Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense
17th Ranked against the Run
1st Ranked against the Pass
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offense
11th Ranked in Rushing
16th Ranked in Passing

The Giants have played the Buccaneers sixteen times in the regular season and have won ten of those contests, nine of them by seven points or less. But although New York has never met Tampa Bay in the playoffs, they are well acquainted with Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia in post season games. Over the last six years the Giants have made it to the post season four times on a wild card berth including their entry as the fifth seed this year. And of their three previous wild card games, Garcia was the opposing quarterback in two of them.

In 2002 Garcia and a brash young wide receiver named Terrell Owens led the 49ers back from 38-14 deficit late in the third quarter to beat the Giants 39-38 in the second greatest comeback in pro football playoff history. It was a game marked by controversy after which the NFL’s director of officiating Mike Pereira made a rare public statement that a blown call by the officials with no time left on the clock wrongfully deprived the Giants of a shot at a game winning field goal. San Francisco went on to lose their divisional playoff game to Tampa Bay by a 24 point margin.

In 2006, after struggling just to reach a 5-5 record the Eagles lost their five time pro-bowl quarterback to a season ending knee injury. A journeyman backup quarterback came in to pick up the pieces and won four of his next five games including huge wins in three consecutive weeks against their division rivals the Giants, Redskins and Cowboys, to bring the Eagles an NFC East championship. The veteran quarterback continued on to beat the Giants in the first NFC wild card game, which ended after he pulled the Eagles into position to score a game winning field goal with no time left on the clock. His name was Jeff Garcia.

Now for the third time, the Giants will face Jeff Garcia in a wild card game against a team which Garcia has led to a division title. New York comes into this game with a 10-6 record, the same mark they owned when they squared off against Garcia and the 49ers in 2002, the only other wild card game in which Garcia came in having started every game for his team. But Garcia may not have as much momentum as he did when he faced the Giants as the Eagles quarterback last year. At 9-7 his Bucs have the worst record of any division champion in the conference and they are coming into the playoffs on a two game skid.

Momentum is something the Giants have in abundance however. Even though they lost their season finale 38-35 to the undefeated Patriots they showed the league and themselves that they have a lot of guts and determination. New England had to claw their way back from the greatest deficit they had faced at any time during the entire season, and but for a few mistakes the Giants know they could have knocked Goliath out; that will give them a huge dose of confidence going into the playoffs. If New York’s defense can play with the same intensity as they showed against New England and if Giants running back Brandon Jacobs can take time off the clock by pounding out some good yardage on the ground then the Giants ought to able to make the third time the charm and break the Garcia spell finally.

So one has to wonder why these golden boys aren’t doing miraculous things once they graduate from school and start getting a paycheck for their work. Like head coaches who were worshiped when they led college football teams to astounding records and bowl game victories but who withered when exposed to the realities of professional sports, the rookies playing quarterback in pro football typically don’t have a great deal of success. And among pundits of the NFL a popular topic of discussion has always been; when is the right time to play a highly drafted rookie quarterback?

“The best position for a rookie quarterback is ‘clipboard’ ” according to Steve Mariucci, former NFL head coach and himself a three time All-American quarterback at Northwest Michigan. “The only quarterback I can think of who came in and starred as a rookie was Dan Marino,” Mariucci said. “Everybody else needs time to learn. A rookie quarterback comes in and sees things he’s never seen before, and it takes him time to adjust. In the meantime, he’s getting knocked around. He’s always been the star, but now he’s being humbled. Sometimes, these quarterbacks get to thinking they’re just no good, and they never really recover.”

One of the most important things to remember when considering the situation that pro football rookies face is that the NFL is an organization that is dedicated to a concept called parity. This roughly stipulates that no one team is allowed to be too strong or dominant on a consistent basis. Towards that end, weaker teams which have had very poor records are the ones who get first choice among the new crop of college graduates.

The NFL rules notwithstanding, star quarterbacks are often seen as the shining hope for teams that have fared particularly poorly with the result being that extremely talented college quarterbacks many times go to play for NFL teams that are just plain bad, particularly on the offensive line which is the group that’s charged with protecting the quarterback. Sometimes a few talented players are drafted alongside the quarterback and the team improves, but more often than not the team remains poor and the rookie passer just gets beaten up.

Dan Marino, famed Dolphins QB certainly achieved success as an NFL quarterback almost immediately upon joining the league, garnering a rookie record 96.0 rating even though he only played in 11 games, 9 of which he started. But Marino was brought onto a Miami team that was pretty solid already, having just gone to the Super Bowl the previous year.

Marino, who’s passing numbers had been relatively disappointing in his senior year at the University of Pittsburgh was the 27th pick of the draft and thus was obviously not seen as the saving grace for any of the perennial losers in the league. Had anyone known at that time that Marino had the potential to become one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history his future would probably have turned out much differently.

Peyton Manning, the first player drafted into the pros in 1998 was thrust into the limelight by the Colts right away. Unlike Marino who didn’t start until Week 6 of the 1983 season, Manning was the Indy’s starter from day one. He struggled at first, throwing three touchdowns and eleven interceptions in his first four games and ranking extremely low compared to other quarterbacks in the AFC.

Peyton eventually started throwing more TD’s and lessening the number of pickoffs although he wound up the season with about the same number of each. The Colts finished 3-13 that year, but Manning, a mature competitor with the ability to grasp the complicated offensive schemes run by todays NFL teams rebounded to lead Indianapolis to a 13-3 season the following year. Remember also that he is the son of two time pro-bowl quarterback Archie Manning, who was able to give Peyton a lot of advice on making the transition from collegiate to professional football.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer is an example of a rookie quarterback who’s entry into the game was handled properly. A Heisman Trophy winner and the very first player picked in the entire 2003 NFL draft, Palmer did not take a single snap in his first year in the pro’s. Instead, he stayed on the sidelines and was mentored by quarterback John Kitna who is now starting for the Detroit Lions. Kitna led the Bengals to an 8-8 season that year, but was probably resigned to the fact that Palmer would be taking the reins very shortly.

By January of 2004, Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis had named Palmer as his starter. In only his second year as a first stringer Palmer was named to the pro bowl, and before he suffered a low blow to his knee, a type of tackle that is now illegal in the NFL, the Bengals had every expectation that Palmer would lead them past the Steelers in the AFC championship game and on to victory against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. And they were probably right.

Although quarterbacks like Marino and Manning have started as rookies and survived the plunge their stories are the exception rather than the rule. The defensive alignments in pro football, the complex play calling, the requirement for a quarterback to “read” the defense and make the appropriate adjustments and for him to be on the same page with his receivers and backs who are making the same decisions all within a 10 second time frame – all these combine to form a formidable barrier to successful decision making by a newcomer.

There are literally dozens of young inexperienced players who will get trampled in their first outing as a starting NFL quarterback assuming they even make it that far. For every ten quarterbacks who actually get signed to a contract in the league maybe one will ever become anything more than an occasional starter. Given those kinds of odds, one has to believe that Steve Mariucci may have gotten it right. Just give the kid a clipboard.

Pittsburgh Steelers Defense
3rd Ranked against the Run
3rd Ranked against the Pass
Pittsburgh Steelers Offense
3rd Ranked in Rushing
22nd Ranked in Passing

In one of two AFC wild card games that are rematches of late regular season contests, Jacksonville will come to Pittsburgh for the first round of playoffs this Saturday. Unlike the Titans meeting with San Diego on Sunday however, the Steelers – Jaguars game really is a virtual repeat of their previous meeting since it takes place on Pittsburgh’s home turf again. Jacksonville came away with the victory in Week 15 on a messy playing field after the Steelers had tied the game late in the fourth quarter.

No opponent has ever beaten the Steelers at home in the post season as well as in a home regular season game in the same year during Pittsburgh’s entire 75 year history. Unfortunately for the Steelers, Jacksonville has not had much respect for Pittsburgh traditions. The Jaguars win three weeks ago broke a seven game home winning streak by the Steelers, and Jags running back Fred Taylor rushed for 147 yards; previous to that the Pittsburgh defense had not allowed any single player to rush for over 100 yards against them in more than three years.

One would fully expect that whatever happened the last time these two met that allowed the Jaguars to run for better than 200 yards on the number one ranked defense in the NFL will have been corrected if it’s possible to do so. What the Steelers will probably be concerned about is whether the problem presented by Jacksonville’s offense is one that can even be solved. It may well be that the Jaguars simply have a big, physical offensive front who are powerful enough to push the Pittsburgh front seven out of the way to make room for the ground attack and that they have enough endurance to keep doing it for the entire game.

What was made clear during their last visit is that the Jaguars aren’t put off by the kind of miserable weather that is often present in the Steelers home venue. Since Pittsburgh apparently won’t have any advantage in case of cold rainy conditions it will probably be better for the Steelers if the conditions are dry even if the temperature drops well below the 62 degree average that Jacksonville is used to playing in.

The reason for that is that Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will probably have to throw the ball a lot against the Jaguars. Willie Parker, the fourth ranked rusher in the NFL is out for the season with a broken leg sustained in the Steelers Week 16 win over the Rams. Pittsburgh backup running back Najeh Davenport filled in nicely to finish that game but whether Davenport can have the same success against a better Jaguars run defense remains to be seen.

Another problem the Steelers need to correct, especially if they plan to attack Jacksonville’s somewhat vulnerable secondary, is the breakdown of the Pittsburgh offensive line under the pressure of the Jaguars pass rush. Roethlisberger was sacked five times by Jacksonville last time they played, while the Steelers didn’t drop Jags QB David Garrard for a loss even once.

This one is there for Pittsburgh to win or lose, but Ben will likely need to hook up with wide receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes and with tight end Heath Miller for some touchdowns. If the Steelers defense, which has been slumbering over the last several games lives up to it’s reputation and comes alive again in the playoffs, and if the front four can open some gaps for Davenport and can protect Roethlisberger then Pittsburgh could outscore the Jaguars.

Indianapolis Colts Defense
17th Ranked against the Run
1st Ranked against the Pass
Indianapolis Colts Offense
16th Ranked in Rushing
5th Ranked in Passing

“This is a playoff game for us, and that’s how we have to play,” says Titans running back LenDale White. True enough, since a loss would make it their last game of the season and give Cleveland the sixth seed and a wild card berth in the playoffs. How difficult a task it will be for Tennessee is anyone’s guess at this point however because the game is certainly not a playoff game or even anything close to it for the Colts. Because of that, Indianapolis will likely be giving some of their better players a lot more time on the sideline than they otherwise would expect to get.

The most obvious candidates for down time are quarterback Peyton Manning who is still very healthy and star wide receiver Marvin Harrison who is just this week beginning to feel strong enough to play. “I think we make a big mistake by thinking we’re going to go in there and beat up on some backups,” according to Titans defensive lineman Kyle Vanden Bosch, who is one of the league leaders with twelve sacks this season. “Indy’s the defending world champs. That says a lot about their depth. They’ve been banged up for a good part of the year, playing with some backup guys.”

One could guess that the Colts having a number one rated pass defense is simply a function of the fact that they have less work to do because their opponents are concentrating on running the football instead. There may be a bit of truth to that however slight, but a few things make that analysis somewhat less solid. For one thing the Colts defense are among the league leaders in keeping others out of the end zone. That usually doesn’t happen to a team that can’t stop the run because red zone incursions by the opposing offense most often end in a touchdown. The second chink in that theory is that the Colts are tied for second in the league with 22 interceptions this year, and they have run back those pickoffs for more yardage than only three other teams in the NFL.

The topic of the Colts run defense holds a great deal of interest for the Titans because Tennessee desperately needs to have success running the football if they hope to get past Indianapolis. Titans quarterback Vince Young has thrown only 9 touchdowns this year, fewer than any other starting quarterback in the league who has played at least thirteen games. At the same time he has been picked off 17 times, and while some other QB’s in the league have been intercepted more, they have also thrown a lot more touchdowns and don’t have a ratio of TD’s to INT’s anywhere near as poor as Young’s.

Luckily for Tennessee they haven’t depended on having an all-pro passer for their recent success. They have won their last two games with a solid running attack and a stiff defense. Behind both White and Young they have picked up no less than 127 yards rushing in every one of their four most recent games, and they have held opposing offenses to about 16 points per game. Tennessee is no slouch at pass defense either – they are the team that the Colts are tied with for second place in interceptions this season, and the Titans have been +6 in the turnover category during the aforementioned four game period.

Although Tennessee hasn’t won in Indianapolis since 2002 they have consistently given the Colts problems whenever the two have played. Without key starters on the field for Indy the Titans should have a decent chance to overcome the advantage that the Colts would normally hold and boost themselves into the playoffs.

Redskins running backs Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts combined to rush for 97 yards against Minnesota who own the stingiest run defense in the NFL. Portis was the workhorse for the ‘Skins carrying 20 times for 76 yards and a touchdown, and he padded his all purpose yardage total for the day by catching 5 passes for another 48 yards. Portis even completed a 15 yard touchdown pass to Redskins wide receiver Antwaan Randle El who was a quarterback at Indiana University and is usually the one who is on the throwing end of trick passing plays.

No receiver for the Redskins had more than five catches on the day, but Collins spread the football around well to Santana Moss, Randle El, Portis, Reche Caldwell and Chris Cooley. Moss, who caught just four passes from Collins but led the receiving corps with 71 yards and a touchdown has become the go-to guy for Collins. Moss was the key factor in Washington’s victory over the Giants last week when he pulled in two critical passes in howling winds that had buffeted the football whenever either side attempted to gain yardage through the air.

Redskins tight end Chris Cooley who had been averaging better than 15 yards per catch and 80 yards per game over the past five weeks had only one reception against Minnesota but it was a 33 yard touchdown catch that opened Washington’s lead up to 9-0 midway through the first quarter.

Minnesota running back Tony Richardson who came into the game with only 14 yards rushing this season now has a total of only 13 yards. On his one and only rushing attempt of the game he carried the ball into the end zone – his own. The resulting safety gave Washington a 2-0 lead which they never relinquished. Meanwhile Adrian Peterson, the Vikings league leading rusher was stunted for a mere 27 yards on 9 carries.

Peterson was stuffed in the middle by effective play from Washington inside linebacker London Fletcher who filled any gaps in the line of scrimmage, and Redskins defensive ends Philip Daniels and Andre Carter stood their ground on the outside refusing to let Peterson turn the corner into the secondary.

Even Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson gained more yardage on the ground than any of his alleged running backs, but at least when he was running he wasn’t throwing interceptions. Jackson was picked off twice by Washington accounting for two of Minnesota’s three turnovers.

Next week the Vikings travel to Denver where their ground game should be effective. But even if Minnesota dominates the Broncos, they will need help from Dallas to make their playoff dreams come true. The Cowboys have a great record on the road but Washington has all kinds of momentum and may well upset Dallas who has little to gain by a win over the Redskins.

Cleveland was the second team to fall into that category, losing to the Bengals in a sloppy performance more characteristic of a team who had nothing to play for than one honing in on the opportunity for only their second post season appearance in the last thirteen years. Prior to this loss the Browns had won seven of their last nine games and had come back from a 2-3 start to put themselves in position to challenge the Steelers for first place in the division.

The loss to Cincinnati not only took the Browns out of contention for an AFC North title, but also took their playoff destiny out of their hands. The Titans beat the Jets later in the day and now Tennessee is the team that can forge their own future. Cleveland must depend on the Colts to stop Tennessee in the season finale, otherwise the Titans will squeeze past the Browns with a strength of victory advantage even if the two have identical season records.

Browns quarterback Derek Anderson bears most of the responsibility for the Browns loss although dropped passes, a missed field goal and a failed attempt at fourth and one in the red zone also contributed to the disaster. In windy conditions, Anderson threw a career high four interceptions, something he has done only once before, and coincidentally it was in Week 16 of the 2006 season against Tampa Bay. ”It’s a tough battle to fight when you’re throwing four picks,” Anderson said. “A couple of them were bad decisions, and a couple of them got hung up in the air.”

And a couple of them went the other way for a total of 13 points for the Bengals. In a stunning collapse just before halftime Anderson threw interceptions on two consecutive plays and within 60 seconds Cincinnati had extended a 6-0 lead that was built on a couple of field goals into a 19-0 deficit that they took into the locker room. Because Anderson was picked off in his own end and because the Cincinnati cornerbacks had come up with good returns on each of them, the Bengals offense had needed to drive a total of only 25 yards for both touchdowns.

And even though the Bengals were awful after that, gaining a total of only 86 yards of offense in the second half the Browns failed to mount a comeback. Cleveland was able to score a couple of second half touchdowns, but two other possessions in which Cleveland had driven all the way into the Bengals red zone ended in the remaining two interceptions of Anderson passes. All told Cleveland outgained the Bengals by more than 100 yards and had 25 first downs to only 15 by Cincinnati. Anderson’s interceptions negated all that.

There were a few individual achievements for the Browns. WR Braylon Edwards collected his 15th touchdown catch of the year, a single season record for the Browns, and Edwards and fellow wide receiver Kellen Winslow became the first receiving tandem in Browns history to have 1000 yards each. But none of that will be any consolation if Tennessee beats the Colts and ends the Browns best season in more than a decade.

Tomlinson had his sixth 100+ yards rushing game of the year against Denver this week putting him over 1400 yards for the fifth time in his seven year career. Tomlinson has never rushed for less than 1000 yards a season – his worst season was as a rookie when he ran for 1236 yards and 10 touchdowns, and last year was his best ever when he led the league with over 1800 yards and had an NFL all time record 28 rushing touchdowns in a single season.

As if all that wasn’t enough, Tomlinson is also a substantial threat as a receiver averaging close to 500 yards receiving per year. In 2003, his best performance as an outlet receiver he caught a 4th best in the NFL 100 passes for 725 yards and in total yardage he was the only running back listed in the top 40 receivers for that season. Jets Curtis Martin, Seahawks Shaun Alexander and Cleveland’s Jamal Lewis have garnered around 300-350 yards receiving per year but no other running back with Tomlinson’s rushing numbers has been as accomplished a receiver in their first seven seasons as LaDainian has, including the great Thurman Thomas who played for Buffalo from 1988 to 1999.

Tomlinson would almost certainly be over 1500 yards this season if he was allowed to play more, but in his last two outings he has been taken out of the game at or near halftime so as to keep him healthier for the post season. Tomlinson strained his hamstring slightly in the Denver contest but wanted to continue playing anyway. Next week the Chargers travel to Oakland to play a Raiders team that has the worst run defense in the league except for the 1-14 Dolphins.

Tomlinson may yet have competition for the rushing title from Eagles Brian Westbrook (1291 yards) and Vikings Peterson (1305 yards), however. That’s because this weekend Philadelphia is playing Buffalo with the 27th ranked run defense in the league, and in pursuit of the last remaining NFC wild card, the Minnesota Vikings will host the Broncos who are almost as awful at stopping the rush as Oakland. Either way, Tomlinson will finish the year as one of the NFL’s premiere all time running backs and will probably continue to be a league leader in years to come.

San Francisco; The 49ers defense has not been a significant force this year by any stretch of the imagination. They haven’t ranked above 22nd in the league in either pass or run defense, and they have allowed an average of almost 23 points a game. Defensive tackle Bryant Young, who is the last remaining player from the glory days when San Francisco was a Super Bowl dynasty joined the 49ers in 1994, the year they picked up their last and [then record] fifth Super Bowl victory with quarterback Steve Young at the helm.

Last week, as a tribute by some of the younger 49ers, the 14 year veteran and four time pro-bowl selectee was carried off the field following the victory over the NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was Young’s last home game before he retires at the end of this year, and his departure represents the last flicker of an era marked by personalities such as Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. But out of the smoking rubble of a 5-10 season in 2007 that featured an eight game slide and saw four different starting quarterbacks, a young phoenix is rising.

Other than some notable exceptions like Dallas Cowboys DeMarcus Ware and Greg Ellis, Patriots Mike Vrabel and Chargers Shawne Merriman, pro football linebackers are not notorious for being sack leaders. But tackling is a different arena altogether, and among the top 30 tacklers in the league right now, the first 27 are linebackers, including a man who is far and away the most prolific takedown artist in the NFL this year.

Rookie linebacker Patrick Willis, a little known talent on an otherwise unremarkable San Francisco team is a first round draft pick who was chosen 11th overall and in his brief professional career has racked up some truly amazing numbers on defense. The former first team All-American and 2006 Butkus award winner from the University of Mississippi has recorded 162 tackles so far this season. That’s 29 more tackles than the second ranked LB in that category (Broncos D.J. Williams) who has 133. Out of his total, 123 are solo tackles, and that also leads the 102 solo’s by D.J. Williams by a huge margin.

Of an incident in the Week 12 game against Arizona in which Willis executed a game saving tackle in overtime that prevented a Cardinals touchdown, Willis says “When I took off running, after the first few yards I said ‘I can get this guy.’ I had to run. I wanted to make the sure tackle. I didn’t want to leap and slide off him. He shouldn’t have been down there in the first place.” Cardinals slot receiver Sean Morey had taken off upfield after executing a short crossing pattern and was closing in on the red zone when he was wrapped up by Willis after a 62-yard run. “There are things in the playbook I can’t coach.” says 49ers defensive coordinator Greg Manusky. “One of them is when he ran that guy down. I can’t coach that. He’s an amazing player.”

Washington Redskins Defense
8th Ranked against the Run
17th Ranked against the Pass
Washington Redskins Offense
13th Ranked in Rushing
14th Ranked in Passing

The last time the Redskins faced off against Cowboys QB Tony Romo, he threw 4 touchdown passes to wide receiver Terrell Owens for all of the points scored by Dallas that afternoon. And for Washington, 3rd year quarterback Jason Campbell completed 33 of 54 passes for 348 yards. In all three statistics – completions, attempts and passing yardage – it was by far the best performance of Campbell’s young career. Washington actually led 10-7 at halftime but could not contain Owens later in the game.

Some things haven’t changed since then. The Cowboys were playing .900 ball at that time while the Redskins were just barely keeping their heads above the .500 mark, and both teams are roughly at the same winning percentages coming into this Sunday’s game. Other things will be quite different however. Neither Campbell nor Owens, the two most prolific forces during their last meeting will be playing this week. Campbell’s season ended in Chicago earlier this month when just before halftime Bears defensive end Mark Anderson hit Campbell in the middle of his throwing motion and then fell across the back of his left leg driving Campbell’s kneecap into the ground and dislocating it. And Owens is listed as inactive against Washington owing to a high ankle sprain that, according to Owens is nowhere near as serious as his previous ankle injury.

But each side has fielded new talent to replace the old. At quarterback for Washington is the veteran Todd Collins who replaced Campbell in Chicago and passed for 200 yards in just two quarters of football. Collins has provided a spark that has lifted the Redskins to three straight wins, and if you take the passing that Collins has accomplished on a per quarter basis it would yield an average that would be good for 2nd place in the league for yardage alongside Tony Romo, and would have a touchdown count that would put Collins in the top ten QB’s in the NFL.

Dallas for their part has a good tight end in Jason Witten who is 4th in the league with 94 catches this year, and Patrick Crayton at the wide receiver slot has one of the better averages this year at more than 14 yards per catch. Should the Cowboys get any significant lead however the Redskins will probably get a steady diet of Dallas’ power running back Marion Barber.

The Redskins did some tough running inside themselves with running back Ladell Betts against the Giants a couple of weeks ago and Clinton Portis, Washington’s primary weapon in the ground attack has 10 rushing touchdowns this season. The Cowboys may well attempt to shut down the Redskins ground game with their highly ranked run defense and force Collins to throw by stacking up the defensive tackles, but if they do they will have to make sure that Washington tight ends Chris Cooley and Todd Yoder don’t sneak in behind the linebackers and burn Dallas in the secondary.

The game is of little consequence to Dallas as far as the playoff picture is concerned. They are division champs and have already locked up the top seed which includes a bye week, and have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Redskins meanwhile have very few outs left if they lose this game. Only a Vikings loss to Denver, a game which will be played at the same time that Washington has their hands full of Cowboys would offset a loss to Dallas and get the Redskins into the playoffs.

Buffalo Bills Defense
22nd Ranked against the Run
28th Ranked against the Pass
Buffalo Bills Offense
16th Ranked in Rushing
29th Ranked in Passing

The Giants have won six straight games on the road this year; only the Patriots and the Cowboys have a better record when playing away games. Unlike New England and Dallas however, the Giants can’t wait to pack up and leave the Meadowlands. They are an unimpressive 4-3 at home this year, but whether playing for the New York crowd or visiting their opponents the bigger problem for the Giants this year is their lack of execution on offense.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning has been hard pressed to connect with his receivers, and after starting the season as one of the top rated quarterbacks in the league for passing yardage and touchdown throws he has since sunk far down the performance charts. The Bills have struggled over the last six games, posting 17 points or more only once, and that was when they scored 38 while rolling over the winless Dolphins. But a similar cloud has hung over the Giants; in their last seven games they have managed to put more than 17 points on the board only twice.

The key for the Giants will be to stop Bills rookie running back Marshawn Lynch and to put pressure on Buffalo’s rookie QB Trent Edwards. Lynch is one of the top ten running backs in the league in yardage, gaining better than 85 yards per game, and he is also one of the more dangerous outlet receivers for his young quarterback. Edwards started the season with 5 interceptions and 1 touchdown, but over the past three games he had 4 TD’s with no interceptions. Edwards is a sharp, quick passer, and with nothing to lose he may well open up the field against New York and start throwing some touchdowns.

The Giants defense has been putting adequate pressure on their opponents quarterback lately, but Manning and the offense have failed miserably to take advantage of it. With Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey now out with a broken leg and WR Plaxico Burress already hobbled by a sore ankle and a sure candidate for the double team, the Giants will need WR Amani Toomer to have a very good day. A big game is also needed from running back Brandon Jacobs, who has averaged almost 89 yards a game, good for 4th best in the NFL. Without good numbers from Toomer and Jacobs, the Giants are likely to lose at Buffalo.

In terms of overall performance there was really very little difference between the two teams. Total yardage, time of possession and penalty yardage were all nearly identical. New York had an edge with 20 first downs to Washington’s 14, but the Giants lost the ball once when QB Eli Manning fumbled, while the Redskins had no turnovers. In the first quarter it was a back and forth struggle for each team just to try and keep the other from having a workable field position, although an ill advised failed 4th down run by the Giants and later the Manning fumble tilted that battle in Washington’s favor and the Redskins scored first with a field goal.

The wind conditions played a huge part in this game, blowing passes off target and resulting in numerous dropped balls by the wide receivers on both sides. Both Manning and Collins were only able to complete about a third of their passes and each had comparable passing yardage; 166 yards for Collins and 184 yards for Manning. But while Collins threw only 25 passes, Manning put the ball in the air 52 times, obviously getting a lot less mileage from his passes. Collins completed back to back passes in the second quarter of 34 and 30 yards to set Washington up for another field goal and a 6-0 lead, and two possessions later another 34 yard pass and a 14 yard run by Redskins running back Ladell Betts put Washington up 13-0. They led 16-3 at the half.

In general this must be seen as a failure on the part of the Giants offense to finish drives. The defense was adequate, holding Washington to only field goals on three of four first half scoring drives and keeping the Redskins scoreless for virtually the entire second half after Washington opened the third quarter with a TD drive on a short field. New York went to the red zone twice in the second half and both times came away with nothing.

Washington must beat the Vikings in Minnesota but assuming that Minnesota wins it’s last game against Denver, the Redskins must also win against the visiting Cowboys to have any chance at a playoff spot. If the Redskins were to go to 8-8 along with Minnesota, Washington’s strength of victory record would carry them.