The New York Giants put up 35 points and had 438 yards of offense in their opener, so everything must be A-OK for the G-Men, right?
Wrong.
New York was shredded by Dallas in dropping the opener, and the Giants will host Green Bay on Sunday afternoon possibly minus a few key starters who are nursing injuries. Running back Brandon Jacobs is for sure out, defensive end Osi Umenyiora, the team's best pass rusher, will be a game-time decision, and quarterback Eli Manning is questionable after separating his shoulder last week. The team has been rather cryptic this week about Manning's status, though he did practice with the first team some this week.
"No, I'm not confident," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said about Manning's likelihood of playing. "That isn't the key term. The key term is, 'How is he going to be in the morning and then what are the medical people going to say?"
If Manning can't go, Jared Lorenzen would get the call under center for his first NFL start. Lorenzen has a strong arm but is inexperienced. And at 6-foot-3, 300 pounds, the "hefty lefty" isn't very mobile.
Derrick Ward will start at tailback for New York in place of Jacobs; Ward carried 13 times for 89 yards against the Cowboys.
Meanwhile, Green Bay is coming off a bit of an ugly 16-13 win over the Eagles. Brett Favre wasn't great, only completing 54.8 percent of his throws against Philly. Green Bay didn't score an offensive touchdown and only rushed for 46 yards on 17 carries, a 2.7 yards per carry average. The 46 yards rushing tied Cleveland for the league low in Week 1.
"We're going to do a better job," said Brandon Jackson, a rookie out of Nebraska who had 40 of those yards rushing on 15 carries. "Coach is going to get on us, and we're going to go out and perform better."
Green Bay also has a few injury questions, mainly on offense, with running back Vernand Morency and receiver Greg Jennings questionable for Sunday.
The Packers haven't started a season 2-0 since 2001, while the Giants haven't started 0-2 since 1996.
The Giants are -2.5 on WagerWeb.com and they should handle Green Bay if Manning plays. If not, Green Bay's chances at an upset grow exponentially.
Bet on NFL Sunday at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook
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