The Giants, fresh off a Week 14 waxing of the Saints, get a chance to make another statement on Sunday against the NFC's "best" team when they take on the 11-2 Atlanta Falcons.

But they'll be doing it without their starting running back, as the team ruled out Ahmad Bradshaw on Friday. With Andre Brown already on injured reserve, the onus to produce a running game will be placed on rookie David Wilson, who gets the start for New York.

"It would have been a reach for him to be ready,” Coughlin said of Bradshaw. "With someone like that, his constitution, you have to give him every benefit of the doubt. I’m sure he’d be disappointed right now. He thinks come game day it’s all going to straighten out for him. In this case, it’s, medically, really the only wise move."

Wilson had a monster game against New Orleans, becoming the first player in NFL history to have 200-plus kick-return yards and 100-plus rushing yards in a single game.

His emergence was particularly impressive considering that a costly Week 1 fumble put the rook squarely in Tom Coughlin's doghouse.

The Giants are going to have an uphill battle in other areas as well, though. Safeties Kenny Phillips and Tyler Sash and cornerback Prince Amukamara will also be missing from the lineup, having been ruled out Friday as well.

That will make New York's already suspect secondary even more vulnerable to a potentially explosive Falcons passing attack; CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco predicted a monster game for Atlanta wideout Julio Jones in the video above (I agreed) and it doesn't sound far-fetched at all.

Things could be a bit tougher for Atlanta than normal, however, as Roddy White, who's never missed a game in his eight-year NFL career, is questionable for Sunday's game having missed three-straight days of practice.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, subscribe to our RSS Feed watch Pro Football 360 daily at 3 p.m. ET and NFL newsletter. You can follow Will Brinson on Twitter here: @willbrinson.