Giants vs. Patriots: Halftime Observations for the Giants

Wow. The Giants got off to an amazing start with a 67-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Travis Beckum.

As expected, the Packers answered with a nice drive of their own, ending with an Aaron Rodgers-to-Jermichael Finley touchdown pass.

We head into halftime with New York down 21-17 to the Packers.

Here are four key stats that demonstrate what the Giants need to do in order to pull an upset and win this game.

1. 1st Scoring Drive: 1:36 

The Giants are going to need to continue having successful scoring drives in the second half, but if they want to win the game they should try to take more time off the clock.  It will be tough to beat Green Bay in a shootout.  

2. 4-Man Rush

The way to beat a team like the Packers is to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers early and often.  The Giants need to find a way to get to Rodgers while only rushing four down lineman.  If they are able to do this, they will have enough cover people to blanket the massively skilled receiving threats of Green Bay.  

3. 5.3 Yards per Rush

Green Bay's defense is not the strong point of their team and the Giants can exploit both the run and the pass.  Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs are running the ball effectively and Tom Coughlin needs to continue running the ball in the second half.  A sound run game will do two things for the Giants.  First, it will eat up the clock and keep the Packers' dominating offense off the field.  Second, it will open up the play-action pass which Manning is so effective at.  Pound the ball in the second half and give yourself a chance to win the game.

4. 1:2 Turnover Ratio

The Giants will not win this game if they lose the turnover battle to the Packers.  Green Bay is too good of an offensive team to give extra possessions.  In the first half, we saw both quarterbacks make careless throws in their own territory which resulted in seven points for each team.  Clay Matthews forced a fumble on Eli to end the second half which proved costly for New York.  For the Giants to get this win they need to win the turnover battle.