NFL Week 13 Picks: New York Giants Can Pull Dramatic Upset over Packers

Forget what the oddsmakers are telling you. Forget about the Green Bay Packers' perfect season. The New York Giants can win on Sunday.

The Giants need the game to stop their slide and to have a shot at winning the NFC East. The Packers are certain of getting the top seed, so they are on auto-pilot.

Playing the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day and taking a beating from their defense took its toll on the Packers. They will come into Met Life Stadium tired, bruised and primed for an upset. On the other hand the Giants were so far out of their game with the New Orleans Saints that they barely worked up a sweat.

There is no denying that the Packers are an excellent team and the Giants have been struggling. But after you read this article you will see that this upset is not as impossible as it might appear on the surface.

The New England Patriots were the last team that had a shot at a perfect season, and the Giants ended that in Super Bowl XLII. The Giants can do the same to the Packers this week.

Wide Receivers

The Giants have three wide receivers that can match the Packers three wide receivers. Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz can out-produce Gregg Jennings, Jordy Nelson and James Jones.

Now before you start laughing or flaming your comment, please look at the data. The Giants' trio has a total of 139 receptions, while the Packers' trio has only 126. The Giants' trio has 2,133 yards while the Packers' trio has only 1,967.

So while the perception might be that the Packers have a better corps of receivers, these data show that their advantage might not be as big as it seems.

Eli Manning

Eli Manning is really not that much of a drop down on the quarterback scale from Aaron Rodgers. With the home field advantage Manning has a decent chance to out-duel him.

Look at the data. Each has won one Super Bowl. Rodgers' passing yardage for this year is 3,475 and Manning's is 3,358, just a little less.

The Packers' offensive line has allowed Rodgers to be sacked 11 times in the last four games. In comparison Manning has only been sacked 5 times in the last four games. This is quite a difference. For the season, the Giants have sacked the opposing quarterback 31 times versus 25 for the Packers. This is a small difference but another reason to support Manning have the better day.

There is no denying that Rodgers is an excellent quarterback playing at the top of his game. But Manning is close enough in ability to pull off this upset.

Coughlin Has Learned His Lesson

Tom Coughlin has lost to the Philadelphia Eagles two years in a row by punting to DeSean Jackson with little time left on the clock at the end of a half.  Even someone as stubborn as Coughlin eventually learns his lesson.

Randall Cobb has run back both a kickoff and a punt for touchdown this year. Coughlin will not let him repeat it this week. Whether it is kicking the punts out of bounds, bouncing the kickoffs or something different, the Giants special teams will find a way to contain Cobb.

The Giants Will Win the Running Game

The Packers two inside linebackers, Desmond Bishop and A.J. Hawk, are dealing with injuries that might keep them out of the game. The status of one outside linebacker, Eric Walden, is uncertain in light of a personal matter.

If the Packers have to play without three of their four starting linebackers, this would certainly give the Giants the edge in the running game.

Ahmad Bradshaw thinks he could play this week. D. J. Ware had eight receptions last week. Brandon Jacobs can be a good time-of-possession carrier late in the game. This running-back-by-committee could do a lot of damage against a Packers' defense missing key personnel.

On the other hand, James Starks' 50 rushing yards per game and Ryan Grant's 30 is something that the Giants should be able to reduce.

This edge in the running game could help the Giants keep the ball out of Rodgers' hands and contribute to a slim margin of victory.

If the Giants bring their A game and the Packers bring something else, the Giants could pull out a 21-20 win to keep their playoff chances alive.