New York Giants: 5 Steps En Route to NFC East Title

The Giants head into December tied with the Eagles atop the NFC East at 8-4 and have a legitimate chance to get to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.

When the weather gets cold and windy, teams tend to rely on their running game and defense to win, which seems to play directly into the Giants' hands.

They have the league's No. 2 defense and No. 6 rushing offense. They are coming off a performance in their first December game where they completely dismantled the Washington Redskins, creating six turnovers and rushing for 197 yards and four touchdowns.

The most successful Giants teams have always been those who are the most physical, and with the Giants' offensive line starters getting healthy, hopefully they can impose their will on other teams.

The following slideshow examines five things the Giants will need to do to win the NFC East, which is still up in the air.

You can also find Jeff at NY Giants Central, and follow him on Twitter @NYG_Central

1. Beat the Philadelphia Eagles

Nick Laham/Getty Images

PHILADELPHIA - NOVEMBER 21: Michael Vick #7 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates after defeating the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on November 21, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

The Eagles already beat the Giants on November 21 with a win that felt much worse than the final score indicated.

The Eagles shot themselves in the foot by dropping two touchdown catches, one of which resulted in the drive ending with a punt. They also forced five Giants turnovers, including one where Eli Manning just decided to let the ground cause a fumble on the potential game-tying drive.

The Giants may have only lost by seven, but it felt like much more than that.

The bottom line is the Giants have to beat the Eagles for them to have any chance of winning the division. The Eagles would not only gain a game with the win but would also hold the tiebreaker after having swept the season series.

The Giants have already shown they can slow down and contain Michael Vick. They will have to do it again if they want any chance of winning.

2. Channel Their Inner Road Warrior

The schedulers were not very kind when they gave the Giants three road games out of their last four, with the only home contest being against the Eagles next weekend.

That being said, they will have to play well on the road to stay in the playoff hunt.

The Eagles still have two games with the Dallas Cowboys remaining, who are 4-8 but are 3-1 under interim head coach Jason Garrett, as well as a road game against the 5-7 Vikings.

The Eagles have lost only one game where Michael Vick started and played the entire game, and that was to the 9-3 Bears, so to expect any help from other teams is not plausible.

The Giants will have to channel their inner road warrior, which is the moniker they took on during their miraculous Super Bowl run in the 2007-2008 season.

The Giants have to play the Minnesota Vikings on the road this weekend, a team that Eli Manning is 0-4 against, as well as travel to Lambeau Field and play the 8-4 Packers.

The Vikings may be 5-7 but are 2-0 under interim coach Leslie Frazier and running the ball more effectively, which is what helped them to a first-round bye last year.

The Giants need to take care of business on the road to have any hope of staying alive in the clouded NFC playoff picture, let alone the division race.

3. Protect the Football

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 05: Ahmad Bradshaw #44 of the New York Giants runs the ball against the Washington Redskins on December 5, 2010 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants defeated the Redskins 31-7. (Photo b

The Giants lead the NFL in turnovers given up with 31 but have somehow been able to overcome that in some games.

However, in their four losses they have lost the turnover battle, and they have created only four turnovers in those games.

It's almost a cop-out to say this, but it's more important when you have a team that dominates on both sides of the ball, and the only sour part of their season so far has been those turnovers that have killed them.

Luckily, the defense has stepped up and created 30 turnovers, which is also first in the NFL.

Moving the ball up and down the field means nothing if you can't hold on to it. Ahmad Bradshaw lost his starting job simply because he leads the NFL with seven fumbles (five lost), so obviously Tom Coughlin is trying to send a message to his team that they won't get very far if they keep it up.

In the Giants' past two games, it has worked as they have created eight turnovers and only given the ball up one time. If they continue to play like that, it will be tough for any team to beat them.

4. Beat Teams You Are Supposed To

Elsa/Getty Images

MINNEAPOLIS - JANUARY 03: Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings and Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants talk after the game on January 3, 2010 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Giants 44-7. (Photo b

The Giants have two remaining games against the Redskins and Vikings, both of whom are 5-7. While both games are on the road, they cannot afford to fall asleep and lose a game they should win. 

The Redskins have already proven they are basically giving up on the season, but the Vikings, as mentioned in a previous slide, have found new life under interim coach Leslie Frazier.

He knows the formula for them to win is to establish the run—they ran the ball 40 times against the Bills.

Adrian Peterson has averaged over 5.2 yards per carry against the Giants in his two games against them and is having yet another dominating season despite the struggles of the team. He has 1,123 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season, and no matter who plays at QB, the Giants' first priority has to be stopping him.

The NFC has seven teams vying for the remaining five playoff spots (NFC West champ not included), so the Giants can ill afford bad losses.

5. Get and Stay Healthy

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 14: Hakeem Nicks #88 of the New York Giants reacts against the Dallas Cowboys on November 14, 2010 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Cowboys defeated the Giants 33-20. (Photo by Jim McIsaac

This seems to be another cop-out to an outsider, but with all the injuries the Giants have had on the offensive side of the ball, getting healthy and staying that way is possibly the only thing impeding their chances of a playoff berth.

The Giants have had to use their third option at both the center and left tackle positions, as well as play without their first, second and fourth wide receiver options in the past two games.

Not to mention their starting fullback is out for the season.

They have been getting better and better news as the week progresses, however. David Diehl and Steve Smith have both improved enough and practiced enough to where the team expects both to start, and Hakeem Nicks has done much more than expected and been cleared by the team doctors to resume team activities.

All three are assuming they are going to play, but the decision will ultimately come down to the coaching staff where Nicks is concerned.

With Diehl back, Will Beatty can resume his role of the blocking tight end in the power formation that has worked so well this season. Beatty played well in the left tackle spot the past two weeks, giving Giants fans a reason to be optimistic about him taking over that spot in the future.

Derek Hagan played well last week, but it was apparent that Eli and his receivers were often not on the same page. Not to mention teams were able to key in on Mario Manningham and slow him down, especially in the Redskins game.

With Smith and Nicks back, the offense will open up completely and regain the fluidity it had earlier in the season.

If the Giants can follow these five steps, it will go a long way in securing a division title, and maybe even a first-round bye.