Atlanta @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 16, 2012 ) N.Y. Giants 0, Atlanta 34

The mood around the New York Giants has lightened considerably over the past two weeks as the offense has started to come together and put points on the board. The Atlanta Falcons, who visit the Giants on Sunday, are trending in the opposite direction after losses in two of the last three weeks. The Falcons own the highest scoring offense in the NFC, averaging 32.8 points, but are down two offensive linemen and were carved up on defense last week.

Atlanta blasted Tampa Bay 56-14 in Week 3 but watched center Joe Hawley (knee) and safety William Moore (shoulder) go down with season-ending injuries at Minnesota last Sunday in a 41-28 setback. The line that is now missing Hawley as its anchor will be going up against a New York front seven that sacked Kirk Cousins twice and forced a pair of fumbles in a 45-14 drubbing of rival Washington last week. “You take your lumps early and you just keep improving, and consistently improving,” New York linebacker Jameel McClain told reporters. "…Those are all of the things that you expect from a good defense. If we can keep building off of that, we will keep getting dangerous."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Giants -4. O/U: 51

ABOUT THE FALCONS (2-2): Atlanta could also be without left guard Justin Blalock (back), who also left last week’s game and has been sidelined in practice all week. Quarterback Matt Ryan completed 77.6 percent of his passes in the Falcons’ two wins but had that number slip to 57.6 in the two losses – both of which came on the road. “First and foremost, we have to play better across the board in order to get the job done on the road,” Ryan told reporters. “I think we just need to be consistent across the board. We have to play the way that we are capable of.”

ABOUT THE GIANTS (2-2): Eli Manning and the New York offense were among the worst in the league in terms of taking care of the ball in 2013 and seemed to be carrying that over to 2014 with four interceptions in the first two weeks. Manning has turned things around with six TD passes and only one pick the last two weeks while completing over 73 percent of his passes. “We’ve just got to keep playing smart football,” Manning told reporters. “Can’t turn the ball over, we’ve got to run the ball, we’ve got to get the ball out quickly, find completions, get it to our playmakers and just have a great plan and go out there and execute.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Falcons WR Harry Douglas (foot) sat out last week and remains questionable.

2. Giants RB Rashad Jennings totaled 231 rushing yards in the last two games.

3. Atlanta DE Osi Umenyiora, who played nine seasons in New York, is getting his first crack at his former team.

PREDICTION: Falcons 35, Giants 24