NFL Week 17 Picks: Breaking Down the Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants Matchup

With a number of Week 17 games featuring teams with little to play for, the monster battle between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants stands above the rest.

The last game of the 2011 regular season will have significant ramifications, as the winner will be the champion of the NFC East and continue to the postseason, while the loser will go home empty handed.

Each quarterback has to overcome plenty of pressure. Tony Romo has to prove that he can win big games when it matters. Eli Manning has to prove that the 2007 season was no fluke, and that he can be an elite quarterback.

This Sunday will have one player come through for his team, while the other goes home to disappointed fans and angry media questions.

Offense

The strength of each of these teams is on the offensive side of the football. Both squads are in the Top 10 in total offense this season, while the defenses leave something to be desired.

The Dallas Cowboys had a more balanced offense for most of the season, but the run game took a serious hit when DeMarco Murray was placed on injured reserve with a fractured ankle. Even former starter Felix Jones has been missing practice with a hamstring injury. 

This forces the Cowboys to become more one-dimensional. Tony Romo will have to throw the ball more often, which then causes him to historically make some poor decisions. 

Eli Manning is completing the best season of his career, and is fourth in the NFL with 4,587 passing yards. Receiver Victor Cruz has been one of the biggest surprises of the season, and he has formed a nice complement to Hakeem Nicks.

The running game for the New York Giants has also improved of late, with a healthy Ahmad Bradshaw pairing with Brandon Jacobs. With the season on the line against the New York Jets, the Giants rushed for 115 yards and two scores. 

Edge: New York Giants

Defense

When the defenses take the field, fans will be able to see one of the two most dominant pass rushers from the 2011 season.

The Dallas Cowboys have veteran DeMarcus Ware, who is second in the NFL with 18 sacks. Although the Cowboys struggle against the pass, teams still have to always know where the linebacker is on the field, as he can break up any play by getting into the backfield.

On the New York Giants, Jason Pierre-Paul is having a breakout year in his second season in the league. Not only does he have 15.5 sacks, but the defensive end has 81 tackles and numerous other impact plays. 

Despite the ability to get to the quarterback, both teams have problems defending the pass. However, what separates the two teams is the Cowboys' ability to stop the run.

Against the Giants, teams have been able to rack up 126.1 rushing yards per game. The Cowboys are one of seven teams to hold opponents to less than 100 yards on the ground per game. 

This could be the difference in the game as each team tries to establish control of the ball and the clock early in the game. 

Edge: Dallas Cowboys

Special Teams

The long history of kicking problems for the Dallas Cowboys seems to be over with Dan Bailey. The kicker is second in the NFL in field goals made and has completed 88.9 percent of his attempts this season.

Lawrence Tynes of the New York Giants has not had as much work this season, but has enough experience to be prepared for a big kick if the time comes. Unfortunately, he might not have the leg needed to hit a long kick if necessary, as he is only 1-3 from 50 yards or more this season.

While these teams would hope for a big momentum shift in the return game, that phase of the game has simply not been a factor for either of these teams this season. Neither squad has returned or allowed a punt or kickoff for a touchdown all year long.

Edge: Dallas Cowboys (close)

Coaches

Tom Coughlin is finishing up his eighth season with the New York Giants. He has been to the playoffs four times with the team and won the Super Bowl following the 2007 season.

Before that, Coughlin coached for eight years for the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars and took them to four playoff appearances.

There might be a call for the coach to be fired, but he still has 141 career wins and the experience in big games needed to pull off a win in this important contest.

Jason Garrett is in his first full season as a head coach and has not yet proven that he can successfully lead his team. He also lost a lot of supporters by calling a timeout before his kicker had a chance to kick the game winning field goal earlier this season, effectively costing the Dallas Cowboys a win.

This would be a big win in the young coach's career, but a loss will put a lot of pressure on his future in the NFL.

Edge: New York Giants 

Prediction

This game is being played at MetLife Stadium, home to the New York Giants. Unfortunately, the team has not performed well there and has a 3-4 record at home.

However, the Giants have gotten the best of the Dallas Cowboys of late, winning four of their past five contests with the division rival.

The matchup will come down to the battle at quarterback. Both Eli Manning and Tony Romo have had inconsistent careers, and it will be a mystery whether each player will be good or bad when we see them on the field.

Romo has been better than Manning at reducing mistakes in the second half of the season. The Cowboys quarterback has thrown only two interceptions since the start of November, while Manning has thrown 11. If Tony Romo can take care of the football on Sunday, he will lead the Cowboys to victory.

On the other hand, Eli Manning has never stopped surprising people throughout his career. When you think he will do bad, that is when the quarterback plays as well as ever.

Look for Manning to throw for over 300 yards and lead his sixth fourth-quarter comeback this season as the Cowboys collapse yet again.

Prediction: Giants 34 Cowboys 31