Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano is on the permanent hot seat. His dismissal is all but assured thanks to his team's 9-game losing streak spanning two seasons.

Sparano claims he put his house up for sale earlier this week because he and his wife are downsizing thanks to their newly empty nest, but if the Dolphins lay another egg on Sunday, he might not need to bother with buying another home in South Florida.

This week, the Dolphins take their second trip to MetLife in three games, this time to face the NFC East Division-leading New York Giants. The Dolphins are in quite a conundrum. Lose, and it could be curtains for Tony. Win, and face scorn from the fanbase hoping for a chance to draft Stanford QB Andrew Luck in the 2012 NFL Draft.

When the Dolphins have the ball: For Miami, the story is the same as it has been the entire season: the Dolphins can move the ball, but for some reason can't put the ball in the end-zone. The Dolphins rank 18th in offense in yardage, but 30th in points scored. To no one's surprise, Matt Moore has not lit the world on fire in relief of Chad Henne, out for the year after separating his shoulder three weeks ago in San Diego.

New York's banged up defense could get a lift on Sunday, as DE Justin Tuck and CB Prince Amukamara are expected to return after missing time due to injuries. New York sports a pair of DEs with 12.5 sacks between them, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul. Miami will have to contain both if they have any hope of winning.

When the Giants have the ball: Lost in the train wreck that was the last five minutes of the Broncos game was the fact that Miami's defense actually played an impressive game up to that point. Of course, that might have been more a reflection of Tim Tebow's struggles throwing a pass that does not sail over his receivers' heads than anything the Dolphins did.

Miami cannot depend on inept opposing quarterback play this week. Eli Manning leads the NFL's sixth-best passing attack, averaging 296 yards a game. Compounding the tough task facing the Dolphins defense, New York gets RB Brandon Jacobs back from injury, which could give life to the Giants' anemic rushing game (currently ranked 30th in the NFL).

If Miami wants to slow down New York, they will have to pressure Manning. In the Giants' two losses, he was sacked 3 and 4 times, in part forcing Manning into a combined 4 interceptions. Of course, the Dolphins managed to sack Tebow 6 times last week, and we saw how much good that did.

Who has the edge? The Dolphins don't have the edge on any team at this point (unless the winless Colts or Rams are their opponent, which will not happen this year). Miami's only hope is that New York looks ahead to its upcoming brutal schedule (with games against New England, San Francisco, New Orleans and Green Bay looming) and lets a winnable game slip away. The biggest question facing the Dolphins this week is whether Sparano will be fired after yet another loss.

Reality check of the week: "You are what you put on tape, you are what the numbers say you are and right now we stink." -Kevin Burnett

The Pick: Giants 28-Dolphins 9

Details: Miami Dolphins (0-6) at New York Giants (4-2)
TV: CBS, 1:00 p.m., Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf
Line: Giants by 10
Previously: Giants won 13-10 in London in 2007