A video preview of the game:

Talk about two teams heading south in a hurry and needing a win. That is clearly the case this week at the Meadowlands, and it's not even the Jets who are in action!

The New York Giants have dropped four in a row after jumping out of the gate 5-0, and the Atlanta Falcons have not been too stellar of late either, losing a lot of their 2008/early 2009 swagger while also falling to 5-4.

Dropping to .500 and in the process losing an all-important tiebreaker to an NFC opponent is what is on the line here. How can the visiting Falcons avoid such a situation?

Key Matchups

Matt Ryan vs. Giants defense

There aren't many bigger Ryan fans than me, as the kid has a Hall of Fame upside. Last season, from the first pass he threw in this league, which turned out to be a long touchdown to Michael Jenkins, all the way through the end of the year, the former Boston College star showed he was a force to be reckoned with.

But something has happened of late, and Ryan is just not the same guy. Is he hurt? Has he lost his confidence? Is the offensive line not blocking as well? I don't have a hard answer to any of this, but the quarterback's passes are all of a sudden sailing way too far, and that is leading to way too many interceptions.

Now the Falcons go to the windy and cold Meadowlands against one of the better pass rushing teams in the league and more than likely will be without the bulk of their ground game thanks to Michael Turner's high ankle sprain.

At some point I do believe Ryan will blossom and prove to be borderline great once again, but I'm really not sure how this can be that spot. Maybe if his offensive linemen can play the games of their lives and slow down Osi Yumeiora, Justin Tuck and others, Ryan will regain a little confidence and have an improved game this week.

The Atlanta signal caller, even with the poor play of late, still has that special quality to him and that still gives him and his mates a puncher's chance in this tough spot.

Falcons first drive vs. Giants psyche

No matter how bad it has been of late for the Falcons, they still seem to come out of the gate flying high. Atlanta had scored touchdowns in their opening drives against Dallas, New Orleans and Washington and last week kicked a field goal against Carolina. That makes it four straight games with points on the board before the other team, and while it only led to a 1-3 mark in those games, it could be very important this time.

The Giants are a team that might be a little mentally frail right now. They have not won a game in about six weeks and are coming off a bye -- which more than likely will be a good thing -- but there's always that chance that coach Tom Coughlin worked the team a little too hard for too long and they are just mentally spent.

If the visitors can come in and shove it down the G-Men's throats right off the bat, than we could see the Men in Blue crumble just a bit. A confident team that has won a lot would brush off a slow start, but a struggling team that has lost some confidence may implode enough to continue the downward spiral.

Falcons running attack vs. Giants defense

The injury to Turner has cast a lot of doubt in my mind on the Falcons' chances this week. New York is preparing for "The Burner," but anybody who knows anything about high ankle sprains understands this injury is normally at the bare minimum three to four weeks, if not more like six. It literally can be worse than a break.

With Turner, Atlanta can run the ball and wreak a little havoc on the ground. But without him and possibly once again without Jerious Norwood, things are going to be extremely difficult for the rushing attack and therefore the passing attack, as we all know how the run opens up the pass.

Aaron Stecker was just resigned after getting cut the week before and would back up Jason Snelling. I do love the way Snelling has been running in relief, but let's be honest here: He is not a feature back and probably should not be getting more than 20 or so carries ever in a game right now after recently having an injury himself and not being in tip-top shape.

The Falcons will have no choice but to try and run the ball no matter who is lining up in the backfield. They can't throw Ryan to the wolves and just have him hurl the pill every down, as that would be a failing strategy for sure.

It's a desperate battle of atrition type of a situation for the Falcons, but with the Giants having lost four in a row and a lot of confidence, an Atlanta victory is still a possibility.

--JUSTIN HANOVER