Giants vs. 49ers: Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz Will Dominate 49ers Defense

The New York Giants passing offense is one of the best in football right now and wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz will continue its success when the two stars dominate the San Francisco 49ers defense on Sunday.

With the NFC Championship game on the line, the Giants passing game led by quarterback Eli Manning will carry them to victory.

For all the talk of the defense, which is rightly deserved because the pass rush has played well this season, Manning has been the real reason for the team's success this year. His career year has made the Giants offense much more dangerous and has made up for the fact their rushing attack has been bad for much of the season.

Nicks and Cruz have been spectacular in the playoffs thus far and there's no reason they won't dominate against the 49ers defense.

Both receivers have stepped up in the playoffs to help the Giants to the brink of another Super Bowl. Here are their playoff stats thus far.

Player	Rec	Yards	TDs
Hakeem Nicks	13	280	4
Victor Cruz	7	102	0

The 49ers are the best at stopping the run, so it's no secret the Giants will throw early and often on Sunday.

Since New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw for 462 yards against the 49ers in the Divisional round last week, there is no reason to think Manning can't throw for 350 or 400 yards on Sunday when he has better receivers than Brees.

The 49ers did not do a good job of defending the big play against the Saints and allowed three passing touchdowns of 25 yards or more. Two of those, a 44-yard pass to Darren Sproles and a 66-yarder to Jimmy Graham happened in the fourth quarter.

Nicks and Cruz are play-makers with exceptional speed and are both able to take a simple five-yard pass play 75 yards for a score.

Against the 49ers in Week 10, Manning threw for 311 yards in a loss, the first of four straight for the Giants. Playing their best football of the season, the Giants come into Candlestick Park on Sunday with tremendous confidence on both sides of the ball.

Nicks and Cruz will not only draw a ton of attention by themselves from the 49ers defense, but fellow receiver Mario Manningham will, too.

The threat of Manningham's deep play ability will give the 49ers defense some tough choices to make on who to double cover. If you double team either Cruz or Nicks, the other will burn you in single coverage. Don't forget about Giants tight end Jake Ballard, who is a threat in his own right and will play an important role in the passing game.

Expect Manning to find Nicks and Cruz a lot on Sunday. If the Giants passing offense can be as successful as it was last week against the Green Bay Packers, they will beat the 49ers and reach their first Super Bowl since 2007.

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