Giants vs. Eagles Week 3: Breaking Down the Crucial Divisional Matchup

The Giants and Eagles square off this Sunday in what could be a pivotal game in deciding the winner of the NFC East. If Michael Vick is going to play as expected, Philadelphia will come in as the heavy favorites at home. These two teams have both shown signs of success and struggle through the first two weeks. The Giants continue to play down to the level of their opponents, and the Eagles don’t look nearly as dominant as they deemed themselves this pre-season.

The Eagles have the advantage at home.  The Giants will be out to prove they have what it takes to overcome injuries and make a serious playoff run.

3. Special Teams

The last time the Eagles and Giants met, Matt Dodge punted the ball to DeSean Jackson and ended the Giants season. This time, Dodge is gone, and veteran punter Steve Weatherford has taken over for New York. Expect the Giants to avoid the Eagles’ special teams play-makers as they try to win the field position battle for four quarters.

The Eagles have a rookie kicker in Alex Henery, the most accurate kicker in NCAAFB history. The Giants are leaning on veteran Lawrence Tynes, who missed his only field goal attempt of 2011. If this game comes down to kicking, the Giants will be happy to be in that position on the road.

The Giants lost their best return guy in Domenik Hixon for the season to a torn ACL. It will be interesting to see who they call on in Week 3 as they haven’t had a dynamic return specialist in years.

2. When the Giants Have the Ball

The Giants offensive line still doesn’t appear to be clicking as a unit. They missed several blocks in Week 2 that forced Eli to make hurried decisions. However, the interception he threw in the first quarter was inexcusable. Mario Manningham had his man beat for an easy score, but instead, he literally threw away six points.

The running game has shown signs of life, but isn’t where Giants fans expected it to be following an impressive pre-season. It seems as though Kevin Gilbride and the Giants coaching staff are still unsure of when to use each of their featured running backs. It will be interesting to see how this develops against a mediocre Eagles front-seven. Both Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs will be in line for big days.

The Eagles have one of the best secondaries in the league so they’ll force Eli to beat them through the air. Jacobs and Bradshaw can make this a lot easier on their quarterback if they can get going early. The Giants’ success on the ground will likely determine their fate this Sunday. They’ll need to set up the play-action and keep Michael Vick off of the field.

1. When the Eagles Have the Ball

The Giants secondary is their greatest flaw. The loss of Terrell Thomas has been evident in each of the first two weeks as Corey Webster is barely keeping up with teams’ best wide receivers. He’ll be matching up with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin in Week 3 so he’ll likely cushion these guys at the line. That means that he’ll need to make his tackles to prevent any big plays on quick passes.

Osi Umenyiora probably won’t be ready for Sunday, but the Giants pass rush will bring the noise. They know that Vick is coming off a concussion and they know they need to get to him to force turnovers and big plays on defense. If they can get to Vick early, they’ll have a chance to neutralize Vick the way they did for three quarters during their final meeting of 2010.

There is no question that the Eagles have an arsenal of play-makers. The Giants young defense will have trouble matching up. They will only find success if they can force turnovers.

Prediction: Eagles 31, Giants 27

This should be a closer game then a lot of people think. I just don’t see the Giants pulling off the upset if Vick is healthy at home.

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