NFL Week 9 Preview: New York Giants vs. New England Patriots

Gillette Stadium will see a rematch of the 2007 Super Bowl between the Giants and Patriots this Sunday at 4:15 p.m., as the Giants begin their first tough game of their brutal second-half schedule.

The NFC East-leading 5-2 Giants will travel to Foxboro after a tight victory over the winless Dolphins to face off against the Patriots, who are tied for first in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills at 5-2.

While two of the Giants' leading offensive weapons in Hakeem Nicks and Ahmad Bradshaw were both held out of practice today, both players are hopeful they will be ready to go for Sunday.  Nicks and Bradshaw were injured in last week's win over Miami, with Nicks suffering a hamstring injury and Bradshaw a foot injury.

In order for the G-Men to beat New England, look for Eli Manning and the Giants' impressive passing offense to set the tone early against a Patriots' pass defense that is allowing a whopping 323.1 yards per game.  New York enters the game averaging over 287 passing yards per game, highlighted by the play of Manning, who has backed up his offseason talk that he belongs in the same class as Tom Brady by posting 2,127 yards, 13 TDs and only five INTs for a 102.1 quarterback rating.

Brady, on the other hand, has been his usual self, posting a 104.4 rating, with 2,361 yards and 18 TDs, but has already thrown eight picks.  In his stellar 2007 season that saw him set the regular season TD record, Brady threw only eight INTs all season.  In another colossal season, Brady threw only four INTs all of last season.

With the Giants' running game out of order in 2011, the key to a Big Blue win will be the play of Manning and the passing attack, as well as the Giants' defense against a stud QB.

As stated earlier, the Patriots secondary has given up a lot of passing yardage thus far, paving the way for Victor Cruz and Nicks (if he plays) to have a big day.

Aside from the fourth quarter of last week's game, the New York D looked horrific.  For three quarters, they made Matt Moore look like Aaron Rodgers, and Reggie Bush actually look like a legit running back.

But the defense showed up in the end when it mattered, sacking Moore four times and forcing one interception, all while allowing zero points in the fourth quarter.

Even though Brady and the Pats showed they were human last week in Pittsburgh, the Giants' defense will have to play stingy for four quarters to overcome New England.

Against Pittsburgh, Brady was only sacked three times and didn't turn the ball over, yet Pittsburgh still came out victorious. This is good news for the Giants' D, who lead the league in sacks and have 14 takeaways this season.

If the Giants can effectively throw the ball down field and keep Brady at bay, they will find themselves heading to San Francisco at 6-2.