I'll give you a few seconds for the shock to set in. Are you good? Okay. How could this happen? How could the 9-7 New York Giants go into Lambeau and knock off the 15-1 Green Bay Packers in an NFC Divisional Playoff game. Easy. Allow me to explain.
1. Pressure - Pressure, pressure, pressure. That's just what the Giants front four brought. They didn't always sack Rodgers, but they harassed him enough to disrupt the flow of the Packer offense thus eliminating its big play potential.
2. 3rd Down - When they needed it, New York converted on several key third and long plays. The most important one came late in the fourth quarter when the Giants really needed to keep the clock moving. The less time Aaron Rodgers has with the ball in his hand, the better. He can't outscore you when he's on the bench.
3. Turnover Battle - This is simple. The Packers turned the ball over an uncharacteristic four times including three fumble-rooskies. The Giants only once. Win the turnover battle, win the game. Enough said.
4. Green Bay's Miscues- Not to take anything away from my beloved Giants, but they got lucky a time or two. Green Bay's wide outs are not known for dropping balls. But they did in this game. Six to be exact. That's a lot. In fact, those six drops are actually tied for the most drops by any team this season. Ouch!
5. Eli Manning & Hakeem Nicks - I kind of grouped these two together here as they go hand in hand. Nicks had a monster game. Seven catches for a buck sixty-five and two TD's. Manning simply did what he's done all year. Sling the rock down the field and hit the open guy. And the Packers defense did what it did all year. Give up mega yards via the passing game.
I'm not sure what this means going forward, but as a Giants fan this is eerily reminiscent of that magical '07-08 season, don't you think? One more thing, the New York Giants are 4-0 all time in conference championship games. Maybe it's just an arbitrary stat. But then again…maybe it's not
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