The Giants have lost 26-year old safety Michael Johnson for the rest of the year due to a herniated disc.  Johnson played in 2 games for the Giants this year and he had 3 tackles.  Johnson has played in 49 games in his four years with the Giants and he has 159 tackles, 10 passes defensed, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 3 interceptions.  This will definitely hurt the depth at safety for the Giants.

The Giants’ offense gave this game away yesterday with turnovers which set up some short fields for the Titans to work with.  Eli Manning completed 34 of 48 passes for 386 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs yesterday.  Ahmad Bradshaw carried the ball 15 times for 88 yards (5.9 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 30 yards (6.0 avg) but he lost a fumble.  Kevin Boss (3 rec, 88 yards), Mario Manningham (6 rec, 78 yards), Hakeem Nicks (7 rec, 56 yards) and Steve Smith (9 rec, 103 yards) all had solid games for the Giants yesterday.  The Giants finished up with 107 yards rushing on 20 carries (5.4 ypc) and they also completed 34 of 48 passes for 364 yards in this game.

Safety Kenny Phillips (9 tackles), DE Justin Tuck (8 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) and safety Antrel Rolle (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Giants’ D in this game.  The Titans finished up with 161 yards on 41 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 16 passes for 110 yards.  The Giants are now 1-2 on the year.

The Giants flat out sucked last week against the Colts and they need to rebound quickly because the Titans also lost a tough game last week and will likely also be in a bad frame of mind on Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Giants have the ball:  The Giants will likely try to be balanced in this game.  The Titans are allowing 121.0 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry so far this season so Ahmad Bradshaw will get his fair share of touches on Sunday.  But you just know darn well that the Giants are going to want to pass the ball a lot in this game.  The Titans already have 8 sacks this year and they are only giving up 85.5 yards passing per game so Eli Manning will likely have to get rid of the ball fast.  That means that Steve Smith, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks better be ready to go over the middle and take some hits in this game.

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are going to run the ball as much as possible in this game with Chris Johnson and Vince Young.  That means the Giants will have to go all out to stop them and the run defense has been a issue so far this year as they are allowing 124.5 yards rushing per game.  Vince Young can be rattled when you hit him as was proven last week against the Steelers so look for the Giants to come after him every time he touches the ball.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 21, GIANTS 20

It appears as if Ahmad Bradshaw has graduated to being the new featured back for the Giants this year.  He has carried the ball 37 times for 165 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also has caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  Bradshaw has been outstanding this year for the Giants as he has forged his way ahead of Brandon Jacobs on the depth chart.  Jacobs has carried the ball 16 times for 52 yards (3.3 ypc) and he also has caught 2 passes for 21 yards (10.5 avg) so far this year.  Jacobs is not too happy being the second fiddle in New York but they’re not going to trade him. 

The Giants got demolished last night in the Manning Bowl.  Eli Manning didn’t play too well as he completed 13 of 24 passes for 161 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also lost 2 fumbles one of which was returned for a TD by Colts’ DT Fili Moala.  Ahmad Bradshaw looked good in this game for the Giants as he rushed for 89 yards on 17 carries (5.2 ypc).  Brandon Jacobs on carried the ball 2 times for 15 yards (7.5 ypc) last night.  He also threw his helmet into the crowd during the game which was odd to say the least.  WRs Mario Manningham (4 rec, 75 yards, TD), Hakeem Nicks (2 rec, 38 yards, TD) and Steve Smith (4 rec, 35 yards) pitched in for the Giants in the passing game.  The Giants finished up with 120 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 24 passes for 137 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 24:54.

LBs Michael Boley (16 tackles) and Jonathan Goff (9 tackles) led the way for the Giants on D in this game.  CB Terrell Thomas pitched in last night with 7 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.  The Colts finished up with 160 yards rushing on 43 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 26 passes for 250 yards.  The Giants are now 1-1 on the year.

It will be certainly fun to watch the Manning Bowl this Sunday Night.  The Giants got a nice win last weekend against the Panthers at home while the Colts lost in a disappointing effort against the Texans in Houston last week.  Here is a lot at the match-ups in this game:

When the Giants have the ball:  I know that Eli Manning would love nothing more than to beat his brother in a passing firefight.  But, the Giants are smarter than that.  The Texans rushed for 257 yards on 42 carries (6.1 ypc) with 3 TD runs against the Colts last week and with all due respect to Arian Foster, I like both of the Giants main backs more than him.  Look for Ahmad Bradshaw and Bradon Jacobs to take the spotlight off the Manning vs. Manning match-up.  That doesn’t mean that the Giants aren’t going to throw the ball because Steve Smith, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks is a very talented trio of WRs.

When the Colts have the ball:  Peyton Manning was harassed all game long by the Texans’ D-Line last week and the Giants have a better one.  They must protect Manning to give him a shot at the Giants’ secondary that has to feel a little too good about themselves based on how well they played last week.  But, the Giants aren’t facing Matt Moore and Steve Smith this week.  Dallas Clark, Austin Collie, Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Joseph Addai give the Colts a ton of lethal weapons in the passing game.  The Colts would also like to run the ball a little more with Joseph Addai this week as he only had 10 carries.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 30, GIANTS 27

The Giants have lost 25-year old OT William Beatty for the next 6-8 weeks due to a foot injury.  Beatty was injured in the season opener against the Panthers.  He played in 16 games (4 starts) as a rookie for the Giants last year.  Beatty came into this season as a back-up so his injury will hurt the depth of the offensive line.

The New York Giants have released 26-year old linebacker Bryan Kehl.  Kehl played in the season opener for the Giants and he had 3 tackles.  He played in 31 games in three years with the Giants in which he had 60 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 sack and 1 interception.  The Giants must not have liked Kehl’s effort on Sunday.

Starting TE Kevin Boss suffered a concussion in the season opener against the Panthers after catching 1 pass for 11 yards.  He played in 15 games last season for the Giants and he caught 42 passes for 567 yards (13.5 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  The Giants are definitely going to miss Boss in the passing game as they don’t have much behind him.  Travis Beckum will take over as the starting TE for the Giants while Boss is out of action.  Beckum caught 2 passes for 11 yards (5.5 avg) against the Panthers.  Bear Pascoe has been activated off the practice squad and he will likely back up Beckum at TE until Boss returns to action.

The Giants got off to a good start to the 2010 season yesterday.  Eli Manning was a little careless with the ball but he still made the big throws when the Giants needed him to.  He completed 20 of 30 passes for 263 yards with 3 TD passes and 3 INTs yesterday.  Ahmad Bradshaw led the way on the ground for the Giants yesterday with 76 yards rushing on 20 carries (3.8 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 17 yards.  Brandon Jacobs pitched in with 44 yards rushing on 12 carries (3.7 ypc) and he caught 2 passes for 21 yards (10.5 avg) in this game.  But offensively it was WR Hakeem Nicks’ day!  He caught 4 passes for 75 yards (18.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Giants finished up with 118 yards rushing on 36 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 30 passes for 258 yards in this contest.

The defense was outstanding for the Giants yesterday.  Safety Antrel Rolle made a good first impression for the Giants leading the way with 8 tackles and 1 QB hit.  Safety Kenny Phillips (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and CB Terrell Thomas (4 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception) also had huge games for the Giants yesterday.  The Panthers finished up with 89 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 35 passes for 148 yards.  This was a excellent start of the year for the Giants, especially on D.