SHOW ME THE LATEST: Attractions Broadway Concerts Health Hotels Nightlife Parks Restaurants Shopping Sports Tours Sports News

How Did the Giants Get Here?

What a long, strange trip it's been for the New York Giants in 2011. The back-and-forth, up-and-down rollercoaster season has spit the Giants out in the NFC Championship Game, where they will head to San Francisco to take on the 49ers with a chance to return to the Super Bowl.

But how have the Giants landed here, as one of the last four teams left with a shot at the Lombardi Trophy? Let's recap the strange season for the New York Giants in 2011: 

• A week one loss on the road to the Washington Redskins provided an inauspicious start for the Giants. Losing to a divisional foe in week one is bad enough, but losing to the lowly Washington Redskins is even worse. The 28-14 loss, which included an Eli Manning pick-six to rookie Ryan Kerrigan, did not give Giants fans much optimism for the season.
• A three-game win streak rectified the wrong created by the Giants' opening week loss. A home win against St. Louis and a road win at Philadelphia gave Giants' fans big hopes, but a come-from-behind win at Arizona created some room for doubt about the team's ability to play consistent football. It would be a trend in 2011.
• A home loss against Seattle started spelling trouble for the Giants. Losing to Charlie Whitehurst at home is about as bad as it gets.
• The Giants rattled off three more wins after the Seattle loss. Two close wins against Buffalo and Miami, both at home and by a combined total of 6 points, put the Giants into first place in the NFC East and set up a huge matchup with the New England Patriots. The Giants would go to New England and win, 24-20, after Eli Manning found Jake Ballard for the game-winning touchdown in the final minute. The win put the Giants at 6-2 at the midway point of the season.
• Five consecutive losses was certainly a setback for the Giants. A road loss to San Francisco was excusable, but the terrible display at home against the Eagles the following week was not. The Giants followed that up with an awful Monday night performance in New Orleans. But the team almost handed the Packers its first loss of the season on December 4, losing 38-35 in the last minute of the game.
• The losing streak ended in Dallas with a 37-34 victory that put the Giants in the NFC East driver's seat. Jason Pierre-Paul blocked a field goal at the end of the game to give Big Blue the win.
• A loss at home against Washington nearly ended the Giants' playoff hopes. Enough said.
• The Giants needed to win their last two games of the season, and they did. They beat down the fading Jets in a road game at MetLife Stadium, and then soundly defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the last game of the regular season. The win gave the Giants the NFC East and moved them into the playoffs.
• Wins against the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers, both in dominant fashion, have given many fans the belief that the Giants can use the last-season momentum to capture another Super Bowl.

Photo Credits: Nhat V. Meyer/San Jose Mercury News/MCT