Many Green Bay Packers fans feel like New York Giants have their number. This really is not accurate, but people do not forget losing two playoff games to the same team especially when they were both at Lambeau Field when Green Bay was the favorite. The Packers return to MetLife for their second straight year where last year they were blown out on an embarrassing Sunday Night Football defeat. The players of this game are different as well as the storylines hence why this game got flexed out out of Sunday Night.Packers come in losing two straight at home. In both games, they were so close from actually winning the game but due to the absence of Aaron Rodgers. Scott Tolzien became next man up last week when Seneca Wallace went down with injury in the first drive of the game. Take away the red zone turnover, Tolzien performed well with very limited time taking reps. He will now take the wheel, and everything you read from Packers' players, it seems like everyone is impressed with his work ethic and they trust him. Trust is a huge part of a quarterback being successful.
The gameplan Mike McCarthy had last week should not really change this week. Short passes with the occasional 10 to 15 yard pass maybe a deep ball here and there. Tolzien needs to show he has the biggest balls in the room. I realize that is a crass thing to say, but it could not be more true. Scoots as Rodgers likes to call him needs to just be efficient and not try to do much especially down near the scoring area. Green Bay can take all the points they can get this week. Luckily for Tolzien, it will be an ideal in East Rutherford as it is expected to be 62 degrees with only 10 miles an hour wind.
New York comes in winning three straight games. They began the year with six straight losses, and people are now starting to talk playoffs with this team. The media knows this is a team that gets hot at the right time and ends up finding their way in the playoffs. I said this on Wednesday, but it is worth repeating, in New York's three wins, they have beat Josh Freeman, Matt Barkley/Michael Vick and a hurt Terrelle Pryor. Not that Tolzien is any better than those three, but to say, they are a legitimate playoff contender is still a stretch especially if Eli Manning continues to struggle this season.
Manning has only thrown eleven touchdowns this year to complement 16 interceptions with a quarterback rating of 68.5. His quarterback rating ranks 30th, only Brandon Weeden and Freeman are worse than Manning's this season. That's where Eli's season has been with the Weeden's and Freeman's of the world. Currently, Manning ranks 12th in yards per game, but that is a fraudulent statistic as he had two massive games in the first two weeks against Dallas and Denver. Since those two games, Manning is only averaging about 219 yards per game which would be 21st. Manning is not having a good year, and let's hope this will not be the first week where he heats up.
If Green Bay's defense is going to start forcing turnovers, Sunday is the game with Manning leading the league in picks and the team has some fumbles as well. Packers defense has a total of five turnovers. FIVE. They forced four of them against Cincinnati meaning they only have one turnover in eight games. That is horrible, and truthfully a fireable offense. If the Packers cannot get at least an interception in this game, all hope might be lost with this defense. A.J. Hawk, a leader on this defense, seemed ultimately pissed after last week's game, and I felt like he spoke for the entire defense. Hopefully this carries over into Sunday.
I do not think I have picked Green Bay to lose in four years of doing it. I am not going to change here. It is not because I am a complete homer (Well...) but I legitimately believe the Packers are a better team. They shut down running backs like Andre Brown all year and when Brown slows down a bit, Manning will pass more and lead to trouble. Tolzien will also throw for over 300 yards with an interception and three touchdowns in a win. Green Bay 23 New York 17
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