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Giants (9-6-1) Philadelphia (13-3)
The Philadelphia Eagles fans where hoping to
see their team lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win over the New Orleans
Saints on New Year's day. That didn't happen when the Saints won 20-10.
The
New York Giants played on the same day, and their fans saw the Giants have a resounding
38-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts. That locked the Giants into the No 6. seed
in the playoffs. Philadelphia
Eagles
Last
year the Eagles finished second in the NFC East to the Dallas Cowboys, who won
the division. Both teams made it to the playoffs, and were one and done after
their wild card games. This year Philadelphia leads the division, and the 12-4
Cowboys are in second place. At 13-3 the Eagles are tied with the Kansas City
Chiefs, with both holding the best records of all the teams in the NFL.
The
Cowboys had lost one game to the Eagles, but then beat them two weeks ago. When
the Eagles took another loss, their hold on the No 1 seed was put at risk. Now
they must win this next game with the Giants to avoid the possibility of being
overtaken by the Cowboys for the NFC East Division title. Philadelphia
Eagles Offense
The
big question is will Jalen Hurts play in this very important game for the Eagles.
Hurts has been dealing with a right shoulder injury, and has missed the last two
games. Hurts is listed as questionable, but the Eagles have lost the last two
games playing without him. If Hurts can't play up to his full abilities, is it
worth risking having him on the field compared to having backup Gardner Minshew
play. We've seen the Eagles lose two games without Hurts, and a lot depends on
who the Giants sit. The Eagles can't afford to see Hurts taking hits, and his
mobility will be a major factor to consider.
Miles Sanders is the 5th ranked
running back in the league, and this season has logged a career high 1,236 rush
yards, and 11 rushing touchdowns. Sanders torched the Giants for 144 rushing yards,
averaging 8.5 yards a carry, and had 2 touchdowns in the last game they played.
Sanders gets an extra edge when Hurts is on the field, as opposing defenses have
to check which one who will be carrying the ball, and he hasn't had that the past
two weeks. The offense couldn't get things going last week, and top receiver A.J.
Brown caught only 4 of 9 passes, but he still came up with 97 yards thanks to
one catch he took 78 yards for a touchdown. UPDATE - Jalen Hurts will be the starter
for this game.. Philadelphia
Eagles Defense
They
brought all they could last week in an effort to get that important 14th win of
the season. They sacked New Orleans Saints quarterback Andy Dalton 6 times, intercepted
him once, and sacked Taysom Hill once. The Saints scored only one touchdown and
20 total points, but it was enough to beat an Eagles offense that could only score
10 points working without quarterback Jalen Hurts. It may sound like a lot of
sacks in one game, but this defense has recorded 6 or more sacks in each of the
last five games. They have a total 68 sacks this season, more than twice as many
as they had last year.
Their front four is responsible for 49 of them, and
Haason Reddick has the most with 16. Javon Hargrave, Brandon Graham, and Josh
Sweat each have 11. The Giants might have to measure how much they can substitute
offensive line players up against this group without being overwhelmed. The secondary
might be surprised to see how well the Giants receivers are playing, and maybe
this will be a chance for Kenny Golladay to surprise everyone. Giants
Offense
Daniel Jones has started all 16
games for the Giants this season, passing for 3,205 yards, and has 708 rushing
yards. He's taken the team to the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. The Giants are locked
into that spot and Jones can do no more to advance their position. Head coach
Brian Daboll has said he will do what's best for the team when asked about resting
some of his starters on Sunday. There's a chance that Tyrod Taylor will start
the game, and if not, it's very likely you will see him in for a major part of
it.
Unlike the backups the Giants fielded last year, Taylor actually started
53 games in his career, 43 of them with the Buffalo Bills from 2015-2017. During
that time he threw 51 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, and . Taylor also ran for
1,575 yards, and 14 touchdowns. Davis Webb may also get some playing time.
Saquon
Barkley is next on the list of starters who might be sidelined. Barkley has totaled
1,312 rushing yards this season,moving him past his previous career high of 1,307
yards set during his rookie year.
Expect to see more of Matt Breida in this
game than you have before. Breida came in last week in relief of Barkley, and
had 9 carries for 59 yards. Aside from Darius Slayton, who got a second chance
with the Giants this year, the rest of the wide receivers would likely be backups
on other teams. Head coach Brian Daboll has brought out the best in them, and
it will be interesting to see how the playing time is divided out. Giants
Defense
The Eagles will be coming at them
in full force. They have a lot to play for in this game, and will hope to jump
off to an early lead so they can coast the rest of the way, sitting their own
starters. Leonard Williams and Azeez Ojulari were both active last week to help
win the game that got the Giants into the playoffs, but with that settled, they
will be out for this game. It was thought that top cornerback Adoree Jackson could
be set to see action for the first time in weeks, but with the way things stand
as they do now with the Giants having nothing on the line, he might not play.
It could be a chance to see how his knee has recovered, but he's been listed as
doubtful.
Safety Xavier McKinney was back last week after missing seven games
due to his hand injury suffered during the bye week, and he recorded seven total
tackles. The Giants could use his efforts on the field, and additional playing
time in an inconsequential game might help him sharpen his skills for the following
week. Landon Collins was a good pick up for
the Giants, and has shown that he still has it. In the last two games when he
got good playing time, he was on the field nearly half the time against the Vikings,
and picked up his first sack, and last week against the Colts, he intercepted
a Nick Foles pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown. Collins will be eager
for as much playing time as he can get.
Overall
A few weeks ago all four teams in the NFC East had a shot at moving on to the
playoffs. Going into this last game of the regular season, three of them are already
in, and the Washington Commanders are out. There will be a lot of scoreboard watching,
as the NFL scheduled the teams to all play at the same time on Sunday. Coaches
for the Cowboys and Eagles will be eager to see when or if they can rest some
players as the games move along.
Washington, with nothing to play for, lines
up against the Cowboys, who with a win and an Eagles loss, will take the division
title. A Giants win or a loss against the Eagles means nothing to them, after
securing the the 6th seed playoff spot last week. The Giants only concern will
be on how to use their starters and backups, so they will be better prepared for
next week. NFC East Games
Sunday at 4:25pm Giants (9-6-1) at Eagles (13-3)
Sunday
at 4:25pm Cowboys (12-4) at Commanders (7-8-1)
The Cowboys and Eagles are
the NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Next Game
Jan
14/15 at TBD
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