NFL - New York Giants at Philadelphia

The Giants pulled out a huge playoff implicating win on Sunday in Chicago and have all but locked up the top wildcard spot in the NFC

2007-12-07

The Giants pulled out a huge playoff implicating win on Sunday in Chicago and have all but locked up the top wildcard spot in the NFC. Of course, the same was thought last year before New York endured a second half swoon. The final quarter of the ’07 campaign starts in Philadelphia, where they’ve enjoyed some recent success. The Eagles are a field goal favorite.

Including wins in the last two regular season meetings, the G-Men own a 6-5 SU & 7-4 ATS edge in the L11 games visiting the Eagles. They are also on a 10-2 ATS run on the road vs. NFC foes. For Philly, postseason hope rests on winning all four remaining games, a longshot indeed. At 5-7 overall, the Eagles have won just two of six games at home, both SU & ATS. In fact, in their last 13 games as hosts, HC Andy Reid’s team is just 4-9 ATS.

In the NFL, quarterback ratings, touchdown pass-to-interception ratio, and team leadership paint a picture; however, a quarterback is ultimately judged on his win-loss record. Eli Manning will travel with his team to the City of Brotherly Love being either two or four games over .500 after 50 starts in the NFL. He is no longer a young quarterback learning and should be on the way to continuing progress. It has to be asked why Kevin Gilbride is calling the plays for the G-Men as his star as offensive guru has long since passed.

Even if QB Donovan McNabb starts this game, his days as the future starting QB are numbered. The injuries he has suffered the last couple of seasons have taken the spark out of his game and during his career he has never been in the Tom Brady class for on-target deliveries. Philadelphia is still in playoff contention and might have to win out to earn a berth. However, if Andy Reid can create game plans like he did against New England, and the Eagles have the same focus they had at the end of last season, they could duplicate a quality run.

Keys to the Game
The Giants will come in with 9-2 ATS record against NFC opponents and could take control of top wild card position with a win. Brian Westbrook becomes the focal point of offense and could open things up for WR Kevin Curtis deep. Tom Coughlin’s crew needs the road graders to play up to the level they have most of the season. This NFC matchup is usually a slugfest with the average total score being a hair over 37 points the last 14 seasons in Philly.

Trends
~ The Giants are 1-8 ATS before playing Washington.
~ Philadelphia is 11-4-1 ATS in the first of multiple division contests.

StatFox Edge – Eagles cover

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