NFC Championship Game 2012: Giants Players Under the Most Pressure vs. 49ers

The New York Giants are coming off a major upset victory over the Green Bay Packers, which means they are under even more pressure to perform in the NFC Championship Game. They must avoid a clunker against the San Francisco 49ers that will cause everybody to forget the team's recent resurgence.

Here are three players who will be feeling the heat heading into Sunday's game.

Eli Manning

Manning has reasserted himself as one of the NFL's top quarterbacks with back-to-back monster performances to open the playoffs. He'll face a much tougher test against a strong 49ers defense, though, so stepping his game up once again is essential.

The most important thing for Manning will be avoiding the crucial mistake. He's been known to make some boneheaded throws during his career, but that hasn't been the case during New York's impressive run.

Smart decisions must continue to be the norm if the Giants are going to be Super Bowl bound once again.

Ahmad Bradshaw

If Manning is going to reach maximum effectiveness, it will be up to Bradshaw to make sure the G-Men have balance on offense. The 49ers have the league's top-ranked run defense and will be focused on making New York one-dimensional on offense.

Should Bradshaw and backfield mate Brandon Jacobs allow that to happen, the Giants' chances of victory drop significantly. So it's clear they will be carrying a lot of pressure on their shoulders, especially during the first quarter.

Since Jacobs is more of a ground-and-pound back, the onus will be on Bradshaw to break off a couple big runs to relieve the pressure.

Jason Pierre-Paul

Pierre-Paul led the Giants in sacks during the regular season with 16.5, which was almost double second-place Osi Umenyiora. In the two postseason games, however, the dynamic pass-rusher hasn't picked up a single sack.

The 49ers offense is built on quick passes to keep Alex Smith free from danger. New York will need to disrupt that rhythm if its going to slow down San Francisco's attack. That means Pierre-Paul must spend a lot more time in the backfield than he has in the previous two weeks.

Smith isn't the most feared quarterback in the league by any stretch of the imagination, but if Pierre-Paul and Co. can't get any pressure on him, he'll have success.