6:30 P.M. EST, Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
The New York Giants are coming into this one firing on all cylinders. The only problem is, so are the San Francisco 49ers.
The Giants proved last week that their impressive defensive outing against the Atlanta Falcons one week earlier was no fluke, holding one of the league’s top offenses in the Green Bay Packers to just 20 points and forcing four turnovers in the process. All the while Eli Manning has continued to build a career season in the absence of his big brother, completing 43 of 65 passes for 607 yards and six touchdowns in his last two games combined.
Reading that would make the Giants seem like the favorite on the surface, but when the Niners’ performance last week is taken into account, it’s not so set in stone.
Last week, the New Orleans Saints brought the league’s No. 1 offense and their average of 467 yards per game into Candlestick Park, forcing San Francisco to divert from their regular run-heavy, low-score defensive battle strategy. And the Niners obliged.
Resurgent quarterback Alex Smith, who reportedly celebrated the end of last season when he thought he was leaving San Francisco, blew up for 299 yards and three touchdowns. Vernon Davis, the guy who was once publicly called out by a former coach for a supposed lack of caring, essentially won the game with two big critical plays on the final drive and the game-winning touchdown in the last minute. His seven catches, 180 yards and two touchdowns set an NFL record for a postseason performance by a tight end.
One big difference this week is that the Giants won’t be playing against the Packers defense, which ranked behind even the laughable New England Patriots for dead last in yards allowed per game. Instead, they play the 49ers’ fourth-ranked defense, which is top in the league against the run. That means that Brandon Jacobs, whom former Niners receiver and the best skill player in NFL history Jerry Rice called out for being “soft,” will have some trouble matching the 92-yard performance he put up two weeks ago in Atlanta. It also means that the Giants, who turned the ball over just once in the past two games, will have trouble holding onto the ball that well against a Niners defense that led the league in forced fumbles, with 33, and tied for second in interceptions, with 23.
So, there are a few things not to expect. The Niners will not score 36 points again this week, but only because they don’t have to, as their defense will keep the Giants from scoring 37 like they did last year.
Other than that, though, expect anything out of the ordinary, because this is a matchup of two of the NFC’s most unpredictable teams.
— Colin Neagle (@colinneagle)
