The New York Giants (11-7) dismantled the No. 1 seed Green Bay Packers (15-2) 37-20 in the Divisional Playoff Round to advance to the NFC Championship next Sunday against the 49ers.
The Giants played a great all-around game to take out the defending Super Bowl champions. On defense, they forced four turnovers and four sacks, two by DE Osi Umenyiora, and blanketed Green Bay wide receivers throughout the contest.
Eli Manning outplayed the presumptive MVP, and he connected with Hakeem Nicks for some huge plays that turned the tide in the game. Manning hit Nicks on a 66 yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to put the Giants ahead 10-3. And then at the end of the first half, when most of the football world thought the Giants would look for a quick out pass to try to set up a field goal, Manning hit Nicks on a 37-yard Hail Mary touchdown as time expired in the half, to put the Giants up 20-10. The aggressive call put the Giants ahead for good.
Offensively, Manning and Nicks were outstanding. Manning carved up the Packers’ secondary to finish with 330 yards and three touchdowns to go with one interception.
Nicks was almost the forgotten man going into this game as wide receiver Victor Cruz had been the big play target for much of this season, but Nicks made up for it today. He caught 7 balls for 165 yards and 2 TDs, and Cruz added 5 receptions for 74 yards.
For as superb as the Giants played, the Packers produced one of the worst performances of their near-perfect season. Aaron Rodgers posted his lowest passer rating of the year (78.5) and was never able to get into a consistent rhythm. He finished with 264 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception while sporting a 56.5 completion percentage. The Packers were uncharacteristically sloppy as well. Their wide receivers dropped eight passes and the offense lost three fumbles. Donald Driver led the team in receiving with a mere 45 yards and a touchdown.
New York earned the victory, however, and continues to display all the components of a championship team despite being a No. 6 seed. The Giants have won four straight games and is arguably the hottest team in the playoffs right now.
They travel to Candlestick Park next Sunday at 6:30 p.m. to take on the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.
