2011 NFL Week 17 Picks: Cowboys over Giants

Each Tuesday, WhatIfSports.com's NFL simulation engine will provide you with predictions, box scores and statistics for every NFL game that week. The NFL simulation engine generates detailed information including the home team's chances of winning (Home Win %), average score and comprehensive box score link. If you want to share your new found NFL knowledge with friends and family, make sure to check out our NFL Widgets on the WhatIf To Go page or click on the social networking share bar located at the top and bottom of the article.

The statistical inputs to the thousands of NFL games simulated are based on rigorous analysis of each team's roster, depth chart and statistically based player ranking. Roster modifications have been made for injuries and suspensions and those players are not part of their team's game simulation.

To account for injuries and roster moves announced late in the week, we will be re-simulating some games on Thursdays throughout the 2011 NFL season.

Check out our 2011 NFL Season-to-Date page to follow our accuracy week-to-week and find Locks and Upsets of the Week.

Game of the Week: Cowboys at Giants

The regular-season finale of the 2011 campaign promises to be must-see theater, as the winner of Sunday night’s soiree between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants is granted admission to the postseason. Apropos, then, that this matchup doubles as the WhatIfSports.com Game of the Week.

To say the Cowboys enter Week 17’s tilt with swagger would be a misnomer, as Dallas limps in losing three of their past four contests, with one of the defeats coming in heart-breaking fashion to the G-Men in Week 14. Rookie kicker Dan Bailey, who had been automatic in the first 11 ball games of the season, has missed three of his last eight attempts. Fellow neophyte DeMarco Murray was having a standout freshman year, only to succumb to a season-ending ankle injury. Head coach Jason Garrett’s decision-making has been suspect in December, leading many pigskin pundits to question if he’s the right man for the job. Worse, field general Tony Romo injured his throwing hand against the Eagles on Christmas Eve. While Romo is expected to suit up, it’s another headache the team harbors heading into Sunday.

Not that New York is riding a big way of momentum into MetLife Stadium. Although the Giants knocked off their Gotham City rival in Week 16, as well as their aforementioned conquest of Dallas three weeks ago, Tom Coughlin’s squad has lost five of their last seven games. Thanks to injuries in the backfield, the once-proud New York ground game is last in the league, managing a paltry 88.1 yards per outing. The Giants defense has not been immune to the health bug, with their depleted defense’s performance illustrating this sentiment, as New York is surrendering 381.5 yards per outing, fifth-highest in the NFL.

Plagued by a plethora of problems, how did both franchises find themselves fighting for a playoff position? The aerial assaults for the Cowboys and Giants are two of the more paramount attacks in the NFC. Eli Manning’s 305.8 yards per game is good for third in the conference, while Romo’s 102.2 QB rating is fourth-best in the league. While the cannons of Romo and Manning have been called erratic, many rosters around the NFL would jump at the prospect of implementing either arm under center.

Of course, it helps to have a talented base of receivers at your disposal. The Cowboys brandish dexterous quartet in Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, Laurent Robinson and Miles Austin, while the Giants boast two 1,000-yard wideouts in Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, as well as the services of tight end Jake Ballard. Along with the Packers and Saints, the two NFC East adversaries flaunt two of the more endowed arsenal of targets in football.

So who wins the right to represent the division in January? According to the award-winning WhatIfSports.com simulation engine, the Cowboys come out on top 53.5 percent of the time by an average score of 25-23. For the rest of this week’s projections, check below:

NFL Week 17
Matchup	Win%	Avg Score
Buffalo Bills	26.5	21	Boxscore
@ New England Patriots	73.5	30	Simulate Game
Washington Redskins	30.5	18	Boxscore
@ Philadelphia Eagles	69.5	25	Simulate Game
Tennessee Titans	31.3	16	Boxscore
@ Houston Texans	68.7	22	Simulate Game
Carolina Panthers	33.1	25	Boxscore
@ New Orleans Saints	66.9	31	Simulate Game
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	34.2	21	Boxscore
@ Atlanta Falcons	65.8	26	Simulate Game
Seattle Seahawks	37.9	18	Boxscore
@ Arizona Cardinals	62.1	21	Simulate Game
Detroit Lions	39.9	20	Boxscore
@ Green Bay Packers	60.1	24	Simulate Game
Indianapolis Colts	44.4	15	Boxscore
@ Jacksonville Jaguars	55.6	17	Simulate Game
San Diego Chargers	45.9	23	Boxscore
@ Oakland Raiders	54.1	25	Simulate Game
Dallas Cowboys	53.5	25	Boxscore
@ New York Giants	46.5	23	Simulate Game
Chicago Bears	56.8	21	Boxscore
@ Minnesota Vikings	43.2	19	Simulate Game
Kansas City Chiefs	58.4	20	Boxscore
@ Denver Broncos	41.6	17	Simulate Game
New York Jets	63.8	23	Boxscore
@ Miami Dolphins	36.2	19	Simulate Game
Baltimore Ravens	63.2	18	Boxscore
@ Cincinnati Bengals	36.8	15	Simulate Game
Pittsburgh Steelers	68.9	23	Boxscore
@ Cleveland Browns	31.1	16	Simulate Game
San Francisco 49ers	85.3	27	Boxscore
@ St. Louis Rams	14.7	13	Simulate Game