NFL Playoffs: Jason Pierre-Paul Says New York Giants Will Beat Green Bay Packers

In the wake of the New York Giants’ 24-2 demolition of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, All-Pro defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was already looking ahead to the divisional round.

“We’re going to win,” Pierre-Paul told the New York Post. “One hundred percent we’re going to win…because we’re the best.”

Pierre-Paul didn’t have a sack in the win over the Falcons, but he was a beast on the defensive front for the Giants, recording eight tackles—six of them solos—and two tackles for loss.

New York absolutely throttled Atlanta’s offense in the 24-2 win. The Falcons didn’t break the 200-yard mark in total offense until a final drive when the Giants were in a two-deep shell. Atlanta’s only points came when Eli Manning was called for intentional grounding in the end zone in the first quarter.

Pierre-Paul’s enthusiasm is admirable, but the Packers are the defending champions, are undefeated at Lambeau Field this year and went 15-1.

But a lot of things are going right for Big Blue.

The running game, silent for much of the season, exploded for a season-high 172 yards against the Falcons’ sixth-ranked run defense.

The defense, leaky for most of the season, rose up with a dominating performance in completely shutting down Atlanta, including a pair of momentum-swinging fourth-down stops.

Mario Manningham was back as a contributor, catching four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Giants fans have fond memories of Big Blue’s last postseason trip to Lambeau: Corey Webster picked off Brett Favre in overtime and Lawrence Tynes booted a 47-yard field goal to send the Giants to Super Bowl XLII.

That pass turned out to be Favre’s last one in a Packer uniform.

On the health front, running back D.J. Ware and cornerback Aaron Ross left Sunday’s game with concussions. Both told ESPNNewYork.com they were “good.” Safety Deon Grant injured a quad in the first half but was back on the field in the third quarter.

“This is a physical sport,” Grant told ESPNNewYork.com. “Football is a physical sport so I’m expecting pain—I don’t care anything about it.”

Tight end Jake Ballard returned after missing two games with a partial tear in a knee ligament and had two catches for 16 yards.

Linebacker Mark Herzlich hasn’t played since suffering an ankle injury in the loss at New Orleans on Nov. 28 but tweeted, “Trying with everything i have to be ready for next week!! Test it again on Tuesday.”