Game Preview
Baltimore Ravens at New York Giants
sunday, november 16, 2008 - 1:00 pm
*Giants seek 9-1 start against Ravens*
Baltimore (6-3) at NY Giants (8-1), 1:00 pm EST
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The New York Giants have been hammering opponents with their "Earth, Wind and Fire" backfield.
On Sunday, the league's best rushing offense faces the top run defense as the Giants seek a 9-1 start when they host the surprising Baltimore Ravens.
New York quarterback Eli Manning has been been good - but hardly great - during the Giants' four-game winning streak, passing for under 200 yards in each contest.
However, Brandon Jacobs, all 260 pounds of him, has emerged as a nearly unstoppable force. He rushed for 126 yards in last week's 36-31 win in Philadelphia, his second straight 100-yard game and fourth of the season.
The Giants' offense may not be pretty, but it has been effective. New York has not been 9-1 since starting 10-0 during its 1990 Super Bowl season.
"We're just playing good football," Manning said. "We're not making a whole lot of mistakes. In football, you're going to make mistakes, you're going to have some bad days, but we're overcoming them more quickly. We're not getting down. We're hanging in there, and when the game gets going, we are eliminating a lot of mistakes."
The Ravens (6-3) have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 28 straight games, a streak that could be in jeopardy this week.
Baltimore is yielding only 65.4 yards per game on the ground, but it has not faced an offense as efficient as the Giants, who have rushed for more than 200 yards in each of their last two games.
The big story for the Ravens, however, has been the steady play of rookie quarterback Joe Flacco, who has energized a stagnant offense. Baltimore also enters Sunday's contest with a four-game winning streak.
Flacco has gone four games without an interception and is spearheading an offense that is averaging an NFL-best 33.5 points during the last four games.
Flacco passed for 185 yards and two touchdowns in last week's 41-13 win over the Houston Texans that lifted the Ravens into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh in the AFC North.
Baltimore has increased its output in each of the past four weeks - scoring 27, 29, 37 and 41 points. It marks the first time in franchise history that the Ravens have scored at least 27 points in four straight games.
However, the Ravens also faced some of the worst defenses in the league - Miami, Oakland, Cleveland and Houston.
That is about to change, as Flacco could get a baptism under fire against the defending Super Bowl champion.
It's going to be a huge challenge," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, whose team will face all four NFC East clubs over the final seven weeks of the season.