NFL Playoff Picture: Eli Manning Will Lead Giants Past Cowboys to Win NFC East

The playoffs will begin one week early for the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, who will face off in a winner-take-all battle for the NFC East crown. Since the intensity level is always a little bit higher when these two teams battle, Sunday's game is must-see television.

Eli Manning has had a lot of success against the Cowboys in the past en route to a 8-7 record. When you combine that with a win over Dallas just three weeks ago, the Giants emerge as the favorite to claim the NFC's final playoff spot.

Manning is averaging over 250 yards and two touchdowns per game in regular season play against America's Team. Those are his best numbers against any of the Giants' division rivals.

It's an even bigger advantage for New York when you consider that Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is dealing an injury to his throwing hand. He's expected to play in the crucial game, but might be less than 100 percent. And you know the Giants' relentless pass rush will be targeting it all evening.

Even though the winner will finish with a mundane 9-7 record, both teams have enough talent to make some playoff noise. Both have struggled with consistency, but if they can get hot at the right time, they will be a tough out regardless of the opponent.

That's especially true for the G-Men, who feature four dangerous pass rushers led by breakout star Jason Pierre-Paul. With the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints both heavily reliant on the passing game, that could cause some matchup problems.

First thing's first, the Giants need to take care of business at home. It hasn't served as much of an advantage for them so far with a 4-4 record at MetLife Stadium counting last week's “road” game vs. the Jets. The crowd should be more impactful than in those previous games this time around, though.

Manning and his plethora of weapons, including Mario Manningham who will return to the lineup after dealing with a knee injury, should be able to put up plenty of points just like the last meeting.

As long as the defense can hold up its end of the bargain, the Giants should cruise to victory.