The New York Giants take on the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card week of the 2012 NFL Playoffs. At 10-6, the Falcons secured a Wild Card berth finishing second in the NFC South behind the New Orleans Saints. They’re coming off a 45-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 17 action.

The Giants clinched the NFC East championship last week with a 31-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

This NFL playoff game will be played on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 1:00 PM ET in Metlife Stadium (formerly the Meadowlands).

The Giants are on a roll. They are healthy, have Eli Manning at the helm and all the confidence in the world. Here are 8 reasons why the Giants will beat the Falcons in the 2012 NFL Playoffs.

1. Eli Manning
   Not only is Eli Manning having his best year, he’s been in this position before and succeeded in leading the New York Giants to a Super Bowl in 2007.And don’t forget that Eli is at his best when the chips are down, leading the Giants to 6 4th quarter comebacks during the 2011 NFL regular season. In head-to-head match-up with Falcons QB Matt Ryan, Manning has more completions (359 vs 347) and passing yards (4933 vs 4177).
2. Peaking at the Right time
   The Giants are coming off two impressive victories in must-win games (Week 16 vs NY Jets and Week 17 vs. Dallas Cowboys). The defense is healthy again, wide receiver Victor Cruz has been electrifying. He has 82 catches, 1536 yds, 9 TDs, a crucial 99 TD reception in week 16 against the Jets, and another for 74 yards against the Cowboys in week 17.The Defense is playing the best it has all season and the running game has significantly improved.
3. They’re Healthy
   RB Ahmad Bradshaw, DE Justin Tuck, DE Osi Umenyiora and TE Jake Ballad will suit up.
4. Giants Defense Is Back
   The Giants defense, ravished by injuries to key pass rushers, has been exploited by their opponents all year. If it weren’t for the All Pro play of of defense end Jason Pierre-Paul, the Giants wouldn’t be playing in the 2011 NFL playoffs.Last week, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora showed they were healthy enough to be major factors in the win over Dallas.
5. Deja Vu
   The Giants have been here before. Back in 2007, the Giants reeled off 4 consecutive victories and won the Super Bowl. 14 Giant players from that championship team remain.
6. 12th Man
   The Giants play at home. You can bet the crowd will be a factor.
7. Team Chemistry
   Those last two wins have the Giants believing they can go all the way.
8. Tom Coughlin
   You can be Coach Coughlin will have his players ready to execute a solid game plan.

In week 3 NFL action, the 2-0 Green Bay Packers take on the 1-1 Chicago Bears in Soldier Field in late Sunday afternoon action.

Curent NFL odds and spread has the Packers favorite by 4 points with the over/under at 45 1/2.

The Packers, lead by QB Aaron Rodgers, beat the New Orleans Saints (at home) in week 1 (42-34) and the Carolina Panthers (away) in week 2 (30-23).  The Bears, on the other hand, beat the Atlanta Falcons (at home) in week 1 (30-12) but fell to the New Orleans Saints (away) in week 2 (30-13).

Offense will be the name of the game in this matchup.  The Packers defense is giving up 476 total yards per game (400 passing and 76 rushing).  The Bears defense isn’t much better, giving up 384 yards per game (270 passing and 114 rushing).

The Packers will win this game and beat the spread because of the following:

Bears have given up an NFL league leading, 11 sacks and the offensive line is banged-up.

The Packers defense, with 7 sacks in 2011, will have no problem getting at Bears QB Jay Cutler.

The Bears lack a big-play receiver, a problem the Packers don’t have.

Finally, the Packers beat the New Orleans Saints in week 1 42-34, the Bears lost to the Saints in week 2 30-13.

Prediction:  Packers 35  Bears 14

The Cincinnati Bengals and their primadona wide receivers travel to the new Meadowlands Stadium to take on the New York Jets in the sole Thanksgiving evening NFL match-up in Week 12.

Fans attending the game may opt to BYOF (bring your own flashlight) after last week’s temporary power outage at the new Meadowlands Stadium in the 3rd quarter of the Giants - Cowboys game.

The Bengals Jets contest is the third of three games being played on Thanksgiving. The first kicks off at 12:30 pm with the New England Patriots visiting the Detroit Lions. Then, in the mid-afternoon 4:15 start; the New Orleans Saints take on Jerry Jones’s Dallas Cowboys in Texas.

BENGALS JETS: GAME DAY PARTICULARS
Visitors	Cincinnati Bengals (2-8)
Home	New York Jets (8-2)
When	Thursday Nov 25 08:20 pm EST
Where	Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Weather	Rain, Drizzle 40º F
TV	NFL Network
Favorite	Jets -9
Under/Over	43.5

BENGALS JETS PREVIEW
Although the New York Jets share the lead with the Patriots in the AFC East they’ve had to pull out last minute wins in their previous 3 games against teams with a combined record of 9-21.

The Jets needed a field goal as time expired in regulation to beat the Detroit Lions (2-8) on Nov 7. They needed an overtime TD pass from Sanchez to Holmes to beat the Cleveland Browns (3-7) 26-20. And last week, the Jets needed 20 4th quarter points, including a touchdown pass with 6 seconds remaining to beat the 4-6 Houston Texans 30-27.

There’s really nothing to talk about on the other side. Going into NFL Week 12, the Bengals are 2-8, having lost their last seven games. Their last win goes all the back to September 26 against the 1-9 Carolina Panthers. The Bengals lack of success against the run has been the contributing factor to their dismal record in 2010.

But the Bengals do have a pair of primadonna wide receivers in Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens, but the Jets counter these passing threats with a less obnoxious but super-talented defensive duo in Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie.

BENGALS JETS INJURIES

Cincinnati Bengals Injury Notables
Player	Pos	Injury	Status
Tank Johnson	DT	Right Knee	Injured Reserve
Antwan Odom	DE	Wrist	Out
Cedric Benson	RB	Foot	Questionable
Rey Maualuga	LB	Thigh	Questionable

New York Jets Injury Notables
Player	Pos	Injury	Status
Dwight Lowery	CB	Concussion	Out
Marquice Cole	CB	Hamstring	Out
Jerricho Cotchery	WR	Groin	Out

* Players listed as Probable not listed

BENGALS JETS ANALYSIS
The most glaring statistic is the Lions lack of rushing yards per game. If the Bengals can’t run against the Jets, forget about it. The dynamic defensive duo of Revis and Cromartie are more than enough to stop Ochocinco and Owens in the air.

Injuries shouldn’t be a big factor. The Jets will be without WR Jerricho Cotchery but it shouldn’t make a big difference since the Jets will win this game on the ground.

As for Cincinnati, QB Carson Palmer and the rest of the Bengals offense will be stymied by the Jets defense. However, the Jets defense has given up more points than most analysts and experts expected.

Bengals OFFENSE Ranking		Jets DEFENSE Ranking
Rush Yds/Gms	96.6 23rd	Rush Yds/Gms	90.3 5th
Pass Yds/Gms	249.6 8th	Pass Yds/Gms	220.0 16th
Tot Yds/Gms	346.2 14th	Tot Yds/Gms	310.3 7th

Jets OFFENSE Ranking		Bengals DEFENSE Ranking
Rush Yds/Gms	145.9 4th	Rush Yds/Gms	118.3 23rd
Pass Yds/Gms	220.0 17th	Pass Yds/Gms	223.0 18th
Tot Yds/Gms	365.9 9th	Tot Yds/Gms	341.3 18th

BENGALS JETS GAME PREDICTION
The Bengals will be in for a long night. The Jets rushing attack, lead by Ladainian Tomlinson (153 Att, 692 Yds. 5 TDs) and Shonn Greene (122 Att, 505 Yds, 1 TD), will allow the Jets to dominate the time of possession and give the Jets the points they need to beat the spread.

The nflthisweek.com predicts the Jets will win outright and the spread.
Take the Jets (-9) and the Over (43.5)

JETS 28  17

Source: foxsports.com