5 Bold Predictions for the New York Giants' Week 6 Matchup

The New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles clash Sunday night in what promises to be another great game in the history of this rivalry. The Giants are hot right now on a three-game win streak, during which they've averaged 35 points-per-game. The Eagles sit in first place with a 4-1 record but have been very inconsistent so far this season.

The Giants started off very slow, and it looked like Eli Manning and new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo were on the verge of being run out of town. However, things started to click in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Even though the Giants lost that game, it showed the potential Manning has in this offense. Since the Detroit game in Week 1, Manning has completed 69 percent of his passes, making all the people who mocked his 70 percent goal second-guess themselves. 

The defense has played very well so far this year, led by a reinvigorated Jason Pierre-Paul. JPP has only 1.5 sacks on the season, but his presence goes well beyond his pass rushing. He has been an absolute force in the run game and was simply unblockable in the second half of the Atlanta game.

The defense also sports one of the top secondaries in the league, ranking first in interceptions with eight.

The Giants are playing playoff-caliber football right now and look to keep it going against a bitter divisional rival. They may very well be the best team that no one is talking about right now. Ironically enough, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Giants are the best overall team in the league right now with a combined offensive and defensive grade of plus-79.9. 

Of course, numbers don't mean anything if you don't win games. If the Giants beat the Eagles, it would put the league on notice that the Giants are back and ready to make another playoff push. With all this in mind, here are five bold predictions (in order of most plausible to most insane) for the upcoming game. 

5. Jeremy Maclin Gets Shut Down by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

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The Giants secondary has been a weak point on their defense for a number of years. This led general manager Jerry Reese to break from his ways and spend big money in free agency to fix the problem. This fix came in the way of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. So far, the big money is paying off. 

After a rough outing against Calvin Johnson in the season opener, DRC shut down Larry Fitzgerald (two rec. for 16 yards), Andre Johnson (two rec. for six yards), DeSean Jackson (zero rec.) and Julio Jones (three rec. for 26 yards). He hasn't allowed a touchdown since Week 1 and has allowed only 47 percent of passes thrown his way to be completed, best in the league for corners with 30 or more passes thrown at them.

Jeremy Maclin has bounced back in a big way after missing last year with a torn ACL. He is far and away the Eagles' top receiver with 25 receptions for 429 yards and four touchdowns. He has been Nick Foles' favorite target this season, having been targeted at least 11 times in four games this year, according to Rotoworld.com.

This will be a fun battle to watch all evening as these two former teammates go head-to-head. They know each other's tendencies from all the time they spent in practice together, but in the end I expect DRC to get the better of Maclin, holding him to two receptions for 23 yards. 

 Of course, this is all assuming DRC is good to go this weekend since he is dealing with nagging injuries. 

*All stats retrieved from Pro Football Focus.

4. LeSean McCoy Will Top 100 Yards Rushing

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Normally this wouldn't be a bold prediction, but this season has been anything but normal for LeSean McCoy.

Last year's leading rusher averaged more than 100 rushing yards per game and totaled more than 2,100 yards from scrimmage. This season he has yet to reach 100 rushing yards in a game and is on pace for 1,093 yards from scrimmage. However, he will finally turn his fortunes around this week.

Since becoming the full-time starter in 2010, McCoy has been either very hot or cold against the Giants. In those eight games, he has four games where he topped 100 yards and three games where he failed to hit 50 yards. The Giants have had his number as of late, holding him under 50 yards in both meetings last year.

However, the Giants may still be missing starting middle linebacker Jon Beason, who has missed the past three games with a foot injury. While the Giants have been making due without Beason, this just seems like the perfect opportunity for McCoy to get back on track.

He is still one of the most dangerous running backs in the league, and all he needs is one little crack in the defense to exploit. Look for him to get around 110 yards on the ground.

3. The Giants Will Have 2 100-Yard Receivers

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It was a slow start to the season, but the Giants offense is finally firing on all cylinders. Better yet, their receiver corps just got more dangerous with the debut of first-round rookie Odell Beckham Jr. A trio of pass-catchers will have a golden opportunity to shine against an Eagles secondary that has mostly struggled in coverage.

With Beckham in the lineup, this receiver corps poses a "pick your poison" kind of scenario for opposing secondaries. We saw last week the explosiveness Beckham has, having 44 yards on four catches as well as drawing three penalties, including a 26-yard pass interference call.

With Rueben Randle emerging as a consistent target and Victor Cruz playing the role of the savvy veteran, there is a lot to be happy about as a Giants fan.

The Eagles starting corners, Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams, have had a rough start to the season, especially Williams. Both players currently have a negative coverage grade per Pro Football Focus, coming in at minus-0.5 and minus-3.7, respectively. Safety Nate Allen has struggled as well, having a coverage grade of minus-4.3. The secondary as a whole has allowed 13 touchdown passes, most in the league. 

One player Eagles fans are hoping gets more playing time is Brandon Boykin, how holds a plus-5.3 coverage grade but has played about a quarter the amount of snaps the starters have. The coverage scheme will likely have Williams on Cruz, Fletcher on Randle and Boykin on Beckham. 

The Giants haven't had multiple 100-yard receivers in the same game since Week 1 last year against Dallas, when Cruz, Randle and Hakeem Nicks all went over the century mark. I expect that streak to end this week as I see Cruz and Randle each topping 100 yards. 

2. Nick Foles and Eli Manning Will Combine for at Least 650 Yards

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Eli Manning and Nick Foles look like the complete opposites of their 2013 selves. After throwing 27 interceptions and only 18 touchdowns last year, Manning is on pace for 35 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He has finally adapted to the West Coast offense, and with the trio of receivers mentioned in the last slide, this has the potential to be a potent offense. 

Foles had a season to remember last year, throwing 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Things haven't been quite as smooth this year, having eight touchdowns and five interceptions. Despite his struggles, they are tied for first in the league with 156 points scored.

The Eagles do have a dangerous cadre of receiving weapons as well with Maclin, Riley Cooper, Jordan Matthews, Brent Celek and Zach Ertz. 

This game has the potential to be a shootout. The Eagles and Giants defenses have given up the fourth- and eight-most passing yards per game, respectively. If both these quarterbacks come out hot, it could be quite the offensive showing. Expect Foles to have 323 yards and Manning to have 341 yards.

1. The Eagles Offense Will Have More Turnovers Than Touchdowns

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The fact that this game could turn into a shootout bodes well for this prediction and for the Giants secondary. The Giants have 10 turnovers on the season so far with eight interceptions and two fumble recoveries (four forced fumbles). They also have allowed only five passing touchdowns, second-fewest in the league. 

The two leaders for the Giants when it comes to turnover opportunities are Antrel Rolle and Trumaine McBride. Rolle is following up a Pro Bowl season where he got six interceptions by having two picks and a forced fumble through five weeks. McBride is making sure he isn't the forgotten man in this secondary by having one pick and two forced fumbles. 

The Giants corners match up well with the Eagles receivers. They will probably give up some yardage throughout the evening, but this year's defense has been all about bending and not breaking. I expect the Giants to have two interceptions and two forced fumbles while the Eagles muster three touchdowns (two for Foles, one for McCoy).