With the disaster in Arizona behind them, the Philadelphia Eagles look to get back on track against the hated New York Giants. The Giants, coming off of a 36-7 dominating win over the Carolina Panthers, would like nothing more than to send their division rivals into a tailspin Sunday night. The Eagles better be ready to play this game, or it could get ugly in South Philadelphia.
Eagles Offense vs. Giants Defense:
Michael Vick has taken some severe criticism from Philadelphia fans this week. Some of it is justified because Vick cannot take care of the ball; but Andy Reid has done him no favors by refusing to run the football. The Eagles offense, to the surprise of no one, has become completely one dimensional because of hideous play calling. If the Eagles want to be effective against a tough Giants defense, they will have to start mixing things up.
The Eagles offensive line must start clicking if they expect to stop the Giants front seven, led by defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. Last week, the Cardinals gave the battered offensive line fits throughout the entire game. If the Eagles don’t start winning the battles in the trenches, Michael Vick will continue to find himself on the ground over 20 times per game.
One injury note, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin is set to return Sunday night, which should aid the Eagles sloppy passing game.
Edge: Giants
Eagles Defense vs. Giants Offense
At this time last year, I professed my dislike of Eli Manning because I thought that the Super Bowl championship was a fluke and that he was overrated. Well, here we are a year later, and I still don’t like Eli Manning. However, I do acknowledge that I was wrong in saying that he was overrated. He proved once again that he is one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the playoffs last year.
Turning the focus back to this game, it is clear that Eli Manning and the Giants have an edge over the embattled Eagles defense. Third year receiver Victor Cruz will have to take control because of the injury to Hakeem Nicks. Last year, Cruz had his coming out party in a 29-16 victory over the Eagles in Philadelphia.
The Eagles secondary will be trying to recover from an embarrassing performance last week in Arizona. The problem is that Eli Manning is a better quarterback than Kevin Kolb. I don’t expect the Eagles to fare much better this week than they did last week on defense.
Edge: Giants
Prediction: Giants 24 Eagles 13
The Giants are coming into this game on fire while the Eagles are trying to pick up the pieces from last week. As I said in my recap of last week’s game, if the Eagles win this game, then all of the criticism of Michael Vick and Andy Reid will disappear. Heck, a lot of fans will be predicting the Eagles to win the Super Bowl if they win this game. However, I do not think the Eagles will win. Turnovers have plagued this team all year and there is no sign of that changing anytime soon. It’s tough, but I see the Giants winning.