Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants NFL Preview and Odds
This game was supposed to be a huge deal when the schedule came out. Although both teams have experienced disappointing seasons this year, there is still a lot to play for in this game. The Giants are still not eliminated from playoff contention. They need a lot of help after dropping a huge game to the Baltimore Ravens last week, but as long as you have a chance, you have to keep giving your best. Lately, the Giants have had trouble doing that. Head coach Tom Coughlin is at a loss to explain why that is.
History
The Eagles have been terrible all season. It started in training camp with the drug-induced death of the son of head coach Andy Reid in one of the dorms. It seemed to go downhill from there. Turnovers have plagued the Eagles all year. Injuries have also been a huge factor. The Eagles have let veterans go, and then had to let assistant coaches go for getting angry about it. It looks as if Reid will be gone soon and so will quarterback Michael Vick. But both will get one last game to audition for their futures on Sunday.
Rookie quarterback Nick Foles, the Eagles quarterback for the foreseeable future, broke his hand in last week's loss to the Washington Redskins. So Vick will likely be playing this week.
It is hard to predict this game, mostly because the Giants are so bi-polar. They blow out a tough New Orleans team one week and then get blown out the next two. Who will show up on Sunday? That's anyone's guess at this point. But either way, the Giants will likely be done after this week. They need the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and Minnesota Vikings and of course the Eagles, to all lose this week for them to get into the playoffs. All those teams do play against tough competition, so it's not impossible, but improbable.
The Eagles-Giants rivalry goes way back. The two teams have met 160 times. To say these fans do not like each other is a huge understatement. For Philly fans to put the final nail in the Giants coffin while they try to defend a Super Bowl championship would make the season a bit less miserable.
The Giants lead the all time series 83-76-2.The Eagles have won the last two meetings, including one this season the Giants would love to have back right about now. The Giants looked to be ready to pull that game out until a controversial offensive pass interference call was just enough to put their kicker out of range. Justin Tynes tried to win it but his kick fell just short.
Our Pick
5dimes has the Eagles +7.5 -125. The Giants are -7.5 +105. Over/under is 45.5
We are going with the Eagles +7.5. The Giants are too up and down to trust them to cover that large of a spread. We will take the under on this one too as both offenses have sputtered often. But a defensive touchdown or too is not that unlikely and might throw a monkey wrench into that plan.
