Falcons vs Giants: Who Wins the NFC Wild Card Matchup on Sunday?

In Sunday's NFC Wild Card game, we have two eerily similar teams in the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Giants.

The winner is most likely to play Green Bay in the NFC Divisional unless Detroit upsets New Orleans in The Big Easy, so who wins in The Big Apple? Well, here's a breakdown for when each team has the rock and a prediction at the end.

Falcons Offense vs. Giants Defense

The biggest concern for the Atlanta Falcons is the Giants pass-rush, as it's are capable of dominating any offensive line in the trenches.

New York has collected 48 sacks this season (ranked No. 3, tied with Baltimore) and two of the better pass-rushers (Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora) combined in missing 11 games. Still, the Big Blue Wrecking Crew was able to menace QBs all season thanks to the effort of Chris Canty and Jason Pierre-Paul as well.

As for Atlanta, it must get RB Michael Turner moving early and often to keep the pass-rush at bay. This will not only help setup Atlanta's potentially explosive passing game, but keep Eli Manning and the Giants extremely explosive offense off the field.

That being said, expect New York to double-team Roddy White and play physical man coverage elsewhere. In turn, that will allow the defensive line more time to pressurize Ryan in the pocket. For Atlanta, Turner presence and production is the key to them winning this game.

Giants Offense vs. Falcons Defense

The similarities between the Falcons and Giants defenses are that both struggle in defending against the pass. The major difference is that the Falcons do not have an imposing pass-rush (rank No. 19, 33 sacks).

As for Eli Manning and Co. they're even more explosive than Matt Ryan's crew and when healthy (as they are right now), running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs can be effective.

Bradshaw may have missed four games and the Giants ranked No. 32 in rushing, but a healthier Ahmad teamed up with Jacobs is tough to stop. Not to mention Eli's receiving corps of Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham.

Plus, tight end Jake Ballard has become one of Eli's most reliable targets in any passing situation. The Falcons must simply get some kind of pass-rush to have a chance. In doing so will slow down the Giants and create multiple opportunities for Matt Ryan to make some noise.

The problem is that Atlanta is deceivingly weak against the run, as it allows 4.2 yards per carry. 

Prediction

With a much stronger pass-rush the New York Giants get excellent pressure on Matt Ryan all day. Atlanta may have only allowed 26 sacks all season, but it didn't have to face nearly as many solid pass rush teams like the Giants did all year.

To that end, Eli Manning's offensive protects him well as they have faced some of the NFL's strongest pass-rushing teams this season (namely the entire NFC East twice and San Francisco).

Michael Turner is the key to Atlanta as the New York does allow 4.5 yards per carry on top of having a weak pass defense. But, having to stop just one running back as opposed to two (like the Giants have) causes problems for The Dirty Birds in the trenches.

It starts off slow, but the Giants slowly pull away thanks to a more explosive offense, better protected QB and more dominating pass-rush.

Giants 34, Falcons 19

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