The Atlanta Falcons demolished the New York Giants 34-0, to improve to 12-2 and 7-0 at the Georgia Dome.

Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan completed 23 of 28 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns. His 82.1 completion percentage and 142.6 quarterback rating were both season highs for the five-year starter. This was also Ryan’s sixth game this season throwing at least three touchdown passes.

Wide receiver Julio Jones was tied for a game-high six receptions for 74 yards and hauled in two touchdown catches. Jones has surpassed his eight touchdown rookie season, catching nine with for over 1,000 yards and still two games to go.

Veteran tight-end Tony Gonzalez also caught six receptions for 49 yards and one touchdown. Gonzalez leads the Falcons with 87 receptions.

As for the run game, Michael Turner carried the ball 16 times for 52 yards and punched in a one-yard run on the Falcons first offensive drive.

The Giants were out of sync from the start, opening their first drive with Eli Manning throwing an interception on 2 and 7 from their own 16 yard-line. Manning threw his second interception in the second quarter, resulting in a Falcons field goal.

Manning only completed 13 of 25 passes for 161 yards. His favorite target was wide receiver Domenik Hixon, who caught five passes for 80 yards.

The Giants were without running back Ahmad Bradshaw because of a foot-and-knee injury. Instead, rookie David Wilson got the nod for the start but was not nearly as explosive as last week. Wilson carried the ball 12 times for 55 yards.

With the loss, the Giants have fallen to 8-6 along with four other teams in the NFC. The Giants are currently third in the NFC East division at 8-6 behind the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, who are all 8-6. However, the Giants still control their own destiny and by winning out they will earn a wildcard playoff position. As for the Falcons, they will head to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions and control their own destiny for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

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After last weeks pivotal divisional loss over the Washington Redskins, the New York Giants bounced back strong, demolishing the New Orleans Saints 52-27.

Giants’ rookie running back and returner, David Wilson had a career day, single-handily becoming the Saints worse nightmare. Wilson compiled 327 all purpose yards, third-highest total for a rookie since the NFL-AFL merger.

Right after the Saints intercepted Eli Manning and went ahead 7-0, Wilson’s day started. On the ensuing kick-off Wilson jolted past the Saints special team unit and returned the the kick, 97-yards to the tie the game back up.

Wilson punched in a six yard run in the third quarter to give the Giants a 28-13 lead and then put the Saints to sleep with a career long 52 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to seal off the victory. Wilson averaged 7.7 yards per carry rushing for 100 yards on 13 carries, the rookie’s first 100 yard game of his career.

Manning quickly bounced back after throwing an interception on the Giants second offensive drive of the game. On the Giants’ next drive, Manning connected with tight-end Martellus Bennett on a six yard touchdown. Bennett caught five passes for 32 yards along with his touchdown.

Right before the half, Manning connected with wideout Domenik Hixon to take a 21-13 lead into the third quarter.

Manning also connected with wideout Hakeem Nicks for a 25 yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Nicks caught four passes for 67 yards along with his touchdown. Nicks has been suffering through injury all season long and after the win over the Saints was re-examined. Coach Tom Coughlin expects Nicks to continue to play however it is unlikely he will be at 100% for the rest of the year.

Manning threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game at the start of the fourth quarter to wideout Victor Cruz. Cruz led the Giants in receiving hauling in eight catches for 121 yards along with his touchdown catch.

The Giants’ defense was on point, limiting Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees. Brees completed 26-of-43 passes for 354 yards one touchdown and two interceptions.

Brees lone touchdown came towards the end of the third quarter, connecting with speedster Darren Sproles. Sproles caught four passes for 28 yards along with his touchdown reception. He also had five carries for 56 yards and punched in 13 yard run in the third quarter.

Brees was picked off twice by Giants’ safety, Stevie Brown.

With the victory, the Giants remain atop the NFC East at 8-5 with both the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins breathing down their neck at 7-6. The Giants have a tough match-up next week on the road against the NFC’s current number one seed the Atlanta Falcons. As for the Saints, who have now dropped to 5-8,  they will face NFC South division rivals the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Defending Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants, welcomed one of their division rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, to MetLife Stadium to kickoff the 2012 NFL season.

Unfortunately, the Giants did not look as good as they did last time they faced the Cowboys in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

In an early defensive gridlock, the Giants took the lead in the 2nd quarter thanks to a Lawrence Tynes 22 yard field goal. Their lead did not last long: two drives later, from their own 22 yard line, the Dallas Cowboys marched right down the field. On 2nd and 5, at the Giants 10 yard line, Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo found wide receiver Kevin Ogletree for a 10 yard touchdown to help retake the lead 7-3.

Dallas started the 2nd half right where they left off. On their first drive, once again Romo connected with Ogletree for a 40 yard touchdown to put the Cowboys up 14-3. Eli Manning and the New York Giants jumped right back into it on their first possession. Manning drove from his own 11 yard line to the Cowboys 10, where Ahmad Bradshaw punched in a 10 yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 4 points. Dallas extended their lead back to 7, toward the end of the 3rd quarter with a Dan Bailey 33 yard field goal.

Dallas extended the lead even further after the Giants failed to drive down the field and were forced to punt. Starting at their own 18, running back DeMarco Murray started picking apart the Giants defense with his quick and explosive runs. At the Giants own 34 yard line, Romo was quick to realize the defensive mismatch, and connected with wideout Miles Austin for a touchdown.

With little time left, and down by 14, the Giants converted two key 4th down attempts to stay in the game. At the Cowboys own 9 yard line, Manning dropped back and connected with ex Cowboy Martellus Bennet. However, it just was not enough after Dallas converted on 3rd and 10. Romo kneeled the Cowboys to a 24-17 victory.

Romo finished the game with 307 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a quarterback rating of 129.5. In what is going to be a pressure-filled season for Romo, he certainly did not let it effect him week 1. As for Dallas’ run game, Murray averaged 6.6 yards per carry and rushed for 131 yards. Ogletree led all receivers with 8 receptions for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was evident that Romo took advantage of the Giants banged up secondary.

Defensively for the Cowboys,  linebacker Sean Lee stole the show and had 12 tackles as well as one forced fumble. In addition, defensive menace DeMarcus Ware hit the 100 sack milestone and is the 28th player in NFL history to do so after his 5 tackles and two sacks against the Giants.

As for the Giants, Manning finished the game off with 213 yards and one touchdown. Bradshaw led the giants in rushing, compiling 78 yards on the ground and on touchdown. As for their receiving core, Victor Cruz led all Giants receivers with 6 receptions and 58 yards. Cruz could have easily bumped his stat sheet but dropped a few passes.

The Giants have some serious concern regarding their secondary. An already injured battered secondary became worse after: Michael Coe got injured in the 2nd half. Coe was already replacing injured corner Prince Amukamara. The Giants had no choice but to put in 5th year defensive back Justin Tryon. If the Giants do not get healthy quickly, many teams will pick them apart via passing game.

Both the Cowboys and the Giants will be back in action Sunday, September 16. The Cowboys will be on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. As for the Giants, they are hoping to bounce back next week when they welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to MetLife Stadium.

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Last years Super Bowl champs, the New York Giants, are prepared to defend their title for the 2nd time in the past five years.

Quarterback Eli Manning had one of the best seasons of his career. Eli threw for a career high, 4,933 yards, 29 touchdowns, and a passer rating of 92.9. Manning showed his superior  passing ability all season long, especially in the 4th quarter. Eli’s quarterback rating in the 4th quarter was 110.0; he threw for 1,715 yards, and 15 touchdowns. Manning led the Giants to eight game winning drives this season more than any other quarterback in the NFL.

Manning had several reliable targets to throw to last season; however, New Jersey native Victor Cruz stole the show. Cruz had 82 receptions, for 1,536 yards and 9 touchdowns, all Giant highs for the season. Hakeem Nicks was Eli’s 2nd favorite target: they connected 79 times for 1,192 yards and 7 touchdowns. Although the Giants lost wideout Mario Manningham to the 49ers, they added ex-Dallas tight-end Martellus Bennett, and drafted wideout Rueben Randle from LSU.

As for New York’s run game, they were led by Ahmad Bradshaw who had a team high, 659 yards, and 9 rushing touchdowns. Also, running back Brandon Jacobs contributed with 571 yards and 7 rushing touchdowns.

Despite Jacobs’ success, he and the New York Giants parted ways this summer and also joined the San Francisco 49ers. As a result, the Giants used their 1st round pick on Virginia Tech running back David Wilson. Wilson showed positive spurts this preseason with 28 rushing attempts for 131 yards, and 5 receptions for 61 yards this preseason. Wilson’s quick explosiveness will help make him one of the elite rookies this upcoming season. With the exit of Jacobs and constant injury concern for Ahmad Bradshaw, Wilson could eventually get the majority of carries.

Defensively, the Giants had one of the most ferocious front fours in the NFL. The Giants compiled 48.0 sacks, 3rd best in the NFL. Third year defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul led the giants with 16.5 sacks.

In addition, they were 2nd in the NFL with 1,131 tackles. The Giants tackling leader was safety Antrel Rolle, who had a career high 96 tackles.

The Giants added defensive free agent, Shaun Rogers. They traded their 5th round pick to Cincinnati in exchange for linebacker Keith Rivers.  Rivers has been extremely disappointing after being drafted 9th in the 2008 draft, and has had constant injury problems. The Giants are hoping he can stay healthy and resurrect his young career.

The Giants will be facing nine opponents who had a .500 or better record last season. Seven of the nine opponents make up the Giants final eight games of the season. The NFC East Division has improved significantly, which will make each divisional game gut-wrenching. Realistically, the Giants should be optimistic; however, nothing will come easy for them in their attempt to repeat as champions.

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In an offensive slugfest the Green Bay Packers defeated the New York Giants, 38-35. The tone for the game was set from the very beginning, as the New York Giants drove down the field to score a touchdown on the first possession of the game. On a broken play, Giants quarterback Eli Manning delivered a bomb to Travis Beckum.

Beckum made great cutbacks to make a couple Packer defenders miss on his way into the endzone. After a completed extra point kick from Lawrence Tynes, the giants were up 7-0, and for the first time in a month, the Packers were trailing in a game. The explosive offense from the Packers, led by MVP frontrunner Aaron Rodgers, put their hands on the ball yet.

Late in the first quarter, Aaron Rodgers knotted the game up, when he found Jermichael Finely wide open near the goal line for an easy touchdown score. The Giants would drive back down the field to score a field goal reestablishing their lead, and letting the Packers know they were in for a fight.

It was a fight the Packers were more than willing to participate in. In the first play of the second quarter, the Packers dealt the Giants a blow they never saw coming. Packer linebacker Clay Matthews picked off Manning’s intended pass to Ahmad Bradshaw, and returned it for a touchdown to give the Packers their first lead of the day.

The Giants defense forced Rodgers to throw a rare interception. The ball was picked off by Chase Blackburn, and returned inside the Packers redzone, culminating in a 1-yard run by Brandon Jacobs for the touchdown. With the Giants back on top 17-14, it was once again Rodgers’ time to put the team on his shoulders.

Starting at his own 20, Rodgers engineered an 80-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Donald Driver, who was all alone in the back corner of the endzone. The Packers would go up 21-17, and never relinquished the lead.

However, the Giants did make it interesting late in the fourth quarter. With 3:34 left on the clock, Manning lead the Giants down the field to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game up at 35. The only mistake made on the drive is that the Giants left 58 seconds on the clock.

Rodgers took full advantage of his time and completed one pass to Finley and one to Jordy Nelson, who made a spectacular catch, to put the Packers in field goal territory. After a quick pass to Greg Jennings to gain better field goal position, Mason Crosby kicked a 30 yard game-winning field goal.

With the win, the Packers moved to 12-0 and clinched the NFC North Division title for the first time since 2007. The Giants fall to 6-6 and are locked in a tight NFC East division race with the Dallas Cowboys.

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