New York Giants Win NFC East, Seem Ready for Playoff Push

For the first time in three years, the New York Giants are going to the playoffs. It certainly wasn't easy, as the Giants endured injuries, perpetual inconsistency and what looked like another second-half collapse, but they managed to win three of their last four games (two of those wins coming against the Dallas Cowboys) to capture the NFC East crown and the No. 5 seed in the playoffs.

First and foremost, it's time for the Eli Manning doubters to shut up. The guy is elite. After his brilliant 346-yard, three-touchdown performance against Dallas on Sunday night, Manning finished the season with 4,933 yards, 29 touchdown tosses and a quarterback rating of 92.9. Not only that, but he also set the NFL record for fourth-quarter touchdown passes with 15, breaking a record set by Johnny Unitas and Manning's older brother Peyton. That's some pretty fine company.

You also have to be very encouraged by what you've seen from the Giants defense the past two weeks. After completely neutralizing the likes of Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress against the New York Jets on Christmas Eve, Big Blue's D came out and put the clamps on a very high-powered Cowboys offense.

Yes, Tony Romo completed 29-of-37 passes for 289 yards and two scores, but he never got into any kind of consistent rhythm, due largely in part to a terrific New York pass rush that sacked him six times and forced two turnovers, one interception and one fumble.

The G-Men now have Osi Umenyiora (who posted two sacks last night) back after missing several weeks with a sprained ankle. It appears that Justin Tuck, who has had a very injury-plagued season, is regaining his Pro Bowl form. As per the usual, Jason Pierre-Paul is still dominating, and Mathias Kiwanuka has quietly had an incredible season.

It was also great to see the Giants' linebackers play well in back-to-back weeks. Michael Boley had an outstanding game on Sunday night, perhaps making the biggest play of New York's season by stopping Romo's quarterback sneak attempt on a 4th-and-1 on the Giants' 10-yard-line early in the fourth quarter. The linebacking corps also, along with a strong effort from the defensive line, held Dallas to 49 rushing yards.

Of course, you cannot talk about the Giants without mentioning Victor Cruz. The guy is stamping his name among the NFL's best receivers. He put together another spectacular performance on Sunday night, finishing with 178 yards on six catches, one of them being a 74-yard touchdown on a play very similar to his 99-yard touchdown reception against the Jets the previous week.

Cruz has been shattering the franchise's receiving records, first breaking Amani Toomer's single-season yards mark (Cruz finished with 1,536 yards; Toomer had 1,343 in his record-setting campaign) and scampering for the longest offensive touchdown (that 99-yarder) in the same game. Then he set the record for 100-yard games with seven and for most touchdowns of 65-plus yards against Dallas.

All of this, and yet somehow Cruz did not get elected to the Pro Bowl, a testament to how much of a joke the Pro Bowl actually is.

Cruz has all but made Big Blue's No. 1 receiver, Hakeem Nicks, an afterthought, although Nicks had a solid game in the division-deciding battle, catching five passes for 76 yards and a touchdown and doing a tremendous job of blocking. Mario Manningham? He didn't even have a catch. Jake Ballard? He didn't even play due to a knee injury, but there is a good chance he plays next week in the team's first-round playoff matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

So, imagine how dangerous this receiving corps could potentially be in the postseason? Scary to think about, especially when you take into account that even fullback Henry Hynoski has been getting into the action, recording four catches for 31 yards (and how about that hurdle over Terence Newman?) in the Giants' big win.

The question is, can this Giants team do what the 2007-08 Giants did and make a run to a Super Bowl title? Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. New York looks very good right now, but it is going to have to deal with some pretty tough customers in the NFC, starting with the Atlanta on Sunday.

I certainly think the Giants have the talent to go all the way, but the fact that they have still had trouble establishing any kind of consistent running game has to be a concern, especially considering that, in order to reach the Super Bowl, they will likely have to beat the Packers in the bitter cold weather of Green Bay.

Big Blue's offensive line has done a tremendous job of providing ample time for Manning to throw the football all season, but it has struggled to open up running lanes for Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs, and if there's anything that will be the Giants' biggest downfall in the playoffs, I'd put my money on that being it, regardless of how well Manning is playing.

The most important factor for New York, though, is its defense. If it can generate the kind of pass rush it did on Romo and the Cowboys in the playoffs, then maybe the Giants can hide their lack of balance on offense and simply try to shut teams down. The G-Men ranked third in the NFL in sacks with 48, and that was with their defensive line not being healthy for the better part of the season. Well, now it is healthy, and at the right time.

I wouldn't start anointing the Giants of 2011-12 as the Giants of 2007-08 yet, but at the same time, I wouldn't call you crazy if you made the comparison.