Eagles-Giants Divisional Round Preview and Prediction
The Giants must be getting a little nervous.
Being the home team and the favorite in this year’s NFL Playoffs has not provided the advantage one might expect. The Titans turned the ball over twice inside the redzone in their loss against the Ravens while the Panthers and Jake Delhomme turned the ball over pretty much every time they had it.
In today’s early game, the Philadelphia Eagles travel to New York to play the GIants. The NFC East rivals split their two meeting earlier this year, and most people have been pointing to this game as the marquee matchup of the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.
Below is a quick breakdown of this weekend’s Eagles-Giants NFC Divisional Round playoff game:
Philadelphia Eagles (10-6-1) at New York Giants (12-4)
- Sunday, January 11, 2009
- TV Schedule: 1:00 ET on FOX
- Announcer Pairing: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Pam Oliver
- Point Spread: New York Giants -4 1/2
- Over-Under Odds: 40
Let’s run down some of the quick keys to the game real game, taken straight off the top of my head:
First, it is imperative that the Giants be able to establish a consistent passing game. Eli Manning and the passing attack of the Giants has been wildly inconsistent since Plaxico Burress was suspended following the infamous incident in which he shot himself in the leg. If you haven’t seen the hidden camera footage of the incident, or the untold story of how Plaxico was actually trying to shoot Tiki Barber, reported by Flash Sports Tonight, it’s rather interesting:
(BTW, if you can’t see the video, just head over to the FST website and watch it there.)
Anyway, guys like Domenik Hixon and Amani Toomer are going to have step up and give Eli Manning consistent targets on 3rd down — and catch the ball. Hixon has had trouble shaking the dropsies, and will need to correct that for the Giants to be able to threaten the Eagles defense in multiple ways. We know the Giants will be able to run the ball, and they have Brandon Jacobs back healthy and ready to play, but they will need balance against the Eagles D and Jim Johnson, who are playing at an extremely high level right now.
On the flip side, Philadelphia’s offense needs to be balanced as well. It goes without saying that Brian Westbrook needs to stay healthy and play the entire game for Philly to have a chance. He is the motor that makes the Eagles go and provides a dynamic threat to any defense. But he can’t beat a team like the Giants all by himself. The Eagles will throw the ball, and they will throw it a lot, and they need to threaten the Giants downfield to open up the inside running and short passes to Westbrook out of the backfield. For this to happen, Donovan McNabb needs to be accurate and they need a big game from DeSean Jackson.
A couple quick links to give you more info and better analysis that I’m capable of providing:
Giants-Eagles Preview — (Pat Kirwan, NFL.com)
Giants D-Line must pressure McNabb — (Thomas George, NFL.com)
And now, before I give you my prediction, chime in with yours:
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Now, it’s time to offer up a prediction that you can take to the bank to be absolutely and terribly wrong.
The Giants have been an outstanding team all year long, and obviously have the better pedigree having won the Super Bowl last year. Philadelphia always seems to be that team that is just dangerous enough to win some games in the playoffs, but never can quite get over the hump. I like how Philly’s D is playing, and the fact that Brian Westbrook appears healthy and is providing that dynamic running/receiving threat gives them a fighting chance.
But I’m going with the defending champs. Having Brandon Jacobs back means that the great trio of Jacobs-Ward-Bradshaw and can pound away at the Eagles D and take some pressure off of Eli Manning and his undermanned received corps. I think the threat of the run, combined with play-action, will allow Eli to spread the ball around effectively to Hixon, Toomer, Steve Smith, and Kevin Boss.
I agree with Pat Kirwan of NFL.com and pretty much everyone else who thinks that this game will go down the final drive and be an outstanding, exciting viewing experience. In the end, I like the Giants to make the one or two plays that will decide the game, and to ride their running back trio into the NFC Championship game next week.
New York Giants 24 | Philadelphia Eagles 20
Maybe next year Cowboys fans. But this weekend, you’ll have to watch the two best, most consistent, and most well-run franchises in the NFC East duke it out. And it should be one hell of a game to watch.
Tags: new york giants, nfl playoffs, Philadelphia Eagles
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Nice writeup on the game. I’m leaning with the Eagles in a lower scoring game, with both defenses so familiar with the offenses, reports of gusty conditions for the game, and Philadelphia coming through under so much pressure over the last two months just to get to this point.
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