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Giants - Eagles Game 13 preview

Giants (11-1) vs Philadelphia (6-5-1).
The Eagles really enjoyed Thanksgiving this year. They played at home and feasted on the Cardinals 48-20. Donovan McNabb threw four touchdown passes and Brian Westbrook tied a team record by scoring four touchdowns. Playing on a Thursday gives them a few extra days to prepare for their next game against the Giants. If the players didn't go easy on their holiday leftovers, they may have gotten a small dose of indigestion watching the Giants smoothly defeat the Redskins on Sunday 23-7. Eli Manning threw for 305 yards, without Plaxico Burress, completing five passes each to three different receivers, and the defense held Clinton Portis to a season-low 22 yards.

The state of the Eagles
Coming off their easy win, they probably wish things were like they were back 2001 when the Cardinals were still part of the NFC East fold as for this season they have lost to the Cowboys, Redskins and Giants. That's three big division losses for any team trying to achieve their usual first goal of the season, getting to the playoffs as champs or via wildcard. A loss to the Giants, and the Eagles would have a 6-6-1 record, all tied up so to speak. They could soon be looking at one of the usual secondary goals teams shoot for if the palyoffs drift off the table - finishing up with an overall winning record. To put things simply for the folks and some of the players who don't grasp the win-loss-tie concept, a loss to the Giants means the Eagles would then have to win two of their last three games played against Cleveland, Washington, or Dallas to achieve a winning record.

The state of the Giants.
There were plenty of distractions with the whole Plaxico Burress situation, but the Giants handled it well in last week's game against Washington. Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the right thigh with a handgun he brought to a Manhattan nightclub last weekend and was charged with two counts of illegal weapons possession. Plaxico faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted and will not be back with the Giants this season. Plaxico has been suspended by the Giants for four weeks and he was placed on the Non-Football Injury list, ending his season. Antonio Pierce, who was with Plaxico at the time, was questioned about his involvement and is expected to play in this game against the Eagles.

Eagles - Offense.
They had it going strong for themselves in that last game against the Cardinals. Brain Westbrook, despite nursing knee and ankle injuries, had his best game of the season. He had 22 carries for 110 yards and scored 2 touchdowns rushing and another 2 catching. Westbrook and running back Correll Buckhalter (knee) still are missing practices. They will be up against a Giants defense that held Westbrook to only 26 yards on 13 carries in their game just less than a month ago. That's about the average this tough defense has given up in their last 3 games against the opposing teams starting running backs since then. Donovan McNabb has the second lowest career interception percentage in NFL history, but they are coming more frequently these days. His play against the Cardinals was impressive, but they have the league's worst pass defense, having given up 26 touchdown passes.

Eagles - Defense.
Their blitz-happy defense that's ranked third in the NFL with 39 sacks has an extra edge now in their second match against the Giants. You almost always had to double-team Plaxico Burress and now he's out of the picture. This defense is overall ranked seventh in the NFL and more impressively ranked third in the league on third down defense. Last time out they pressured Manning for one sack and 1 interception, but the Giants running game killed them. Brandon Jacobs racked up 126 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, and he was well complimented by Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw as the Giants held the ball for 39:10. The outcome was a close 36-31 win for the Giants. This is the game that should show if missing the Plaxico factor - a big target in the end zone - is necessary or not for the Giants against tough blitzing defenses.

Donovan McNabb - Still going.
He's up. He's down. One week Andy Reid is benching Donovan McNabb and the next awarding him the bench as an early exit to a game that was well in hand. Did the benching inspire McNabb or serve to wake up the team playing around him? Does McNabb mostly take the rap for an inefficient offensive line and a group of so-so receivers? Running back Brian Westbrook has not been healthy enough to play at his best and that adds to the pressure. You've got to have a decent running game to help your passing game and it goes the other way too. Even Andy Reid says, "Anytime you get a good mix, the defense has to play both," The Eagles "good mix" though is a team that's ranked fourth in passing and 24th in rushing.

Eli Manning - Still going strong.
He was selected as the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for November. Eli completed 93 of 148 passes for 1036 yards and ten touchdowns with four interceptions, leading the Giants to a 5-0 record. His passer rating for the month was 94.9. Sure it gets nerve-racking to see the playclock winding down on the offense and Eli gesturing wildly, but by now you must have faith that it's all for a reason. The fact is that Eli Manning has quarterbacked his team to 15 wins in their last 16 games. He's recently been without Plaxico Burress, and before you easily dismiss that, remember he and Burress have combined for more touchdowns than any other quarterback-receiver duo in the league the past few seasons. For Manning though, it doesn't seem to matter who he has to use to get the job done. Running back Derrick Ward is actually the leading receiver over the Giants current 7 game winning streak. Like we said, whatever it takes to win, Manning will find it.

Giants vs NFC East.
The Giants got off to a great start working though their second round against the division rivals with their win over Washington last week. A win over the Eagles would clinch the NFC East title and a first-round bye. Next week they travel to (8-4) Dallas to complete the series.

NFC East.
On Sunday it's three games in a row for fans with the right TV hookups. First it's the Giants game, followed by Dallas (8-4) at Pittsburgh (9-3) followed by Washington (7-5) at Baltimore (8-4). Only the Giants are favored to win in these games.

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Notes.
Eagles running back Brian Westbrook has a team-leading eight touchdowns this season.

Eagles offense had the ball for only 20:50 last game against the Giants but scored 31 points.
That's the most the Giants have given up this season to any one team.

Eagles Donovan McNabb has a 84.8 passer rating, which is his lowest rating since 2003.

Eagles Donovan McNabb, after throwing just 3 interceptions in the first seven games, has thrown 7 in the last five games.

Eagles Donovan McNabb's wife gave birth to twins Tuesday morning.

Giants Justin Tuck leads the Giants with 10.5 sacks.

Giants lead the series, 79-66-2 and the Eagles have lost the last three matchups.

Next Game
Dec. 14 Giants at Dallas at 8:15PM.
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Next Home Game
Dec. 21 Carolina at Giants at 8:15PM. (NFL Reschedule from 1:00PM)
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