Articles

By Michael Stewart/@golferbad

Introduction: Rookie Daniel Jones iron man streak is officially over at 10 games as it’s been confirmed that Jones has been placed in a walking boot with a mild high-ankle sprain and will miss the game on Monday Night. If so, then Eli Manning will be returning under center in his first start since game two against the Buffalo Bills. The New York Giants (2-10) current losing streak is now at eight games and the Giants own the worst record in the NFL (10-34) since 2017.

Their opponent will be the Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) for the first time this season who have been struggling recently as well with a three-game losing streak of their own. This is a tale of two teams going in the wrong direction, although the Eagles could still mathematically win the NFC east; due to the fact that the Cowboys loss to the Bears last night 31-24 as they now are at 6-7.

With a win, the Eagles will be tied with Dallas at 6-7 with Dallas holding the tiebreaker with their win over the Eagles earlier in the season. The Giants and Eagles rank in the bottom half in most offensive categories and both teams have a negative turnover ratio (Giants at -14/Eagles at -5). Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has had a losing record since signing his multi-year contract. Here are the top 5 ways the Giants can win:

  1. Turnover Ratio: Giants are currently at -14 in turnover ratio to the Eagles -5.  A majority of those turnovers were from Daniel Jones (interceptions/fumbles), so maybe the Giants can minimize the damage with Manning getting the start.
  2. Giants Offense-vs-Eagles Defense: The Eagles defense really struggled last week against the Dolphins by yielding a total of 37 points. During their three losing streaks; the Eagles gave up big plays to all three opponents (Dolphins, Seahawks, and Patriots).  The Giants offensively seem to have very little trouble moving the ball between the 20-yard lines, even with Manning; unless if it’s on 3rd down. Running back Saquon Barkley showed a little glimmer of hope last week, so maybe the Giant fans might see him break out on Monday night (Prime Time).
  3. Giants secondary-vs-Carson Wentz: It seems like any quarterback that struggled the week before they play the Giants seems to have a breakout game (Trubisky, Rodgers, Darnold, Prescott, Stafford) over the last 5 weeks. The Giants secondary collectively has all struggled as each week it’s a different player claiming this dubious honor. Janoris Jenkins calls out DC James Bettcher for not allowing him to cover the opponents #1 WR throughout the game. The last time Jenkins complained he got torched by Michael Evans in Tampa, so let’s see if Jenkins has a repeat performance.
  4. Red Zone: Eli Manning has a very small sample in the red zone with a 77.78% completion ratio inside the 20 and a 50% rating inside the 10. Carson Wentz is ranked 10th overall with a completion percentage of 51.92 inside the 20 and a 54.55 inside the 10. The Giants and Eagles are in the bottom half in the league in red-zone conversion, so expect both teams to struggle in this game.
  5. Sacks: The Giants have a total of 26 sacks on the year while surrendering 35. The Eagles have a total of 36 sacks while giving up 30. Both teams have not done a good job protecting the quarterback. However; the Eagles have collected ten more sacks than the Giants and that could be vital in this matchup with Manning starting who is less mobile than Jones.

Final Thoughts:  The most recent games between the two teams, the Eagles have owned the Giants have won 5 straight and own a 16-4 record against the Giants since 2009. The weather forecast is calling for rain in the high 40’s to low 50’s, so the chance of snow should not be an issue.

However; the rain could be a factor with ball security and also catching the ball by the receivers. Look for the Giants to play hard, but the Eagles are fully aware of what’s at stake; only trailing Dallas by a half a game in the standings. Look for Carson Wentz to benefit from home-field advantage and also playing against a Giants defense that will give up a lot of yards and big plays.

Final Score: Eagles-27/Giants-16