Manning took the belt from Rodgers on Sunday! (Photo via tinypic.com)

In Sunday’s big matchup, the New York Giants soundly defeated the defending champion Packers 37-20 in Green Bay yesterday, and will head to San Francisco on Sunday for a re-match of their week 10 loss … not to mention the fabled 2002 wild card comeback and 1990 NFC Championship game.

With the win, Eli Manning may have finally cemented himself as an “elite” quarterback (whatever that means), improving to 6-3 all-time in the post-season after throwing for 330 yards and 3 TDs and outperforming his more-heralded counterpart, Aaron Rodgers (264 yards, 2 TDs). Giants WR Hakeem Nicks was once again the best receiver on the field, pulling in 7 catches for 165 yards and two TDs. The Giants defense once again came to play, harassing Rodgers for four sacks and causing three turnovers and ending the Packers 15-1 season unceremoniously.

And now, here’s your game recap in photos and GIFs (CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE):

Win or lose, this guy's Lambeau field hat is amazing (Photo via Reddit.com/r/nfl)

Nicks struck the first big blow for NY with a 66-yard score in the 1st quarter (photo: Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger)

In the second quarter, it looked as though the Giants got hosed by the refs, who somehow ruled Greg Jennings down on a fumble when video evidence clearly showed otherwise :

Hell, even Mike Pereira thought it was a fumble (Image via Sportsgrid.com)

Just before halftime, the Giants went for it all with a 37-yard hail mary to Hakeem Nicks

Nicks did his best David Tyree in using his helmet to reel in the pass (Photo: Getty Images)

Osi Umenyiora was called for an inexplicable roughing the passer on this one (Image via tinypic.com)

Rodgers was not helped out by his receivers, who dropped EIGHT passes on the day (Photo: JSonline.com)

Jermichael Finley can't reel in a 4th quarter pass (Via sbnation.com)

Michael Boley does Rodgers' Discount Double-Check belt celebration following a sack (Image via LarryBrownSports.com)

Donald Driver realizes the season - and possibly his career in Green Bay - is over (Photo: Sportsgrid.com)

JPP taunts Rodgers late in the game (Photo via Reddit.com/r/nfl)

(Photo: Nick Laham/Getty Images via Yahoo.com)

With second-year sensation Victor Cruz (and his salsa dance) getting all the press for the New York WRs dring the build up to this week’s Giants-Falcons Wild Card match-up, it was Hakeem Nicks who turned in the play of the day in leading the Giants to an impressive 24-2 playoff win.

After a defensive struggle in the first half, New York led 10-2 late in the third quarter when Nicks broke the game wide open with this 72-yard catch and run. Watch as Nicks splits no less than FIVE Falcons defenders at midfield and leaves them in the dust for his second touchdown of the game:

Nicks, who would finish with 115 yards receiving to go with his 2 TDs, added insult to injury for the Falcons by doing “The Dirty Bird” as his endzone celebration:

DIRTY BIRD GIF AFTER THE JUMP

(Via SBNation.com)

New York added another passing score to Mario Manningham, giving Eli Manning three TDs (277 yards, 0 INTs) on the day, and Perry Fewell’s defense played stout all afternoon, with Atlanta’s only points coming on an early safety. Now the Giants will head to Green Bay to face the mighty Packers, where they’ll attempt to avenge their 38-35 Week 13 loss and advance to the NFC championship game.

Nicks’ Dirty Bird celebration prompted this Twitter response from the dance’s originator, Jamal Anderson, who remained good-natured about the whole thing:

NO HE DIDN’T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Btw, I’m not mad at Nicks. I Broke out the Dirty Bird in 98, its trending on Twitter in 2012.

This was for all the marbles in the NFC East, with the winner taking the division and the loser going home to face a long off-season, watching the playoffs from the outside looking in. A play-in game, if you will, between bitter division rivals. As regular season match-ups go, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. So we battled our hangovers and made the trip to East Rutherford, where we took a lot of pictures along the way to share with you, our loyal readers.

Despite our sterling reputation as an emerging force in new sports media, we didn’t have any press passes or fancy cameras for this one, so these photos are all from the fan’s perpective … and all of them were taken on an iPhone 4s. We hope you enjoy!

(CLICK ANY PHOTO TO EMBIGGEN):

The new MetLife stadium is quite impressive from the outside (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

(Photo: ArtieFufkin)

The rain couldn't dampen the spirits of Giants fans, who were fired up for this one (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Romo and Co. are greeted warmly by the New York fans (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Oooh ... fireworks! (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

CONTINUE AFTER THE JUMP FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE GIANTS/COWBOYS GAME

And the Giants take the field! (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Minutes later, Victor Cruz (left) would sprint toward us down this sideline into the endzone for a 74-yard 1st quarter score (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Cruz, Rolle and Bradshaw would all have big nights for NY (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

The Giants' front four came to play tonight (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Led by JPP and Tuck, who got the crowd involved early (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Romo would get taken down 6 times by the Giants D (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Eli leads the Giants on a scoring drive toward the end of the 1st quarter (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

The Giants offense came out firing on all cylinders (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Eli rolls to his right in the 2nd quarter (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Aaaaand halftime (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Romo finds himself backed up against his own endzone (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Eli surveys the Dallas coverage (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

In the 4th, Eli looks left to Hakeem Nicks ... (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

... who can't reel in the low pass (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Unfortunately for Jerry Jones and Romo, Dallas' rally attempt fell short (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

And the Giants are NFC East Champions! (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

And here's the towel the fans received, and waved tirelessly throughout the game (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

(Photo: NYDailyNews.com)

If you’d like to add your vote for this year’s Pro Bowl (one of sports’ least exciting all-star games), fans can do so through this Monday, 12/19 via the official ballot at NFL.com. And if you’re a Giants fan (or a particularly astute fantasy geek) you might notice two glaring omissions from the candidates at defensive end and wide receiver … namely, DE Jason Pierre Paul and WR Victor Cruz, who have each had breakout seasons at their respective positions for New York.

Pierre-Paul is currently 5th in the NFL with 12.5 sacks, while Cruz is 3rd in the league in receiving yards with 1,150, but neither are eligible for your votes to go to Hawaii. According to the Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News, JPP and Cruz are victims of an antiquated voting system, and both were left off the ballot by the Giants organization, who were forced to make some difficult decisions based on the sheer volume of talent they have at certain positions:

Teams are only allowed a certain number of players at each position – two defensive ends and two receivers, for example. In some cases, there are other categories, such as a “flex” spot for either a running back or a receiver. 

Since the Giants had to submit their players before October 25th, they put Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora as their two DEs, and Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham as their two WRs. For the flex position, they chose Brandon Jacobs after giving the RB slot to Ahmad Bradshaw.

Apparently, there is some flexibility for teams to swap out candidates during the season. But according to a Giants’ team spokesman, they elected to keep their starters on the ballot, since none were lost to injury for any significant periods, and despite the emergence of the younger stars on the field.

New York did try to sneak Pierre-Paul on the ballot at middle linebacker, but the league quickly squashed that, since, ya know, he doesn’t play that position. One seemingly obvious answer would be to swap out Cruz for Jacobs at the flex spot, but with the way Jacobs has come on late in the season (and given his fragile mental state), it makes taking his slot away that much tougher.

(Photo: UPI.com)

Now, the fan vote only accounts for one-third of the total Pro Bowl voting, with players and coaches making up the other two-thirds. So there is an outside chance either player could still make the NFC squad if they get enough love from their peers. Also, since it’s relatively meaningless, plenty of players choose to drop out of the game, leaving room for qualified replacements … so there’s a good chance both Cruz and Pierre-Paul will ultimately end up in Honolulu.

But this situation points out an obvious flaw in the Pro Bowl balloting system, especially in the days of running back by committee, four receiver sets and constantly platooning defensive units. Whether they’re technically a “starter” or not, as long as they contribute in a significant way, there’s no real reason to prevent teams from including any player on the ballot who might be deserving of an all-star nod.

Clearly nobody touched Cruz while he was on the ground (Photo: Getty Images via WashingtonPost.com)

This is undoubtedly the most controversial play of Week 4 in the NFL.

From yesterday’s Giants-Cardinals game, with New York trailing by 3 points and driving with 2:46 remaining, Eli Manning hit WR Victor Cruz for a 19-yard completion. At the end of the play, Cruz fell to the ground, put the ball on the grass and stood up to return to the huddle. One problem: Cruz wasn’t touched by a Cardinals defender while he was down, so theoretically, the ball should still be alive. Or that’s at least what most everyone watching the play assumed, and Arizona jumped on the ball, thinking they had secured a crucial turnover.

But not so fast. Referee Jerome Booger had blown the play dead, ruling that Cruz had “given himself up” on the play. Because of that ruling, and despite a challenge flag thrown by Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt, the play was not reviewable.

Watch the play for yourself, and decide if Cruz should have been ruled down:

VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP

On the very next play, Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for the go-ahead score, ultimately winning the game 31-27.

So did the Cardinals get screwed? The NFL issued a statement today, highlighting the applicable rule, Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1(e), states:

“An official shall declare the ball dead and the down ended when a runner is out of bounds, or declares himself down by falling to the ground, or kneeling, and making no effort to advance.”

Based on the wording of the rules, one could argue that the refs got the call right, since Cruz seemingly fell to the ground on his own volition, and gave up the ball in an effort to hurry back to the huddle. In fact, the NFLs VP of Officiating Carl Johnson has chimed in to say that the refs got it right.  

But it’s a pretty fine line for a judgement call like that, and Cardinals fans certainly have a right to feel like they got hosed on a play that ultimately cost their team the game. Especially considering the fact that Cruz himself said he thought he got touched by a defender, so he wasn’t necessarily giving himself up:

“I saw the guy coming and I wanted to get down,” he said. “I thought I was tagged down and I got up and was going to the next play. I thought I was touched so the ref called it down. I felt like I was touched, I thought somebody touched me. I guess in the heat of the moment you probably don’t feel it or you think someone touched you, but I definitely thought I was touched.”

Manning himself thought the Giants got lucky on the call:

“We got a break on that one I think,” he said. “I thought it was going to get ruled a fumble and I saw it pretty clear. I don’t know what the call was or why.”

That seems to be the general consensus, despite the fact that the league is seemingly supporting the call for now. And since former NFL VP of officiating Mike Pereira also thought it should have been ruled a fumble, this is probably one of those situations where the rule will be changed during the next off-season to help clarify (or at least allow such plays to be reviewed).

Matty Ice on tap. (Source: New York Times)

We’ll be watching and covering the games all day. If you want to join in the conversation, just use the comments section below.

¶ With Falcons driving, the team announced that Roddy White just became the 12th wide receiver in NFL history to register 80 catches & 1,000 yds receiving in four consecutive seasons.

¶ Falcons’ first drive ends with a field goal. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers waiting in the wings.

¶ Carolina marches right down the field and scores on the Browns in Cleveland. Mike Goodson with a 26-yard scamper for the score. The Browns drive right down the field, with Jake Delhomme going 5 for 7 for 63 yards. Peyton Hillis scores on a 9-yard touchdown run.

¶ The Jags have taken an early 7-3 lead on the Giants — New York, without Hakeem Nicks to bolster a thin wideout lineup, cannot fall behind by much in this game.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

¶ People were calling the Bills a trap game for the Steelers — not yet, they’re off and running with a 10-0 lead.

¶ Hillis scores again for the Brownies — 14-7 over the Panthers. Hillis has 6 carries for 40 yards and two scores in one quarter of play. Delhomme over 100 yards as the 1st quarter ends. Hillis becomes the first Browns back with 10 rushing touchdowns in a season since Kevin Mack in 1986 (Hillis has 11 with his second score).

¶ The Falcons are making their case as the NFC’s team to beat with a good game so far against the Packers. Matt Ryan throws a touchdown to Tony Gonzalez.

¶ Hillis has just scored his third touchdown of the game midway through the second quarter.

(Image: Shutdown Corner)

Thanks to Shutdown Corner for this educational graph which illustrates the tumultuous journey of Giants QB Eli Manning so far this season.  Not surprisingly, with the exception of game #9 against the Chargers, when Eli plays well, the Giants win.  And when Eli craps the bed (like he did against the Saints, Cardinals and Eagles), it leads to a 4-game losing streak.

Yesterday against the Falcons, despite getting off to a horrendous start, Manning threw for a career high 384 yards and 3 TDs en route to a 34-31 OT victory.  He spread the ball out to his receivers - Steve Smith, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks combined for 15 catches for 270 yards – and took what the defense gave him, including some beautiful deep touch passes to the outside.  And despite the Giants defense’s best efforts to give the game away in the 4th quarter, the Giants won the toss in OT and Manning was able to get them into FG range to win the game.

So it’s safe to say that as goes Eli, so go the Giants.  Thank goodness we have science to back this stuff up.

A few quick thoughts: Fantasy owners suffered a minor, but passing, freak-out this A.M.: the highly lauded Maurice Jones-Drew bruised his lower right leg in last night’s 24-17 victory over the Redskins. While X-rays were negative (they’re calling it a “shin contusion”), it could affect his participation in Week 1′s matchup against the Colts. Team officials are saying he’ll be ready to roll… in New York, Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks says he’ll be fine after suffering an infamous “hip flexor” during the team’s 38-27 defeat at the hands of the Patriots.

We believe that Madden 10 has sorely underrated our man Hakeem Nicks. Secondly, how do scores of 88, 84, 91, and 74 average out to 78? The correct average is 84.25. What's up, Madden 10? Get a calculator, boys.

Nicks has been sensational this preseason, with 8 catches for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns. People aren’t saying much, but the G-men desperately need Nicks to shine. Without Plaxico Burress, Big Blue’s in search of a leading wideout, and while that’s a tough role for a rookie to step into, Nicks has shown poise and big-game flash. Did UNC head coach Butch Davis have anything to do with that? Following his meltdown with the Browns, Butch has done a nice job down at UNC… Speaking of Cleveland, Mangenious has the Browns involved (for the 17th consecutive year) in a largely meaningless QB mystery. Man-G (I’m too lazy to type “Mangenius”) won’t say who his starter is. Neither quarterback played in last nights 26-23 loss to the Bears. Fans went so far as to comment on which of the two quarterbacks, Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson, seemed more “enthusiastic” on the field during stretches. Man-G, trying to get any advantage he can over the Vikings, knows the bottom line: If Quinn or Anderson–or a wrist-slitting combination of both–don’t put up solid numbers immediately, Man-G’s chasing the wind.

Would you trust this guy with your children?

Sports Illustrated has raised this Browns fan’s ire. The mag–and its illustrious soothsayer Peter King–see a grim tomorrow for the Browns, and defame the Seal Brown and Orange in style: (1) They place fat-faced, beer-swollen Ben Roethlisberger on the cover. (2) They pee aggressively on the Cleveland franchise, picking the Browns to go 2-14, the worst in the league. That’s a good sign, in my book. They’ve been getting it wrong year after year; routinely picking hanging-by-a-thread, old-news dynasties to reach the Super Bowl, season after season. Their pick for 2009? The Patriots and the Bears. (Wake me up when we get there.)

Do you remember, when you were young, and the SI Preview actually meant something? I’d pour over it for hours. Back then, I’d buy every football preview magazine I could get my hands on–SI’s was the glossiest. Its competitors  were frequently amateur, printed on soiled newsprint, and filled with typographical errors–but filled with rich statistical information and strange file photos of mid-tier players. We’re talking 1985, 1986, 1987 here–the league coming into full bloom. In those years, I was shipped off to summer camp during June and July, and my mom–following my diligent, hand-written instructions–would peruse newsstands for football and wrestling titles, and send three or four at a time by mail. Whereas the football mags were pieced together by reputable companies, the wrestling publications were backwoods–filled with fan-snapped photos taken seven rows back from ringside. Some of the more obtuse journals would spend 20 to 30 pages detailing the pro wrestling scene down in Alabama, Georgia, Louisianna. The photos were bloody. Men being mauled with folding chairs; sliced by razor blades hidden in wristbands; “wimps” bitten in the kidney by masked opponents with no origin or human history.

At camp, we’d get a full hour to read and snooze after lunch every day–this was aptly named “siesta,” despite the fact that 98% of the campers were from Connecticut and had never spoken a sentence of Spanish. During “siesta,” while other campers played cards or picked their noses alone in bed, I absorbed wrestling and pro football data–storing it away for my return to the civilized world. Times have changed. Who has the patience to check our watches, waiting around for a FOOTBALL MAGAZINE, stuffed like a goose with last week’s rotting news? Big Ben on the cover? Come on, SI.

My coffee’s cold.

Apparently the latest trend in NFL trading cards is to gather all of the newest entrants to the league together and make them do something stupid on camera.  Earlier this year we were treated to the Upper Deck NFL Rookie Touchdown Dance-Off.  Now, Topps is now getting into the game with the Topps NFL “Rookies Got Talent” Competition.

Here we see some of the highest-profile NFL rookies – including Mark Sanchez, Matt Stafford, Kenny Britt & Knowshawn Moreno – show off their hidden talents . Most of these are pretty stupid, but check out the amazing display of hand speed by Giants WR Hakeem Nicks … I can only assume it’s a trick, but if not, my man’s got some ridiculous hand-eye coordination.

Meanwhile, while all this it taking place, 32 of 36 first round draft choices remain unsigned.  Ah, priorities.

“While we in no way condone Antonio’s decision to be in a nightclub in Manhattan less than two days before a game, we cannot understand the DA’s position that Antonio is subject to criminal charges. When this incident occurred, Antonio reacted out of concern for the health and well-being of Plaxico Burress. His first priority was to make sure Plaxico received proper medical attention for what very well could have been a life-threatening wound. There was no criminal intent on the part of Antonio, who was thrust into this predicament simply because he accompanied Plaxico that evening and because he made the decision to immediately take Plaxico to the hospital. We believe it is unwarranted for the DA’s office to press criminal charges against Antonio under these circumstances.”

By Ralph Vacchiano on July 28, 2009 2:57 PM | Comments (18)

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/2009/07/mara-charges-against-pierce-un.html#ixzz0MbjSzzia

Hey, Nicks and Irvin BOTH wore #88 too! Cosmic, man. Cosmic. (Photo: Newsday.com)

Or, at least so says his former coach at North Carolina, Butch Davis.  And Davis just might know something about the subject, since he was also on the Dallas Cowboys staff from 1989-1994, when Irvin was doing tons of blow in his prime:

Davis had this to say of the New York Giants 1st round pick [New York Daily News ]:

“You don’t want to put this burden on a kid coming into his rookie year, but a lot of his physical attributes are very similar to Michael Irvin,” Davis said. “Hakeem is big, he’s physical, he catches the ball over the middle, and he’s got that ability to play physical when people are draped all over him as they’re going to be in the National Football League.”

He even said the 6-1, 210-pound Nicks has “as good a set of hands catching the ball as anybody I’ve ever been around.” And he’s been around receivers such as Irvin, Andre Johnson, Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne.

Irvin says the comparison should be good for Hicks, and gives him something to live up to in his career.

Let’s just hope that Nicks doesn’t also stab a teammate over a haircut and get arrested for felony cocaine posession, too.  Because that would suck.