An Inside Look at The Eagles Vs. Giants

This Sunday is a sports fan's dream. Green Bay fans are getting their chance to pay Favre his due for becoming a purple-nurple. The Jets are still smack-talking the Dolphins regardless of the fact that their big boys are on the injured list. Even the collective 1-11 Rams vs. Lions means at least one bottom-feeder team is going to feel better come Monday. And for you baseball fans, the World Series plays on.

But far from the least of these exciting battles includes the bi-annual meeting of NFC East Rivals: Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants. 

The 2008 Divisional Playoffs is when we last saw these two teams square off. The Giants had won the NFC Conference spot, and were the team to beat in the NFC. The Eagles, on the other hand, had squeaked into the playoffs on a prayer. It was such an unbelievable possibility that no priest would think to offer such a prayer; but someone out there did. And somehow, someway, it was answered resoundingly.

The stats and scoring in that Divisional game were very similar. McNabb had the better game without question, passing for 216 yds for one touchdown, while Manning looked out of sync, throwing for only 169 yds with no TD's. Each threw 2 interceptions.

A surprising shared statistic is that neither QB was sacked once. For as much as these teams can brag about their defensive front, nether side had much success. McNabb has been lucky in not getting sacked during the last couple of match-ups against New York, but I look for that to change this game.

During just the last two Eagles games McNabb was sacked 9 times. Considering their opponents (Raiders:6 sacks, Redskins:3) Umenyiora, Tuck, and the rest of the Giants D will be looking to put McNabb down at least as many times as the Redskins.

On the Green side defensive, you want QB pressure of course, a sack or two probably, but more importantly I think the Eagles should be able to force Eli into a few bad throws which will equate to big turnovers. The Eagles already have 12 interceptions this year, that's two per game; and have given only 4.

Both quarterbacks have struggled the last few weeks. Manning threw an uncharacteristic 3 interceptions last week, meanwhile McNabb came back firing a few weeks ago from injury, but he has not looked the same since. He threw a long touchdown last week to Jackson, but did not score two weeks ago against the Raiders. 

Eagles fans should hope that the Giants continue the recent trend of pass first, run later. It has not worked! While Giants running back Brandon Jacobs had a decent game last week, many frustrated fans felt that they gave up on the run when there was nothing wrong with it.

When either of these teams are running the ball well they put up big points. In the playoff game the Giants outran Philly 138 yds to 59. However, McNabb was able to score on a short touchdown run, and the powerful NY running backs never found pay dirt.

Both teams are hurt in almost every position, and the run game is no exception. These teams are depending on the health of Brian Westbrook (PHI) and Ahmad Bradshaw(NYG) to get them through. Both are banged up and will be sharing their respective loads. Jacobs is scary in the trenches, but Eagles rookie LeSean McCoy can burn you in the open field.

I believe this game will come down to who can run the ball better. I don't mean the most yards because that didn't determine the winner last time. I mean better. The words of the Daft Punk song come to mind: Harder, Faster, Stronger. The team who wins on the ground of Lincoln Financial Field will win this game.

A last minute update that will certainly affect this game, NYG rookie WR Mario Manningham missed practice on Friday because of a hurt shoulder. He is listed as questionable.