Team Giants

Giants - Eagles Game 17 preview

Giants (12-4) vs Philadelphia (10-6-1).
The Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings, 26-14, in the wildcard round of the playoffs, and that means they'll meet up with the Giants for the third time this season. Unlike their earlier two matchups which they split, the stakes are much higher now. The loser is done for the season, and the winner goes on to play the following Sunday in a fight for the NFC Championship. Minnesota saw their hopes vanish last week when with less than seven minutes left to play Brian Westbrook took a Donovan McNabb's screen pass 71 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings had been down just 2 points and now they had too much to cover. The Giants lost a 20-19 game to Minnesota just the week before and were on a bye last week.

The state of the Eagles - Offense.
They came up with four wins in their last five regular season games to get into the playoffs, and one of those wins was against the Giants. Brian Westbrook rushed for 131 yards and become the first running back in 14 games to break the Giants defense for more than 100 yards. Donovan McNabb was elusive as ever keeping plays alive until his receiving crew had time to break free. He and Westbrook will be facing a somewhat healthier Giants defense this time, but the truth is in the two games played this season they haven't sacked Donovan McNabb once and the Eagles came up with 31 points in the game they lost even though Westbrook was held to 26 yards on 13 carries. It seems strange at times that Donovan McNabb is sometimes held in higher regard by fans of teams other than his own. That said, it should be noted that there will be no ties for this game.

The state of the Eagles - Defense.
Like the offense, this defense is hot. They ranked third in the NFL in fewest yards allowed and fourth in fewest points, and is peaking at the right time. They've pulled off four defensive touchdowns in their past five games while holding opponents to just 54 points. Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson doesn't let up and will have his unit geared to create constant pressure, get sacks and cause turnovers and their 48 sacks ranks them third in the NFL. In their first game against the Giants, they were nailed for 219 rushing yards on 45 carries for a 4.9 average. They did better in the second game, holding the Giants to 88 yards on 24 carries for a 3.7 average, but Jacobs didn't finish that game. He will be their big problem in this matchup.

The state of the Giants - Defense.
The Giants were able to come away with home field advantage and a bye last week. It's been a long 13 game stretch that they had to play without getting an open date and it was starting to take it's toll. They've lost 3 of the last 4 games and have been giving up some real big plays. Seven times in the last four games, teams have beat them either in the air or on the ground on plays of 30 or more yards, and all went for touchdowns. The Giants led the NFL in sacks last season with 53, but that number has gone down to 42 this season. Justin Tuck is the sack leader, but he's tailed off lately, having been hampered with lower leg and knee problems. He's said "I'll be out there Sunday. If I'm out there with one leg, I'll be out there." but the idea of a one legged Justin Tuck chasing down Donovan McNabb doesn't inspire confidence.

The state of the Giants - Offense.
The Giants only loss at home this season was to Philadelphia and that ended their seven-game winning streak in the Meadowlands. They had only 211 total yards on offense in that game, where they scored just one offensive 'gimmie' touchdown as the clock ran down. Eli Manning was 7-for-21 for 66 yards before that drive. They lost the following week to Dallas, scoring only 8 points. Running back Brandon Jacobs aggravated a knee injury in the Philly game and had 52 yards in just 10 carries before he left. He missed that Dallas game, and came back to help defeat the Panthers before sitting out the Vikings game. So now with more than just one bye week off, he's raring to go. Derrick Ward has filled in nicely, but they sure can use a one-two Jacobs led running back attack against the Eagles. Eli Manning is carrying a lot on his shoulders playing without Plaxico Burress and with old-timer Amani Toomer and young wide receivers Dominick Hixon, Steve Smith, Sinorice Moss and Mario Manningham, all called upon to make plays to keep the Eagles defense honest and not loading up against the run. Tight end Kevin Boss currently holds the team lead with his six touchdown catches.

Playoffs.
While it was entertaining to watch the other teams play last week, you won't get quite the same feeling watching the 'other' teams play next week. The Giants need to beat the Eagles to stay on your TV screen, and that would put them in a matchup with either Arizona or Carolina. Those teams play each other at 8:15PM on Saturday, so you'll know which team it would be before the Giants kick off for their Sunday at 1PM game.
The AFC Saturday game has Baltimore at Tennessee at 4:30PM. That's your chance to see how former Giants quarterback Kerry Collins holds up against a tough Ravens defense. On Sunday after the Giants game, San Diego plays at Pittsburgh at 4:45PM. All the visiting teams have spotted the home teams a bye week of rest and extra preparation. By the end of the day, you'll know which two AFC teams and which two NFC teams will be playing each other the following Sunday for their shot at the Super Bowl.

Looking ahead.
The Eagles, like all the rest of the playoff teams, need two more wins to get into the Super Bowl. Three more and the Eagles will have done what they have never done before, become Super Bowl Champs. They have been there twice and lost both games. This season, five of the remaining eight playoff teams have never won a Super Bowl, and that's your quiz question for the day. Which of these other playoff teams have never won a Super Bowl? The spoiler is at the bottom of the page.

Overall.
The Eagles are being compared to the 2007 Giants - a wildcard playoff team that got hot at the right time, but don't think that the Giants have cooled off because of the one week rest period. They needed the opportunity to recharge for the playoffs and assess how the Eagles are using their personnel at this particular point of their season. They know they can focus their efforts on stopping Westbrook on the ground, but they have to also get the needed pressure on McNabb before his receivers break free. The Vikings were able to pressure McNabb last week and they had three sacks. Punter Jeff Feagles has certainly done the job this year, but the Giants need to improve their return game. There has been some talk of having Domenik Hixon return some punts this week. In that role, he's averaged higher than the rest of the team.

The Weather for the Game.
A storm is expected to start Saturday afternoon and end early Sunday, leaving 6 to 8 inches of snow. Temperatures for the 1 p.m. EST kickoff will hover around 32 degrees, with winds gusting out of the northwest from 15 to 25 mph.

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Notes.
Five of the remaining playoff teams have never won a Super Bowl. They are Philadelphia, Tennessee, San Diego, Carolina, and Arizona.
The Giants have a 2-1 Super Bowl Record, Pittsburgh is 5-1, and the Baltimore Ravens are 1-0.

This will be the 12th playoff game between the Nos. 1 and 6 seeds since the NFL began seeding teams in each conference in 1990.
The No. 1 seeds are 10-1 so far, 9-0 in the NFC.

Giants and Eagles will become the only division rivals in NFL history to have met in the playoffs four times..

Backup QB David Carr, an 8-year NFL veteran, will be in the playoffs for the first time.

Amani Toomer is 34 and in his 12th season as a Giant and a loss here might be his last game with them.

Hall of Fame LB Harry Carson will be the Giants' honorary captain for Sunday's game.

There will be no ties for this game.

Next Game
Jan 18 (NFC Conference Championship) if the Giants qualify at 3:00PM
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