The New York Giants welcome in John Fox and the Carolina Panthers Sunday for the last regular season game at GIANTS STADIUM. The Giants need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, and they will be emotionally charged by the pre-game and halftime ceremonies. The Panthers coming off a big win at home last week against the Minnesota Vikings will look to spoil the party as they play out their season.

New Giants Stadium

The Giants have gotten back to basics in the past few weeks. They have started pulling more linemen in the running game, and using the play action to get the ball to their young receiving corp for big plays. The Giants during their recent slump had relied more on the running backs to find the hole or create the hole to run through, Tom Coughlin wanted to put the power back into the power running game and made the necessary changes. They now have 5 tight ends on the roster, bringing in a little youth and enthusiasm, and lining up in more double tight end formations than they had previously. With Brandon Jacobs, two tight ends, and Madison Hedgecock at fullback, the running game has returned, making defenses fill the box with linebackers and safeties. Eli Manning has been tremendous the past three weeks checking into weak side runs, and using play action to freeze those line backers and safeties and completing a high percentage of passes for nice gains to keep the chains moving. As has always been said about Giants football, you run the ball first to be successful, but you need balance to keep teams honest. The Giants seem to have found that balance in recent weeks, and have started their push toward the playoffs.

Tom Coughlin has told this team they are now in a single elimination tournament. Although mathematically the Giants could lose a game and still qualify for the playoffs, they prefer to view it as the playoffs beginning last Monday night in Washington. They have challenged themselves from that point to win every game. Their belief is that they are in the same position as they were in their Super Bowl season of 2007. They need to win 6 more games. Very simple. Win 6 more games and you will be World Champions. Keeping the focus on one game at a time, win or go home, helps keep the urgency and the concentration at the highest level possible.

The Giants will end their run at the current Giants Stadium after 34 years. They plan on celebrating at halftime by bringing back the most beloved, most feared, and best defensive player to ever play in the NFL. The Original and only LT. Hall of Fame line backer Lawrence Taylor will be celebrated at halftime. The tears and goose bumps will be many as the Giants show a video tribute to the great players and great teams that called the stadium home. Many of the former players will be on the sidelines that day, a fitting tribute to a great place to watch football. I personally have many great memories of the stadium, ranging from George Martin returning an Elway interception in 1986 to the NFC Championship game against the Vikings in 2000.

The Giants have hosted two NFC championships in the great building, shutting out both the Redskins (17-0) and the Vikings (41-0). We were also lucky to see the entire careers of men like L.T. and Phil Simms play out in front of us. Phil Simms always said the advantage he had over visiting quarterbacks was he knew he was going to have a bad day, they had to learn the hard way. The wind and the defense gave us a distinct home field advantage, and no doubt it will continue in the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Game Info and Predictions

Carolina Panthers at New York Giants

• Panthers-Giants Date: Sunday, December 27
• Panthers-Giants Kickoff Time: 1:00
• Panthers-Giants TV Network: FOX
• Panthers-Giants Announcers: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
• Panthers-Giants Point Spread: Giants -6.5
• Panthers-Giants Over-Under Odds: 42.5

Kurt Fraschetti- As good as the Panthers looked last week while beating down the Vikings, I feel that there are too many factors stacked in the Giants favor this Sunday.  I am taking the Giants – 6 1/2.

Jerod Morris-MidwestSportsfans.com-Wow, the Giants looked good on Monday night, didn’t they? It is certainly tempting to an expect a similar performance this week, but I don’t totally trust their defense yet. Washington played horribly and I’m not sure that we got a true reading on a Giants team that has really struggled the second half of this season. I think New York will win, but Carolina runs the ball well enough and can contain Eli Manning enough to keep this one close. Panthers-Giants free pick: Panthers +6.5

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Joe Tufaro / ProFootballinsight