December 08, 2019
The Eagles will be the last team to take the field in Week 14 when they enter Lincoln Financial Field to take on the Giants on Monday Night Football. And unlike last week against the Dolphins, when they were double-digit favorites on the road only to fall to a bad Miami team.
Instead of facing rookie Daniel Jones, the Birds will line up against old friend Eli Manning, who has been owned by the Eagles for most of his NFL career — Manning has beat them just once since 2013 and is 2-8 in Philadelphia over the last decade. That could be good news for the Eagles. Or, because 2019 has made absolutely no sense so far, it could be the worst thing that could happen to them.
With a win over the Eagles, Manning would move to one game over .500 for his career and would hurt the Birds playoff chances moving forward. A loss, and Manning could guarantee he finishes his career with a losing record. And that would be a lot of fun for Eagles fans to watch on Sunday. And, if this does wind up being his final NFL start, it would complete the circle that is Manning's career, given that his first NFL snap came in a losing effort in Philly back in September of 2004.
We've already given you some matchups to watch, broken down the injuries on both sides of the ball, and offered our own predictions for Monday night's primetime matchup. Now, as we do every week, it's time to take a look around the nation to see how various experts, both local and national, see Sunday's game playing out...
• PhillyVoice staff: The Eagles didn't inspire a ton of confidence last week, but once again all six of our writers are picking the Birds to come away with a win over the Giants. Here's a look at what Evan Macy, who sees a two-touchdown win for Philly, had to say:
I don’t know where to even begin trying to figure out what on God’s green Earth the Eagles are going to look like on Monday night.
One would think the gift of new life from the futile Cowboys losing Thursday would put a little spring in Philly’s step — but they had no such spring in the exact same scenario last week when they lost to the even-more-futile Dolphins.
Against New York, Eli Manning’s return has to give the Eagles a bit of an edge, and perhaps his “rust” could give the Eagles' struggling secondary a chance. I also think the pass rush will be licking its chops with a sitting duck under center in this one. Saquon Barkley has not looked great this year — though I do have some fear he will Monday.
Still, I just can’t pick the Giants. The Eagles will get a share of first place Monday.
• ESPN staff: Eight of their nine experts are picking the Eagles, with Trey Wingo being the only one to pick the Giants on Monday night.
• Tim McManus, ESPN.com: Eagles 24, Giants 20
• Jordan Raanan, ESPN.com: Eagles 33, Giants 18
• Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com: Eagles 26, Giants 21
I'm no conspiracy theorist, but it's interesting the Giants made the change back to Eli Manning days after ownership complained about this wayward season. It was also days after Daniel Jones finished another turnover-laden performance against the Packers and days before Big Blue hit Monday Night Football to face perhaps Eli's favorite opponent. With Saquon Barkley looking healthy again and the underachieving Eagles capable of making any game too complicated, don't be surprised if Manning has a chance to win this game in the fourth quarter.
• CBSSports.com staff: It was a clean sweep, with all eight experts picking the Eagles over the Giants.
• OddsShark: Their computer models are picking the Eagles in a three-touchdown rout on Monday night.
• Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk: Eagles 27, Giants 13
If the Eagles can’t beat the Giants, the Eagles have no business being in the playoffs. (Then again, if the Eagles can beat the Giants, the Eagles likely have no business being in the playoffs.)
• Michael David Smith, ProFootballTalk: Eagles 21, Giants 17
The Eagles laid an egg last week against the Dolphins, and I just can’t see them playing that badly against bad teams two weeks in a row.
• Bleacher Report, NFL staff: Eagles 27, Giants 17
Even though the New York Giants have endured a tough stretch and the Philadelphia Eagles have been one of the most successful teams in the NFL during recent years, six of the last seven matchups between the NFC East rivals have been decided by five points or fewer.
Two of our three panelists figure that's about to change with the desperate Eagles looking to save their season against a bad Giants team that hasn't won since September. ...
But because our analysts agree on almost nothing this week, we lack a unanimous consensus. Gagnon can see Manning putting together a decent swan song, especially if he gets pass-catchers Golden Tate and Evan Engram back. He can't see Philly beating anyone by 10-plus points right now, which is fair considering the state of its roster and the fact it's done so just twice this season.
So again, be careful with this one. The NFC East is an unpredictable mess.
• Sheil Kapadia, The Athletic: Sheil Kapadia, the former Eagles beat writer turned national NFL writer, makes picks against the spread for every game over at The Athletic. This week, he's thinks the Giants will keep it close enough to prevent the Eagles from covering the spread:
The Eagles have been one of the most boring teams in the NFL and embarrassed themselves last week in Miami. The Giants have lost eight in a row and will go with Eli Manning in place of the injured Daniel Jones. In other words, there’s not much here for a great Monday Night Football promo. I think the Eagles win and stay alive in the NFC East, but I’ll take the points.
• SBNation staff: Last week, the only one at SB Nation to pick the Dolphins was their guest dog picker. He was a very good boy. This week, guest picker Charlie the Good Dog is picking the Eagles, as are the rest of their experts.
• Bleeding Green Nation staff: No surprises here, as all of their writers are going with the Birds in primetime.
• NBC Sports Philadelphia: All five of their writers are picking the Eagles to come away victorious on Monday night, including Dave Zangaro, who sees a 24-20 win for the Birds.
Let’s start by making this clear: The Eagles could lose any remaining game on their schedule. I just don’t think they’re gonna lose this one. The Giants are a mess and even with Manning, I’m not expecting that to change. And then there’s the fact that the Eagles have owned Manning and the Giants over the last few years. In fact, the Eagles are 9-1 against the Giants in the last five years. They’ve even won the last five games between the two teams. But four of those five wins have been close games, so I’m not about to predict a blowout. Still, I expect the Eagles to be tied with the Cowboys atop the NFC East on Tuesday morning.
• NJ.com staff: Five of their six writers are picking the Eagles, with the lone exception being Eagles beat writer Zack Rosenblatt. Here's what he had to say:
The Eagles had perhaps the most embarrassing loss in the NFL last week and they no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt. The Giants are very bad, especially on the offensive line and in the secondary, but they have a few talented weapons on offense that could give the Eagles’ inconsistent defense trouble. If Saquon Barkley can return the form he showed in dominating the Eagles last year, they have a real shot to pull the upset and snap a long losing streak. For the Eagles, Carson Wentz needs to start looking like the franchise quarterback they’re paying him to be. If he can’t dominate this defense, even with inconsistent weapons, he can’t dominate any defense.
PICK: Giants 28, Eagles 24
• Todd Haislop, Sporting News: Eagles 26, Giants 14
The Eagles, losers of three straight games, keep failing to take advantage of the Cowboys' losses. By the time Monday night's game arrives, they'll know whether they have yet another opportunity to catch their rivals in the NFC East race. Regardless, there's no reason to think Philadelphia will lose at home to a dreadful New York team, so Dallas needs a victory.
• Vinny Iyer, Sporting News: Eagles 27, Giants 17
The Giants have lost eight consecutive games and have been eliminated from the playoff hunt. The Eagles have dropped three in a row, still needing to chase the Cowboys for first place in the NFC East. Eli Manning will come out firing against the Eagles' struggling secondary, but the Giants' pass defense will struggle even more against Carson Wentz. Look for the Eagles to overcorrect and commit more to the run to get their defense back on track and earn a much-needed victory.
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