BSNblog

For the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, the entire 2011 season comes down to this one game. This is the game to see who wins the NFC East. The loser may be able to make the playoffs with a wild card, but there would need to be a long list of conditions that would have to take place for that to happen. According to the betting sports news experts, winning the NFC East is probably the best chance either of these teams has for making the playoffs. The Cowboys come into this game one of the luckiest teams in the NFL as it keeps finding replacement running backs for the backs that get hurt. Right now, Felix Jones is carrying the load in the Dallas backfield, but he is getting pushed by veteran Sammy Morris who was signed when DeMarco Murray was injured. But Jones is nursing a sore hamstring and his contribution to this game may be limited.

The Giants come into this game fairly health, although it is still missing Osi Umenyiora and Mario Manningham from the starting lineup. But the Giants have more to put into this fight than the Cowboys do. The key area where New York remains relatively healthy is the offensive line. Quarterback Eli Manning has shown that, when he is given time, he has been extremely effective this season. But what has been a real bonus for the Giants and helped the Giants pound the New York Jets in week 16, is the resurging Giants’ running game. The bookie software has the Giants’ running game ranked last in the league, but the Giants racked up 116 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against the Jets. The Giants running attack will make a significant difference in this game.

Dallas Cowboys

On that short list of things the Cowboys absolutely wanted to avoid was a week 16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys did not put up much of a fight against the Eagles and, as a result, Philly won the game 20-7. Quarterback Tony Romo banged his throwing hand on the helmet of an Eagles’ pass rusher and wound up coming out of the game in the first offensive series. Backup Stephen McGee did a decent job throwing for 182 rushing yards and one touchdown. But the Cowboys could not generate anything on the ground and that could be a big problem for this week 17 game against the Giants. Another important question is the status of Romo. A 5 dimes review of the injury shows that the impact looked pretty significant but the Cowboys are claiming there was no serious damage done. Romo is expected to play, but his effectiveness will need to be seen.

New York Giants

The Giants were extremely happy to see its running game come back to life in the last couple of weeks. A balanced attack has been lacking in New York for some time, and Ahmad Bradshaw finally started to bring some of the swagger back to the New York running game. With the Giants’ defense relatively healthy and the rest of the team wanting to avoid missing the playoffs again, this could be the Giants’ chance to shake that monkey that has been on its back for three years now.

The Bottom Line

The NFL schedule could not have come together any better for the fans and players. Now the fate of the NFC East gets to be decided by the two teams in the running. This will be a good game, but the Cowboys inconsistency will prevent it from being able to mount much of an attack.

BSNblog Pick: New York Giants