New York Giants: 5 Keys to Beating the Green Bay Packers

The defending Super Bowl champs roll into town this Sunday to face off against the 6-5 New York Giants.

After a blowout road loss to New Orleans, the Giants' playoff hopes are surprisingly in serious danger, especially after their Week 9 victory in New England that improved their record to 6-2.

New York has dropped three straight, falling to the 49ers, Philadelphia and New Orleans, and is now heading into a downward spiral as they prepare to face Aaron Rodgers and his potent Green Bay offense.

With Dallas drawing a fairly easy opponent in Arizona this week, the Giants need a win to keep pace with the division-leading Cowboys.

Here are five keys to the Giants handing Green Bay its first loss of the season:

Pass Rush

The allure of the New York Giants has always been their defense, mainly the pass rush.

Over the course of the first nine weeks, the Giants D led the NFL in sacks, while they sported a 6-2 record.

Since then, New York's defense has a mere three sacks during the three-game losing streak, and has seen defensive captain Justin Tuck go into hiding.

Noticing any trends?

Aaron Rodgers may statistically be the best quarterback this season, but that doesn't mean he's untouchable. Rodgers has been sacked 27 times this season, and the Giants defense has 31.

For the Giants to overcome the Packers, the front four needs to step up and get to Rodgers.

No Turnovers

During their three-game losing streak, the Giants have six turnovers.

If New York wants to win, they'll need to play mistake-free football. Green Bay's defense leads the league in interceptions with 22, and they also sport the second best give/takeaway ratio in the league at plus-15.

Manning has faired well this season under center, throwing only 10 interceptions. Compare that to other top QBs, such as Tom Brady (10), Ben Roethlisberger (10) and Drew Brees (11).

Overall, the Giants have 17 turnovers this season, and will need to keep their Week 13 total to zero if they want to come out victorious over the undefeated Packers. 

Throw the Ball

The Giants passing offense ranks fourth in the NFL in terms of net passing yards per game at 291.

The Packers defense ranks second to last when it comes to passing yards per game, surrendering 288 per.

Throw the ball!

Eli Manning is one of only four QBs in the league whose averaging over 300 passing yards a game, and his 20 passing TDs are good for sixth-best in the league.

The Packers may have a staunch secondary, but Victor Cruz and the Giants receiving corps have established themselves as one of the better offenses in the league.

With his dominating performance in the loss to New Orleans (9 Rec, 157 Yds and two TDs), Cruz is now tied with Saints TE Jimmy Graham for fourth-most receiving yards with 957.

Hakeem Nicks, who has been troubled by some injuries, is still putting together a strong season with 50 receptions for 772 yards and four touchdowns.

Combined, Cruz and Nicks out-duel Green Bay's top two receivers Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson in terms of receptions and receiving yardage.

TE Jake Ballard has also become a favorite target of Manning's, with 30 receptions and three touchdowns for a total of 490 yards.

If the Giants are going to beat Green Bay, they're going to do it through the air.

Tight Secondary Coverage

Whether you put the blame on the front four for not getting enough pressure on the quarterback, or you blame the secondary for their lackadaisical play, it's no secret that the Giants secondary has been weak all season.

The Giants defense ranks in the lower-third of the league when it comes to passing yards per game, and has relinquished 44 plays of 20-plus yards, which is good for fifth-most in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers has completely dominated every defense thrown at him, on his way to 3,475 yards, 33 TDs and four interceptions, which is good for a 127.7 passer rating.

To their credit, they do have 14 interceptions, but that's not enough to stop the likes of Jennings, Nelson, Jermichael Finley and James Jones.

Jennings (8) and Nelson (9) both rank among the top eight receivers in the league when it comes to TD receptions.

Finley and Jones each have five touchdowns, and have combined for 18 plays of 20-plus yards.

For a Giants win, the pass rush and secondary will both need to show up.

Abandon the Run If It's Not Effective

Brandon Jacobs: 35.5 YPG & four TDs on 103 attempts

D.J. Ware: 11 YPG & one TD on 38 attempts

Da'Rel Scott: five carries for 16 yards and one fumble lost.

Need I say more?

With no word on whether Ahmad Bradshaw will play this week, the Giants running game is at a loss. Even when New York's best running back was healthy this season, Bradshaw was only averaging 62 yards per game with five touchdowns in seven games.

Too often this season, we've seen offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride call a run play in what was clearly a passing situation. Maybe that was sufficient last season, when Bradshaw was having a career season, or even this season, when he was on the field. But without Bradshaw, the Giants running game is obsolete.

I'm not saying to throw the ball 50 times against the Packers defense, but the key to victory is definitely a pass-heavy offense.