NFL Playoff Schedule 2012: Giants Need Big Game from Eli Manning to Beat 49ers

Eli Manning has played exceedingly well in leading the New York Giants to the NFC Championship Game, but he'll need his best performance yet to guide his team past the San Francisco 49ers and on to Super Bowl XLVI.

Manning and the Giants met the 49ers at Candlestick Park earlier this season in a 27-20 decision that went San Fran's way. That game saw Manning throw two costly interceptions, the second of which set up an easy touchdown that proved to be the difference in the game for the Niners.

Eli has thrown just one pick against six touchdowns in blowout wins over the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers this postseason and will once again need to avoid turnovers to keep his team in the game.

Otherwise, the G-Men are bound to lose the turnover battle, along with the bout on the scoreboard that usually ensues. The 49ers led the NFL in just about every turnover-related category this season, including takeaways (38), giveaways (10) and turnover margin (+28). Alex Smith contributed just five interceptions to his own team's total, one of which landed in the hands of Big Blue's Corey Webster.

In other words, the Niners don't lose the ball very often, and the Giants will be hard-pressed to change that in one game.

Then again, the Green Bay Packers had the second-best turnover ratio in the league this season, including just 14 giveaways, and that didn't seem to faze Tom Coughlin's club one bit. New York managed to force four Packers turnovers at Lambeau Field on Sunday, including an interception and a fumble from the usually unflappable Aaron Rodgers.

Still, the Giants can't count on creating turnovers in bunches at The Stick. Neither can they expect to run the ball to control clock, not with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs comprising the NFL's least productive ground game against San Fran's league-best rushing defense.

Which brings us back to Eli Manning. He's proven all year that he deserves to be considered among the NFL's elite quarterbacks, setting a new single-season record for fourth-quarter touchdowns and steering a seemingly moribund bunch from the Big Apple to the brink of the Super Bowl.

The onus will once again be on Peyton Manning's little brother to make plays against a Niners pass defense that can be thrown on, as Drew Brees made abundantly clear this past Saturday. Unfortunately for Brees, the Saints defense wasn't strong enough down the stretch to hold up its end of the bargain.

New York's is, or at least would seem to be. Now, all Eli needs to do is summon his inner Lil' Breesy, and the G-Men will be marching to Indianapolis.

Easier said than done, but if there's anything we've learned this month, it's that Playoff Eli is always up to the task.

NFL Championship Sunday Schedule

AFC Championship Game: Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots—Sunday, Jan. 22 at 3:00 p.m. EST on CBS

NFC Championship Game: New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers—Sunday, Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. EST on FOX

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