The Giants were efficient on offense and played very opportunistic defense.  Eli Manning played his best game in weeks as he completed 17 of 33 passes for 172 yards with 3 TDs.  Tiki Barber had a good game with 20 carries for 112 yards (5.6 ypc).  Brandon Jacobs got stuffed as he had 10 carries for 16 yards (1.6 ypc).  Plaxico Burress had a good game with 4 catches for 77 yards and a TD.  Jeremy Shockey also had a decent game with 5 catches for 49 yards and a TD.  David Tyree caught 2 passes for 15 yards and a TD.

The Giants defense was led by Antonio Pierce who had 11 tackles.  Reserve DB Kevin Dockery had a good game with 8 tackles, 3 passes defensed and an interception.  Gibril Wilson had 3 tackles and 2 interceptions.  The Giants held the Panthers to 45 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.0 ypc).  The Panthers completed 34 of 61 passes for 418 net yards.

The Giants improved to 7-6 with this huge win that keeps them right in the middle of the playoff hunt.

Draft gurus were skeptics when the Giants drafted Kiwanuka.  It wasn’t because they thought he wouldn’t be a good player, but it was because of the depth the Giants had.  The Giants are lucky they drafted him because of the massive injuries to the Giants defense.  True, sometimes he makes puzzling plays like letting Vince Young go after an apparent sack in which Young had a huge run in the 4th quarter that led to a loss by the Giants.  Kiwanuka has played in all 12 games and has 35 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions and has forced 2 fumbles.  If he gets focused, their is no doubt that he has the talent to eventually play in some Pro Bowls.

The Giants are looking horrible lately as they’ve lost 4 games in a row and have given up 111 points in those games!  The Panthers have lost two in a row but they were both on the road.  The Panthers are 4-2 at home on the season and have won their last two by a combined 39-10 score.

Look for the Giants to run the football with Tiki Barber (1,170 yards rushing) and Brandon Jacobs (369 yards rushing) against the Panthers run defense which is allowing 108.3 yards rushing and 3.9 yards per carry on the season.  In the passing game, look for Manning to throw the ball alot to Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey as they try to keep the passing short.

Look for the Panthers to lean on the running game with Chris Weinke getting the start on Sunday.  DeAngelo Williams (409 yards rushing) has been playing well since he got healthy and he should do o.k. against a Giants defense that is allowing 105 yards rushing per game.  Look for Weinke to throw the ball deep alot to Steve Smith (66 rec, 958 yards) and short to Keyshawn Johnson (57 rec, 674 yards) as the Giants allow 218.5 net yards passing per game.

I lean towards the Panthers in this football game.  The Giants look lost and the Panthers have played well at home this season.

The Giants played a good football game, just not good enough.  Eli Manning looked alot better than he has the last few weeks, as he completed 24 of 36 passes for 270 yards and 2 TDs.  Tiki Barber was very busy with 23 carries for 90 yards (3.9 ypc) and he caught 5 passes for 53 yards.  Brandon Jacobs carried the ball 5 times for 29 yards (5.8 ypc) and caught 2 passes for 52 yards.  Jeremy Shockey caught 6 passes for 65 yards and a TD.  Plaxico Burress added 6 catches for 43 yards and a TD.

The defense didn’t play that well against the Cowboys.  The Giants allowed the Cowboys to rush for 110 yards on 24 carries (4.6 ypc).  The Cowboys completed 20 of 34 passes for 255 net yards passing.

This loss really will hurt for awhile.  The Giants probably should have won this football game.

The Cowboys are on a 3-game winning streak and are 4-1 since Tony Romo took over as the starting QB of the Cowboys.  The Giants are falling on hard times as they’ve now lost 3 games in a row.

Look for the Cowboys to come out running the ball with Julius Jones (853 yards rushing) and Marion Barber (492 yards rushing).  After they establish a running game, it will be bombs away with Tony Romo (110.8 QB Rating) spreading the ball around to T.O. (61 rec, 831 yards), Terry Glenn and Jason Witten.  The Giants pass defense is very vulnerable as they allow 215.2 net yards passing per game.

The Giants also will come out running the ball with Tiki Barber (1,080 yards rushing) and Brandon Jacobs (340 yards rushing) against a tough Cowboys defense that allows only 87.1 yards rushing and 3.7 yards per carry.  The Giants will then try some play-action….throwing deep to Plaxico Burress and short to Jeremy Shockey.  Eli Manning has been terrible in the Giants losing streak and will need to play much better for the Giants to have any chance of winning this game.

The first time these two teams played, the Giants won 36-22…..but that was before Romo started playing.  The Cowboys are displaying great confidence in themselves, while the Giants are fading away.  I’m siding with the Cowboys in this football game.