Giants vs. 49ers: 5 Key Giants in NFC Championship

The NFC Championship game will be here shortly. The New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers will face off by the Bay for the chance to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. This game will come down to key players making key plays.

Forget what you've heard about how "hot" the Giants are or how "destined" the 49ers are. Whichever team has their guys make those right plays will win. It's that simple. It is all about the execution on the field.

Here are the five guys that will make big plays for the Giants.

Eli Manning

No one else could be first on this list for the Giants. Eli Manning is the guy for this team, and his play directly determines whether or not they play in this year's Super Bowl.

None of us have forgotten the catch by David Tyree or the fade to Plaxico Burress in the end zone.

The Tyree catch was amazing, but do you remember what happened right before that?

Manning was as good as sacked in the pocket, but he somehow escaped before the referee could blow his continuation dead and made the throw he needed to.

Manning has completed 68 percent of his passes for 607 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception so far in these playoffs. This is your guy, Giants fans.

Victor Cruz

One could make the case that Victor Cruz has been just as big a part of this Giants run as Eli Manning has.

Cruz came out of nowhere this season to explode for 1,536 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, revitalizing this Giants offense in the process.

This team had a good receiving corps, but Cruz has been a big-play guy that they need. He hasn't been as productive in the playoffs, but that's just opened up for spots for other receivers.

In this game, he'll need to make some big plays for the Giants to come away with a victory.

Ahmad Bradshaw

Despite missing the entire month of November, Ahmad Bradshaw has been a stud for the Giants this season, rushing for 659 yards and nine touchdowns in the regular season.

In the first two playoff games,  Bradshaw averaged 4.8 yards per carry. The Giants will need him to shine this week against a 49ers defense that is eighth in the NFL in rushing yardage allowed.

Bradshaw does have the ability to do well in this spot though, especially when coupled with fellow Giant back Brandon Jacobs. With Bradshaw leading the way, they are the best running back combo of any team in the NFL.

Jason Pierre-Paul

So far, the 2010 rookie class looks to have been extremely good for the New York Giants. They signed an undrafted free agent in the aforementioned Victor Cruz.  They also drafted Jason Pierre-Paul.

The second-year defensive end has recorded 16.5 sacks this season. He also became the first player in NFL history to record a sack, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal in one game against the Cowboys on December 11. He was also voted into his first Pro Bowl, despite not being on the ballot.

He hasn't gotten a sack yet in this postseason, but he will on Sunday if the Giants have any hope of winning. They need him to get after Alex Smith, and that's exactly what he'll do.

Antrel Rolle

We hear all the time about the Giants pass rush and for good reason. Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora are nightmares for opposing quarterbacks. However, the X-factor for the Giants defense in this game will be the secondary.

That's where safety Antrell Rolle comes in. He's been good this season, with 96 tackles and two interceptions. He's particularly effective as a run-stopper, but has been accused of being too slow at times to defend the pass effectively.

Luckily for him, that is perfect for this matchup. The 49ers want to run the ball. They don't want to pass to often. They run a power game that is contingent on moving the ball and eating up time of possession. Rolle should fit well against this 49ers offensive attack.

However, if 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh should decide to let Alex Smith throw more (as he did last week), Rolle must be able to cover tight end Vernon Davis and keep him from going off. The Giants need him to do at least that against the passing game.