New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers: 5 Ways the G-Men Can Pull off the Upset

The New York Giants have been in better positions than this one.

Losers of three straight, the Giants game on Sunday is essentially a must-win. In that span, the Giants have gone from leading the NFC East by two games over the Dallas Cowboys to trailing the Pokes by a game.

Could there be a worse opponent for a team desperate for a win than the undefeated defending Super Bowl champions?

The Green Bay Packers—winners of 17 straight counting the playoffs—visit MetLife Stadium on Sunday and are heavy favorites to improve to 12-0.

The Giants are banged up all over the place, but there may be help on the way in the form of Ahmad Bradshaw. The running back has missed the last three games with a stress fracture in his foot and was again held out of practice on Thursday, but there is still hope he can get some practice time on Friday and be available for the Packer game.

Another positive was defensive end Justin Tuck’s full participation on Thursday as he continues to battle a lingering ankle injury. However, the defensive front will be without Osi Umenyiora this week after he hurt his ankle in the Monday night drubbing in New Orleans.

Middle linebacker Michael Boley, who has missed the last two games, practiced some on Thursday, as well. The timing for Boley’s return is good because his replacement, rookie Mark Herzlich, is also out with an ankle injury. Herzlich didn’t practice Thursday and is expected to be out on Sunday.

So what can the Giants do to pull off what would have to be considered one of the biggest upsets of the year? Here are five possible answers to that question.

Get Jason Pierre-Paul into the Backfield

Pierre-Paul was shut out in the sack department Monday night, along with the rest of the Giants defense, but he will be lining up this week against talented but inexperienced tackle Marshall Newhouse in a battle of second-year players.

Pierre-Paul can be a beast with his combination of quick feet, a strong burst and an array of pass-rush moves. Newhouse is big, strong and athletic, but Sunday will be just his ninth career start, so he lacks experience and sometimes forgets techniques under duress.

This battle could speak volumes about who wins the battle between Aaron Rodgers and the Giants’ second level.

Let the Playmakers Play

New York has three receivers—Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and tight end Jake Ballard—averaging more than 16 yards per catch. Each is capable of getting those big chunks of yardage that can swing field position and rock a defense back on its heels.

Green Bay leads the league with 22 interceptions—six more than any other team—but is also vulnerable to getting gashed in the passing game. The Packers have allowed 287.8 yards per game through the air; only the New England Patriots are worse through 11 games.

The Pack has also surrendered 19 touchdown passes, tied for 27th in the league, so it will be important to allow Eli Manning to take some shots down the field to try to create some big plays in the passing game.

Special Teams Need to Be Special

The Giants have been consistently poor in the return game while Green Bay features dynamic rookie Randall Cobb, who has scored two touchdowns on returns this season.

Since it isn’t DeSean Jackson fielding kicks, perhaps Steve Weatherford can be more successful in angling the rookie outside the numbers to allow the coverage to converge in a small area, rather than simply banging the ball down the middle of the field as he did two weeks ago in the loss to the Eagles.

Green Bay’s coverage teams have not been stellar; the Packers have given up several long returns this season.

Run to Daylight

If Bradshaw can go, this job becomes a bit easier given the tentative way Brandon Jacobs has run the ball at times recently. Detroit, even without injured Kevin Smith, averaged 6.5 yards a carry against the Packers on Thanksgiving.

Green Bay is most vulnerable to runs that go wide, yet another reason why having Bradshaw back in the backfield could be crucial for New York. Hopefully Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride noticed this as well and gets away from the constant run calls between the tackles.

Get to Aaron Rodgers

Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell talked about how upset he was with the defensive effort in New Orleans and vowed they were going to hit Aaron Rodgers this week. The reigning Super Bowl MVP is on a record pace with a quarterback rating of 127.7—the record of 121.1 was set by Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts in 2004—and has video-game numbers thus far: 33 touchdowns, four interceptions, 71.8 percent completions and 3,475 yards.

But Rodgers has also been sacked 27 times and the Packer offensive line has been reshuffled because of injuries. The Giants match up well across the front line and with Fewell vowing to turn up the heat, the Giants could make it a long day for Rodgers if they are able to harass him in the pocket.

Of course, the key to that strategy is “in the pocket;” Rodgers is one of the very best at creating plays outside the pocket, showing uncanny accuracy and arm strength even when forced to deliver the ball while on the move.