29 touchdowns a season in the last three years, but through 10 games he only has 12 touchdowns to go with 11 interceptions. His lowest touchdown output over a full season was 21, in 2008, and Manning looks like he’s on his way to matching that total or barely eclipsing it.

The Giants still look like the team to beat in the NFC East, but unless Manning can pick up the pace it might be a division title and an early playoff exit. That might disappoint legends of Giant fans that hoped for a better performance coming off a Super Bowl season.

About the only thing that the New York Giants are going to be thankful for going into Week 12′s matchup with the Green Bay Packers is that they have a bye week to prepare for the game.

New York is going to be a tough team to make NFL picks on in Week 12, knowing that it is playing against a team that is out for blood. The Packers remember the last time that these two teams met in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, a game in which QB Aaron Rodgers and the crew watched their 15-1 regular season all go for naught.

Looking at the Giants, it is easy to see that the team should be happy at 6-4. There will either be one-game or two-games of an edge over the Dallas Cowboys and the field in the NFC East when this Sunday Night Football encounter kicks off at MetLife Stadium, and that should be good enough to ensure that the champs get a shot to defend their Lombardi Trophy in the postseason.

However, a closer look at the stats show a team that is awfully mediocre. The Giants rank just 10^th in the NFL in total offense at 367.4 yards per game, a number that is skewed by a 604 yard game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2. Take that one out, and the total number of yards per game dips to just 341.1 YPG. The team also ranks 21^st in the NFL in total defense at 371.6 YPG. A scoring average of 21.6 PPG is great for allowing that many yards, but again, if you take out the games against the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers, what’s left is a New York team that has allowed 25.8 points per game and has conceded at least 23 in all but one of its other games on the year.

The New York Giants have hit a rough patch in the season that’s seen their lead in the NFC East dwindle to just a single game over the Dallas Cowboys.

Since nearly surrendering a 23-point lead to those same Cowboys in Week 8, the Giants have gone on to consecutive losses against the Pittsburgh Steelers and on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.  New York will have its much-needed bye in Week 11 before returning to work with a key home matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 25.

The Giants offense has particularly struggled during the past three weeks. Versus the Bengals on Sunday, quarterback Eli Manning had another sub-par passing effort while also contributing to the Giants growing turnover problem with a pair of interceptions and a fumble. Over the last three weeks, Manning has completed just 54 percent of his passes and averaged a paltry 177.3 yards a game through the air over.

A portion of the recent problems with the Giants attack must also be pinned on the offensive line, especially on Sunday. After playing well for much of the season, the Giants O-line has been unable to protect Manning recently. On Sunday, against a pedestrian Bengals pass rush, Manning was sacked four times and was under pressure on nearly every drop-back.

The Giants have also gotten little production from their wide receivers in this rough stretch. Victor Cruz has caught just two balls for 44 yards the last three weeks, while running mate Domenik Hixon added just four catches during that time before leaving with an ankle injury against the Bengals.

The New York Giants are clearly scuffling heading into their bye week, but recent history makes it hard to doubt this team while head coach Tom Coughlin is at the controls. The schedule, while challenging, is certainly navigable for a playoff-quality team. Keep that in mind when formulating your NFL picks in the weeks going forward. 

The Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Giants are going to be squaring off on Sunday afternoon at Paul Brown Stadium, and the clash is crucial for both sides. Both are coming off of bad losses last week, and the two teams are hoping to get back on track against the other.

The man of the hour is going to be QB Eli Manning for the Giants. Manning has thrown for 2,426 yards this year, the second best mark in the league. He has 12 TDs against nine picks, and he is going to hope to get back on track after four straight truly lackluster games.

Manning threw for just 125 yards with a pick in a miserable effort against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, and he had just 192 yards and an INT with no touchdowns the week before against the Dallas Cowboys. In fact, if not for the fact that the defense has created so many turnovers, this offense would clearly be under a heck of a lot of heat right now.

The Cincinnati defense has been atrocious all year long, which is a real sign that it isn’t going to be able to challenge for a playoff spot for the second straight season. This unit has allowed 357.4 yards per game, ranking just 20^th in the NFL, and 25.7 points per game conceded is just 25^th. The Bengals have also allowed at least two passing touchdowns in four of their eight games this year, and the only games that they didn’t came against three rookies, QB Ben Roethlisberger, and QB Blaine Gabbert.

Manning threw for 289 yards and a TD in his only effort against the Bengals of his career, a 26-23 overtime victory.

On Sunday, the Giants are favored by four points on the NFL odds.

The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t always had the best secondary in the world, but this year, they rank first in the league, allowing just 182.6 yards per game. This is going to be quite the test for QB Eli Manning and the New York Giants, who will take on the Steelers this weekend at MetLife Stadium.

Manning has been up and down over the course of the year, and he is having a hard time keeping control of the football. He has thrown just one touchdown over the course of his last two games, and he has three picks in that time as well. Manning also only completed 51.7 percent of his passes last week against the Dallas Cowboys, and he is going to have a tougher time against a more ferocious defense.

Ironically, this was one of the few games that the receiving corps was really intact. All four of Manning’s receivers, WR Hakeem Nicks, WR Victor Cruz, WR Rueben Randle, and WR Ramses Barden, as well as TE Martellus Bennett were all playing. When Manning has been at his best this year though, seems to be when he has been without some of his best receivers. Nicks has only really played in three full games this year, and he has been involved in two others that he was injured or hampered in.

The Steelers have allowed an average of just 141.0 passing yards and 1.0 touchdowns per game, and they aren’t going to make this game easy for Manning and the G-Men.

Manning has played twice against the Giants in his career, throwing for 381 yards and three TDs against just one pick. New York won one of the two games but covered both.

On Sunday, Manning and his G-Men are favored by a field goal on the NFL odds.