New York Giants Win Another Playoff Game in Green Bay, off to NFC Title Game

Is this starting to look eerily familiar?

The New York Giants stunned many in the football world on Sunday, defeating the heavily favored Packers, 37-20, in Green Bay and will now travel to San Francisco to face the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game next Sunday.

Back during the Giants' Super Bowl run during the 2007-08 season, they also had to go through Green Bay to get there. Of course, they beat the Packers in the NFC title game that year, but one can't help but look back on that magical season for New York and say that 2011-12 is beginning to look like as close of a carbon copy to it as it possibly can.

Let's just talk about this game for now, though, because there is certainly plenty to discuss.

First of all, once again, Eli Manning was brilliant.

He did throw an interception in Green Bay territory in the second quarter, but other than that, he put forth the type of performance that any elite quarterback should in a big game. Manning completed 21 of 33 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns, including one incredible 37-yard Hail Mary to Hakeem Nicks, a ball that Nicks caught against his helmet (hmm...where have we seen that before?), as time expired in the first half.

Nicks was amazing, too.

Along with that 37-yard touchdown grab, he had a 66-yarder for a score in the first quarter. His stat line? Seven catches, 165 yards, and those two scores. His numbers thus far in the postseason? 13 receptions, 280 yards, and four touchdowns. I think it's safe to say he has gotten his head on straight after a pretty poor slump toward the end of the regular season.

Of course, as phenomenal as the Giant offense was, perhaps the defense deserves the most credit.

They held the likely regular-season MVP Aaron Rodgers in check for the better part of the game, and the Packers needed two gift calls from the officials to put 14 of their 20 points on the board. 

The first one was on a pass to Greg Jennings in the first quarter. With Big Blue leading 10-3, Jennings caught a pass, was stopped at the New York 32 by Deon Grant and lost the football. It was initially ruled a fumble and was recovered by Giants' safety Kenny Phillips. However, the call was overruled by another official, and Jennings was ruled down before the ball came loose.

Tom Coughlin proceeded to challenge the play, and even Green Bay fans had to think that it was going to be New York football, as Jennings clearly lost the ball before being down by contact. However, it was not to be, as head official Bill Leavy shockingly announced that the ruling on the field would stand. The Packers would go on to score a touchdown on that drive.

Later, in the fourth quarter with the Giants up 30-13, Green Bay had a 3rd-and-10 from its own 24. Rodgers threw an incomplete pass, but a roughing-the-passer penalty was called on Osi Umenyiora. It was actually ruled a "blow to the head," even though Umenyiora didn't even hit Rodgers in the head. That obviously gave the Packers a fresh set of downs, and they would end up putting seven points on the board.

So, if you take away those two awful, awful calls, it's a 37-6 game.

New York's defense essentially shut down one of the greatest offenses in NFL history.

Umenyiora finished the game with two sacks and a forced fumble, and Michael Boley also tallied two sacks. Grant played an outstanding game as well, making several great plays in the secondary and coming up with an interception to put the finishing touches on what was just an extraordinary defensive effort by the Giants, a unit that forced four (five, if you count the bad call) turnovers—three fumbles and the pick.

Here is an interesting statistic to show how well New York's defense (and Nicks) played: Nicks had more receiving yards than Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver and tight end Jermichael Finley—four of Rodgers' top receivers—combined.

It was just that kind of afternoon for the Giants, a team that has not lost an NFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl era (they are 4-0 and hope to make it 5-0 next week).

I'm sure that there is not one Giant fan on the planet who isn't conjuring up memories of 2007-08 right now. It really is spooky how similar these two teams are, as the '07 Giants began playing their best football heading into the playoffs.

What makes the 2011-12 Giants even scarier, though, in my opinion, is that they are absolutely steamrolling teams. They pounded Dallas for the division in Week 17, obliterated Atlanta in the first round last week and took it to the prohibitive Super Bowl favorites on Sunday.

You also have to strongly take into consideration that Manning is a very, very different quarterback now than he was then.

Four years ago, Eli was just coming into his own. Now, he is a cold-blooded killer, and anyone who doesn't mention his name when discussing the NFL's elite quarterbacks should either a.) have his or her head examined, or b.) stop watching football altogether.

Are there any other factors that make this New York team even more dangerous than the one in 2007-08? Yes.

Before I get into it, though, let me start by saying that the 49ers are a very good football team, and Alex Smith took a gigantic leap forward by orchestrating that game-winning drive against New Orleans. That said, they do not instill the kind of fear that Brett Favre's Packers did back in the 2008 NFC Championship Game.

It is not just because of the Niners' skill level in comparison to that squad, but because of where the game is going to be played. Instead of the bitter cold, sub-zero temperatures of Green Bay, the Giants will be playing in the calm, comfortable air of San Francisco, the kind of weather that is incredibly conducive to New York's lethal passing attack.

Also, as well as Smith played on Saturday, he is not Favre, and he showed a lot of vulnerability when the Saints put pressure on him—and that's the Saints. Imagine the kind of duress he'll be under against the fierce pass rush of the Giants? Expect Big Blue defensive coordinator Perry Fewell (who is quickly becoming a mastermind) to put together some ferocious blitz packages and dial up the pressure next week.

Continuing on, you then have to look at the AFC. Do either the Baltimore Ravens or the New England Patriots (the latter whom New York already beat during the regular season) present the same type of challenge as the 2007-08 Pats? Absolutely not.

The Ravens are a very good ballclub, but Joe Flacco is far too inconsistent to put a saddle on them. As far as New England goes, its defense was ranked 31st in the NFL this year, a far cry from its fourth-ranked D of four years ago. Yes, the Patriots still have Tom Brady, but they are incredibly vulnerable, especially to high-powered offenses like that of the Giants.

That I sincerely believe this Giant team, largely because of the improvement of Manning, is a bit better than the one in 2007-08 combined with the fact that the competition is certainly weaker this time around means that the 2011-12 Giants may be in even better shape than the 2007-08 Giants ever were (until the final seconds ticked off the clock in that Super Bowl, of course).

New York still has two more games to win, but now that its biggest test is out of the way, it may almost be time to get the champagne on deck.

Of course, the 49ers may have something to say about that. We'll see.