December 24, 2021
The Eagles' tour through the NFC East continues Sunday when the Giants come to town — the lowly, four win Giants whom the Eagles should have little trouble dismantling.
Should is the key word here. With a few injuries (and COVID issues) on the offensive line, and with a bitter and ugly loss in North Jersey a few weeks ago fresh in the mind, there is always the chance the Eagles could have more of a struggle than they expect, particularly with the Birds' head coach Nick Sirianni stuck at home dealing with his own bout with COVID, putting the coaching hierarchy potentially in flux with new team officials handling new roles during game time.
But even with those potential issues, the Eagles are heavily favored‚ by double digits according to most betting outlets. And that's partially because they'll face either Mike Glennon or Jake Fromm at quarterback. Are experts picking them to win (and cover) across the board?
As we do every week, we've rounded up a slew of predictions from both the local and national media to get an idea of how the experts see this Eagles vs. Giants matchup playing out — including a few against picks the spread. Let's dive right in...
• PhillyVoice: For the fourth time in a row, our writers are unanimous in picking Philly to reign supreme over a lesser foe. Here's the entry from columnist John McMullen, who is 11-3 this year picking the Birds:
If you're turning to Google for some holiday gift-giving ideas, expect a heavy dose of air fryers, single-serve coffee makers, and maybe a fitness or wellness tracker or two, along with the usual assortment of electronics. The folks in Simi Valley might want to keep working over the holidays, however, because the algorithm is off.
The greatest holiday gift anyone could ever ask for was delivered early by Kris Kringle in the form of Garrett Gilbert and the COVID-ravaged Washington Football Team. The second part of the shipment was a little late and arrives on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in the form of Jake Fromm (or perhaps Mike Glennon) and the New York Giants.
Urban Meyer said every week is Alabama in the NFL and typically the now-deposed and disgraced Jacksonville coach is correct but not for the Eagles over a six-day span this week. It's more like the Crimson Tide's home opener against Mercer back in September. So Happy Holidays and enjoy the right side of .500.
• Inquirer.com: They hadn't yet posted their picks as of this writing. We'll update when they become available.
• NJ.com: All six of their football writers are taking the Eagles in this one, including Giants beat writer Zack Rosenblatt.
A few weeks later, and that Giants win over the Eagles still doesn’t make any sense — even more as the Eagles continue to become maybe the most run-dominant team in the NFL. For whatever reason, Nick Sirianni got away from what the Eagles do best a little too much, they shot themselves in the foot repeatedly and the Giants got a rare win. Things have only gotten worse since then for New York. Sunday, they’ll be starting one of Mike Glennon or Jake Fromm. If the Eagles, fighting for the playoffs, can’t beat this terrible Giants team — they can call themselves terrible too. The only hope the Giants have is that Fromm starts, plays out of his mind and Patrick Graham confuses Jalen Hurts. Don’t count on all of that.
PICK: Eagles 19, Giants 7.
• Bleeding Green Nation: No surprises here as all seven BGN writers are picking the Birds to win this one.
• The Athletic: All eight of their national writers picked the Eagles to prevail.
• Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com: Eagles 31, Giants 14
Bad luck: The Eagles have a quick turnaround after their Tuesday night win. Good luck: Jake Fromm is likely waiting on the other side, a few days after Garrett Gilbert. Fromm moved the ball in garbage time against the Cowboys, but it would take Rookie Justin Herbert to save these surroundings in New York. The Eagles' offense is fifth in EPA since Week 7. The Giants are 29th. Philly's worst performance in that span was a four-turnover day in MetLife Stadium, a game they can prove Sunday was fluky.
• ESPN: Last week only seven of their 11 experts picked the Eagles to beat Washington. This week, it's unanimous across the board, with every ESPN picker taking Philadelphia.
• Tim McManus, ESPN: Eagles 27, Giants 13
• Jordan Raanan, ESPN: Eagles 30, Giants 20
• Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: Eagles 30, Giants 17
The Eagles beat up an undermanned Washington team thanks to a dominating rushing performance, which has become their calling card. The Giants looked bad losing at home last week to the Cowboys
. The Giants did beat the Eagles three weeks ago. They won't this time.
• CBS Sports: Only one of their football writers is not taking the Eagles to cover the 10-point spread on Sunday.
• ProFootballTalk: Both Mike Florio and Michael David Smith are picking the Eagles on Sunday.
MDS's take: The Eagles are coming on strong down the stretch and not out of the playoff hunt. They’ll stomp a Giants team that has made absolutely no progress during the Dave Gettleman era.
MDS’s pick: Eagles 31, Giants 12.
• USA TODAY Sports: All seven of their experts are picking the Eagles.
• Bleacher Report: Eagles 27, Giants 14 (NOTE: Four of their six writers are taking the Birds to cover the 9.5-point spread that was being offered at the time they made their picks.)
The New York Giants have lost three consecutive games by double-digit margins, and it appears they're down and out for 2021 with quarterback Daniel Jones injured. Meanwhile, the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles are looking to bolster their playoff chances and get some revenge for a November loss to Big Blue.
Under those circumstances, the majority of our predictors are laying 9.5 points with Philly at home.
"The Giants upset the Eagles in late November," O'Donnell said. "This isn't the same team, and even though the Big Blue defense will play its part, this current offense is more likely to give up points than score them. Philly remains in the thick of things for the final NFC wild-card spot, and the Giants haven't swept the Eagles since their legendary 2007 Super Bowl season, so I'm counting on a drubbing here."
The Eagles haven't won three in a row since 2019, but with the Giants in such rough shape, it's fair to feel Philly will finally accomplish that feat in emphatic fashion.
Still, one-third of the gang is taking the points. You just never know what you're going to get from an NFC East matchup, and the Eagles are on short rest following a Tuesday night victory over the Washington Football Team. Tread carefully.
• Sheil Kapadia, The Athletic: Sheil picks games against the spread every week, and this week he thinks the Eagles win but will not cover the currently 10-point spread.
The Eagles also could be without their head coach. Nick Sirianni, who has somehow produced an offense that ranks seventh in DVOA, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. Sirianni is the Eagles’ offensive play caller. If he misses the game, that responsibility would go to offensive coordinator Shane Steichen.
The Giants, meanwhile, continue to be a complete disaster. They beat the Eagles in Week 12 but have since lost three games by a total of 42 points. It will be either Mike Glennon or Jake Fromm getting the start here.
Jalen Hurts had his worst game of the season when these two teams last met, throwing three interceptions. I think the Eagles win here, but 10 is a big number.
• Bill Bender, Sporting News: Eagles 27, Giants 14
The Eagles are on a short week after a Tuesday game, but they lost to the Giants in a 13-7 slugfest in the first meeting this season. Jalen Hurts played well against Washington in his return from an ankle injury. The Giants' quarterback situation is worse with Mike Glennon and Jake Fromm.
• Vinny Iyer, Sporting News: Eagles 20, Giants 13
The Giants have a quarterback mess and their offense doesn't have much in the offense anymore when not giving Saquon Barkley or another running back key touches. Their defense is still playing with pride for Joe Judge, however, and the Eagles will make this more of a grinding game with a lot running themselves coming off a very short week. Philadelphia slams the door with great defense in a mild walkover.
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